The
Inquirer has caught on to the talent as Saul High School and has recently run
two great stories showcasing the great people and unique qualities of the
school.
At Saul High, Talented Crop of Students,
Saturday, October 20th
Here is an excerpt: "There's no other place like
this," Bonaparte said of the Roxborough school, set on busy Henry Avenue
with cars whizzing by.
True. At no other city
school are there two farmers on staff. Nowhere else in the Philadelphia School
District will you find students hauling 50-pound feed bags, driving tractors,
harvesting eggplant, studying milk produced on site for bacteria, and caring
for horses.
(It also has Pennsylvania's
largest chapter of FFA, the organization formerly known as Future Farmers of America,
and one of the biggest chapters in the country, FFA officials confirmed.)
One of a handful of
agricultural high schools nationwide, Saul is one of the largest of its kind.
It's long been a below-the-radar gem, a well-regarded city magnet school.
But lately, Saul has been on
a roll.
Junior Isaiah Nelson, an
aspiring botanist from West Oak Lane, recently won a state agriculture science
fair and is headed to nationals - the first Saul student to do so.
And teacher Jessica
McAtamney, who has helped develop a large community-supported agricultural
(CSA) program at the school, just returned from the White House, where she was
honored as a "Champion of Change" for her work with Saul students.”
The school offers multiple
Advanced Placement courses, and 75 percent of its graduates go on to college.
Last year's top student is attending Cornell University's agriculture school.…
The school, which requires
strong grades for admission, has a diverse student body - 63 percent African
American, 23 percent white, 12 percent Hispanic. Ten percent of its students
require special-education services, and 62 percent are considered economically
disadvantaged.
Many pupils travel on
multiple buses for an hour or more a day to get to Saul. The school has an open
campus, with students moving among buildings on both sides of Henry Avenue
several times a day.
Saul students said they find
themselves picking up bits of knowledge they never knew they would be acquiring
such as: "You can feel it when a cow steps on your toe, even if you're
wearing steel-toed boots," Bonaparte said. And: When the lettuce you grew
at the school appears in your salad in the cafeteria, you feel a particular
sense of pride. Also: Animals need to be fed and cared for, even when the
weather is bad.
"I walked my sheep in
the rain, hail, and snow," said senior Debbie Mayo.
The spotlight is nice, said
McAtamney. And so is a renewed focus on urban agriculture.
"It's been happening at
Saul for so long," McAtamney said. "But now it's hip, which is great
for us."
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