Mission
Philadelphia Mennonite High School equips students for Leadership, Service and Peacemaking.

Accreditation
PMHS is dually accredited by the Mennonite Education Agency and Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools.

History
Philadelphia Mennonite High School draws from Philadelphia’s rich tradition of social responsibility and the Mennonite faith tradition of community and peacemaking to provide innovative educational excellence. Mennonites are a branch of the Christian faith with roots in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

In 1993, a task force formed and met with a group of culturally diverse Philadelphia Mennonite pastors. In 1996, a Board of Directors formed for this new high school. A Search Committee found and hired Dr. Barbara Moses as principal. The board purchased a three-story school building on a quiet street near the Art Museum in early 1998. Full time teachers were hired for the fall semester and 53 students enrolled for the first year. We graduated our first class in 2000 and have had 100% college acceptance for our graduates ever since.

Transformative Education
PMHS students are educated by teachers who are also their mentors and tutors. This fosters a communal environment that makes learning worthwhile. Over 70% of our teachers have advanced degrees. Students learn to apply what they are learning in double period classes into real life. They visit colleges/universities every year Along with this, all seniors must take a College Prep class. Double period classes ensures that our students know the fundamentals and that they have more credits than what the PA Department of Education requires.

Service As A Way of Life
Our service component gives our students an opportunity to expand their horizons, develop leadership skills and relationships. Our students volunteer a total of 3,000 hours a year in the greater Philadelphia area at schools, community centers, businesses and organizations. They serve as reading mentors, library assistants, tutors, etc. This kind of experience expands their social network and prepares them for higher education, civic society and the professional world. PMHS students log over 10,000 hours a year. PMHS seniors choose a field that interests them and intern in that profession.

Safe Peaceful Community
PMHS works at building a healthy community with its students, staff and faculty. In this setting, students are not only respected but held accountable to the school’s zero tolerance fighting and anti-bullying strategies. We build a culture of mutual respect, celebration and achievement. This leaves room for healthy relationships to flourish between faculty, students and their peers. PMHS provides mentoring and conflict management training based on Mennonite tradition. The result has been 4 altercations since the school opened in 1998. Presently, students train students at a K-8 public school in the conflict prevention strategies they learned. (See video above.)

Real World Learning
Since not every student is the same, PMHS provides opportunities for multi-sensory experiences. Students visit museums, engage in interactive projects and develop visual presentations. During their 1 week intersession trip every Spring, freshmen explore local writing educational sites in Philadelphia, sophomores travel statewide, juniors travel somewhere in the United States and seniors travel to Puerto Rico.