Workshop School

workshopschool.org

Binder clips hold a bridge project together while the glue dries at The Workshop School.

Teaching Students to Change the World

The Workshop School in West Philadelphia is unlike most high schools. When you walk through the door, the first thing you see is not a classroom, but a carpenter’s workshop.

The school, which is part of the Philadelphia School District, allows its ninth- through twelfth-graders to both take traditional academic courses while also going "hands-on" with real-life skills.

"The thing that makes the workshop school so different is we put kids in direct contact with the real world," explained math and special education teacher and adviser Jared Lauterdach.

"So a lot of the projects are those that exist not just in school, but also outside of the real world," Lauterdach continued. "In the morning, students spend time in different workshops. There is an auto-body shop, an auto-repair shop, a carpentry workshop and a special section of the school known as 'Workshop Industries.' They are the kind of the entrepreneurial-side to our school."

Note:  The above description came from CBS-3.

In The News

• 'Jawnaments’ Top Selling Item For West Philly High School Entrepreneurial Club, CBS-3, December 5, 2017.

Info

• Video: Open Education Philadelphia: The Workshop School (Vimeo, 5m13s)
• Video: The Workshop School: Hear from our students (YouTube, 3m17s)

See Also

• Workshop Industries