The History of Central High School

Central High School of Philadelphia, PA was started in 1838 and was then only the second public high school in the nation. When Central first opened its doors, it admitted 4 teachers and 63 students. From that fledgling beginning, Central has now grown to over 2300 students and 110+ teachers.

Since that start in 1838, Central has outgrown its facilities three times, in 1854, in 1900, and in 1939. While Central's first building was located at the corner of Juniper and Market Streets, facing City Hall, (currently the location of the Wanamaker Building), today Central stands on a grassy hill at the corner of Ogontz and Olney Avenues, overlooking Philadelphia.

Our buildings...

In recognition of Central's high academic standards, Central was granted the authority to confer academic degrees to its graduates by an Act of Assembly in 1849.

The Controllers of the Public Schools of the First District of Pennsylvania shall have and possess the power to confer academic degrees in the arts upon graduates of the Central High School, in the City of Philadelphia, and the same and like power to confer degrees, honorary and otherwise, which is now possessed by the University of Pennsylvania.

Today, that act is still in effect, making Central the only high school in the nation authorized to grant its graduates Bachelor of Arts college degrees instead of ordinary high school diplomas (if the graduates have fulfilled the requirements for a degree - see the parent handbook for more details).

When Central moved to its second building in 1900, construction had not yet finished on part of the building. It wasn't until 1902 that a full dedication could be presented. The sheer size and cost of the construction of the school had aroused national attention, and President of the United States Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt came to address the assembled students. The students were still excited over their football win over Central Manual Training School (28-0), and when President Roosevelt learned of this, he started his speech by saying...

"Boys, it is perfectly easy to see from my reception that you feel happy over the football game yesterday."

Central originally started as an all-boys school. That tradition continued for a number of years, to the pride of many alumni, until August 1983, when federal Judge William M. Marutani ruled that Central's single-sex admissions policy was unconstitutional. After that ruling, Central's first six female students, all seniors, enrolled the following September. Today, slightly more than 50% of the school's students are young women.

The 1st class of Central graduated in June, 1842. Commencements were held semi-annually from 1838-1965, with a few exceptions. Today, commencements are held annually, making this year's class the 258th graduating class of Central High School.

In the Philadelphia public school district, Central is considered a magnet school, with admission requirements for all incoming students. This practice is used to insure that all of the incoming class will continue Central's long-standing tradition of academic excellence. Incoming freshman are required to have all A's and B's (with the exception of one C), for their 7th grade year. They must also score in at least the 85 percentile in both English and Math in the Philadelphia city-wide standard test.

Today Central is under the administration of its 13th President, Dr. Sheldon Pavel, who continues the long tradition of excellence in education that Central has always maintained. This was recognized in May of 1987 when the US and Pennsylvania Departments of Education named Central as a secondary school of national excellence.

Today, there are so many parts of Central that have unique histories that it is impossible to describe them all. The history of Central has been preserved, partly through the efforts of our archivists. Our current archivist is Dr. Robert Sanders. Questions about Central's history central posted to one of our archivists, Dr. Robert Sanders (180). If you would like to ask a question, email us we'll get back to you as soon as possible.