The document explores the historical factors contributing to educational inequality at Germantown High School from 1907 to 2011, focusing on political, social, and economic influences. It analyzes specific periods of the school's history rather than major events, revealing that inadequate funding and societal issues played significant roles in perpetuating these inequalities. The findings suggest that while white flight was a factor, it was not the sole reason for the school's transformation.

1. The Roots of Educational Inequality:
Germantown High School, 1907-2011
Erika M. Kitzmiller

2. Dr. Anne Mullikin, University of Pennsylvania ‘22
GGermantown High School, Faculty 1922-1959

4. February 2007

5. Germantown High School, 2007

6. The Roots of
Educational Inequality
• Examines the political, social, and economic
factors that contributed to the school’s
transformation.
• Analyzes daily events rather than key turning
points.
• Examines how inequalities were produced and
how individuals challenged and resisted them.

7. Chapter 1:
Campaigning
for a Public
High School in
the Suburban
Sanctuary,
1907 - 1914

8. Chapter 2:
Legitimizing
the New High
School in an
Increasingly
Fractured
Community,
1914 - 1928

9. Chapter 3:
The
Foundation
Begins to
Crack, 1929-
1937

10. Chapter 4:
The Rhetoric of
Wartime Unity
Masks
Inequality,
1938 - 1945

11. Chapter 5:
Meeting the
Needs of a
“Modern
Generation
Living in a
Modern Age,”
1946 - 1957

12. Chapter 6:
Urban
Renewal and
Racial Unrest,
1958 - 1967

13. Findings
• White flight, alone, did not lead to the school’s
transformation.
• Philadelphia never allocated enough funding for its
schools.
• Private funding for public schools and charitable
organizations.
• Educational institutions were sites that both replicated
and undermined structural inequalities.

14. Conclusion
14