El Centro Big Picture High School is an intentionally small, accelerated school for young adults ages 16-21 who had previously disconnected from their education. This welcoming community will become students’ second family, guiding young people along their journey to high school graduation and career success. Watch this VIDEO to get a sense of the school culture and how the model works.

Key features of El Centro:

• Highly personalized and individualized learning program for each student based on student needs, student interests and long term goals.

• Applied learning in real-world contexts through Internships and authentic Project Based Learning.

• Deep and sustained Relationships with parents and the community, and sustained Post-Secondary Transition programs.

Advisory and relationships: Advisory is the core organizational and relational structure at El Centro. Advisory is often described as a “second family” by students. El Centro understands that the quality of the relationship between students and staff is one of the most important ingredients in assuring a student’s success. There is one advisor (teacher) for every 18 students and one Resiliency Specialist (counselor) for every 65 students. As a result, every student is known well by at least two adults at El Centro.

Restorative Justice and Resilience: El Centro utilizes Restorative Practices to build a culture of respect and accountability within the school. El Centro’s staff of Resilience Specialists help students build their own capacity to develop solutions for themselves, through one-on-one counseling support services and by connecting students and their families to an array of outside service partnerships.

Real World Learning / Learning through Interests: Perhaps most importantly, El Centro challenges students to develop their interests and passions. El Centro students intern with experts in their fields of interest, completing authentic projects and gaining experience and exposure in how their interests intersect with the real world. 

Project-Based Learning: El Centro’s core pedagogical belief is that students learn best by doing - when they engage with real problems and real issues. The entire learning experience is student-centered, personalized to each student’s interests, talents and needs.

Post-Secondary Supports: El Centro provides sustained postsecondary and career transition programs so that students and graduates have a solid post-secondary plan once they graduate. Students will acquire skills that will allow them to follow a path uniquely tailored to their individual interests, particularly career interests.

El Centro, located in a brand new building at 3360 Frankford Avenue in Kensington, is a Big Picture Philadelphia school which is a part of the nationally-recognized Big Picture Learning network with over 70 student-centered, project-based schools nationwide. 

Interested in joining our team? Please email Tori Henry.