| Horace Howard Furness High School | |
| Location: | 1900 S. Third St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19148 |
| Coordinates: | 39.9238°N -75.1508°W |
| Built: | 1914 |
| Architect: | Henry deCourcy Richards |
| Builder: | Cramp & Co. |
| Architecture: | Late Gothic Revival, Academic Gothic |
| Added: | December 1, 1986 |
| Refnum: | 86003286 |
Horace Howard Furness High School is a secondary (9th-12th) school in South Philadelphia. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia.[1]
Portions of South Philadelphia (including Bella Vista, Passyunk Square, Pennsport, Queen Village, and Whitman) are zoned to Furness.[2] A section of Center City, including Society Hill and Old City, was formerly zoned to Furness for high school.[3]
It was originally built as an elementary school, with construction starting in 1913 and ending in 1914; it later became Horace Furness Junior High School. It was named for Shakespearean scholar Horace Howard Furness (1833–1912).[4]
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Horace Furness Junior High School in 1986. It was later converted into a senior high school, and its first high school graduation was held in 1991.[4]
In 2012 Daniel Peou, a Cambodian American man who was once a refugee and had lived in Philadelphia, became the principal of Furness.[5]
The school building was designed by Henry deCourcy Richards and built by Cramp & Co. It is a four-story, rectangular, reinforced concrete building clad in brick and terra cotta in the Late Gothic Revival-style. It features an oversized arched entryway, blind panels, terra cotta quoining, and a brick parapet.[6]
the school had 694 students. These students used over 25 different languages.[7]
In 2000 the school had about 1,200 students. In the 2009-2010 school year the school had 673 students, with 40% being African-American and 38% being Asian.[8]
Benjamin Herold of the Philadelphia Public School Notebook stated that Furness was largely free of racial tensions.[8]
In regards to Pennsylvania's state achievement tests, of 11th graders at Furness, the percentages of students meeting the standard or higher were 43% in reading and 58% in mathematics. In terms of Philadelphia's comprehensive schools these percentages were higher than the average.[8]
SEPTA routes 29, 57 and 79 serve Furness.[9]
Furness requires its students to wear school uniforms. Students may wear a gray shirt that must have a collar on it with black pants.[10]
K-8 schools feeding into Furness include:[11]
Previously George A. McCall School in Society Hill fed Furness High.[2] [9] [12]