The City of Harrisburg offers a diverse and rich educational experience within the City limits, ranging from early childhood programs (3-4 year olds) through post-graduate university degrees. For City residents’ children, the continually improving Harrisburg School District has advanced significantly when many other cities’ school systems continued their decline in quality of education, graduation statistics and pursuit of higher education. Harrisburg’s state-of-the-art educational initiatives have a nationally unique and profound dimension: a systemic interconnection that inextricably links public education, higher education, workforce development and economic development.
The City’s public school progress was sparked in the late 20th century when the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted state laws designed to both reform and improve public education state-wide. In the case of Harrisburg, after decades of nepotism and patronage, the legislature commissioned the Mayor of Harrisburg to oversee the Harrisburg School District and to appoint a Board of Control that replaced the previously-elected school board. The Mayor aggressively pursued both fundamental reforms of public education, as well as a visionary and innovative set of initiatives that transformed the City’s public education system and linked it to higher education.
Under this new and considerably more accountable leadership, comprehensive and fully-integrated initiatives included a first-ever early childhood program for 3 to 4 year olds, full-day kindergarten, an Alternative Education Program, founding of the Math and Science Academy, a district-wide emphasis on literacy, renovations and upgrades to most School District facilities and a reorganized district administration. The results to date are impressive: overall student enrollment increase of 39 percent; 118 percent increase in the number of students graduating; 385 percent increase in the number of students pursuing higher education; and, 58 percent decrease in student drop-outs.
One of the most nationally innovative initiatives spawned by the Harrisburg School District and focused on skills for the future, was the creation of the Science and Technology High School (Sci-Tech High), which was designed to complement the new Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. With an academic focus on STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) starting in the "feeder system"- the Math and Science Academy, for grades five through eight- Sci-Tech High is a dynamic STEM-focused center for academically relevant and fully-integrated learning.
Harrisburg’s public school system fully embraces the adage that "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." To that end, Harrisburg’s public education system will always be engaged in continual improvement and growth, leaving a solid foundation for the future and an extremely bright forecast for students to succeed.