A. Philip Randolph Career Academy

A. Philip Randolph Career Academy
Location
United States
Information
Website	www.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/randolph/A_P_Randolph.html

A. Philip Randolph Career Academy is a high school located at 3101 Henry Ave in Philadelphia, PA, USA. It was named in honor of Asa Phillip Randolph and is run by the Philadelphia School District. The Principal is Mr. Darryl Overton, former FitzSimons High School principal. A. Philip Randolph was once part of Dobbins/Randolph together, but now they are two different campuses. They share the football team.

History

A. Philip Randolph was born April 15, 1889 in Crescent City, Florida. He was one of two sons. His parent's names were Reverend James Williams and Elizabeth Robinson Randolph, who were both dependents of slaves.

He and his family moved to Jacksonville in 1891. This was the place where he and his brother attended school. They excelled by being the top in their classes at the Cookman Institute. After school, he was reduced to menial work. In the spring of 1911, he traveled to New York with a friend, hoping to become an actor. He took classes at City College, and bowing to his parents objections to an acting career, switched from drama to politics and economics, soon joining the socialist party. During this time Randolph met his future wife, Lucille Green, a 31 year old widow from Christianburg, Virginia.

Randolph soon met another friend from North Carolina. His name was Chandler Owen. He was studying sociology and political science at Columbia University. They both shared the same ideas and would soon become soap box orators and establish The Messenger, a radical Harlem magazine, in 1917.

He organized The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters which was considered the first serious effort of unionizing the Pullman company. The Pullman company was the most powerful business organization in the country, and it viciously resisted efforts to unionize. Randolph struggled with his company for 12 years. The brotherhood's battles won the admiration of labor and liberal leaders. The American Federation of Labor leadership saw the bitterly anti-communist Brotherhood as a bastion against the influence of communism among the black working class.

They had many setbacks, but the Brotherhood prevailed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal guaranteed workers the right to organize and required corporations to negotiate with unions. In 1935, the Pullman company was forced to sit down with the Brotherhood. Randolph moved to secure formal affiliation with the AFL and was finally granted an international charter. At their convention, there were many disagreements over whether to organize by craft or industry. The conflict led to the expulsion of unions that wanted to organize by industry. Those unions soon formed the Congress of Industrial Organization. In 1937, the Brotherhood, which remained in the AFL, finally obtained a contract with the Pullman Company, the first contract ever between a company and a black union. Randolph emerged as one of the first major black labor leaders in the country.

He was also a spokesperson for African-American rights in the 1940s and 1950s. He is hailed as the dean of American civil rights leaders. He mainly focused his attention on the rising number of blacks on relief and the number of defense industry jobs that were increasing with the war effort heating up. These jobs traditionally excluded blacks. Randolph proposed the march on Washington - a mass action protest to demand change.

Shops

Carpentry

The student learns the construction and repair of buildings and is educated to enter the construction industry. The student will be able to read specifications and architectural drawings, follow building codes, and use hand and power tools in construction projects. Graduates often work with small independent contractors.

Electrical Shop

The student learns the theory and laws of electricity; get hands-on experience in construction and maintenance; learns industrial, commercial, and residential wiring in accordance with national and local codes; installs, tests, and repairs appliances. Graduates are qualified for entry level jobs in electrical construction.

Auto Body Shop

The student repairs body parts with sanding and body tools; welds and cuts; and paints vehicles. Training often leads to employment in garages and shops in the city.

Auto Mechanics

The student repairs and overhauls automobiles; works on suspension systems, drive and power train systems, engine, exhaust systems and cooling systems, and plans work procedures using automobile parts and manuals.

Health and Related Technology

The Health and Related Technology program prepares the student for a future in the medical health professions. The program has academic college bound subjects. In addition, medically related courses are given to prepare the students for careers in the health care field such as: physician, nurse, medical laboratory technologist, radiographer, physical therapist, etc. To promote professionalism and career opportunities, senior students spend three months at area hospitals assisting the medical staff in the program. Computer skills are also introduced.

Fire Academy

The student learns about safety, all types of fires. They try on fire equipment, and go to the Philadelphia Fire Department Fire Academy. Graduates receive a certificate.

Academics

English

Ninth Grade

English 1- Topics include business and friendly letter writing; literary terms; creative writing- short stories, plays and poetry; figurative language and poetry; library and study skills; research and writing in the computer lab, including use of the Internet.

Tenth Grade

English 2 - a course designed to continue the 9th grade curriculum, including narrative writing, introduction to Shakespeare, newspaper study- news articles, features, editorials, creation of newsletters, vocabulary development including synonyms and antonyms; research and writing in the computer lab, including use of the Internet.

Eleventh Grade

English 3 - A course continuing the 10th grade curriculum, and including an introduction to research via a short major paper; how to write letters to colleges; pervasive writing; vocabulary development including analogies; research and writing in the computer lab, including use of the Internet.

Twelfth Grade

English 4- A course teaching the 11th grade curriculum, and in addition includes a major research paper including extensive use of the Internet as a research tool.

History

Social Science

The course is divided into two parts. The first half of the year is devoted to the study of US Government and the Constitution. Students learn what it means to be a useful and sharing member of society, knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and an appreciation of freedom. In the second half of the school year students study economics. Students studies economic systems, supply and demand, monetary and fiscal policy, the role of the consumer, labor, business and government in the economy.

American History

Examining American History from the Revolutionary period through to the present. The goal of the course is to have students appreciate the historical struggle and accomplishments of the American people in building a democratic society.

World History

A survey course in which students investigate the accomplishments of ancient and classical civilizations, the Middle Ages, renaissance, and the modern industrial age.

Street Law

Street law is an 11th grade elective course. The objective of this course is to provide practical information and problem solving opportunities that develop knowledge and skills required in society. Subject matter includes current law related public issues (gangs, guns) and alternative forms of conflict resolution.

Mathematics

Ninth Grade

Algebra 1 - topics range from order of operations, expressions, with variables, distributive properties, combining like terms, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of integers, evaluate algebraic expressions, solving equations, word problem solving, inequalities, polynomials, factoring, quadratics equations and graphing.

Tenth Grade

Geometry- a course designed to study geometric figures in a plane. This would include lines, angles and polygons, circles and arcs, area and perimeter, congruent and similar figures, and the Pythagorean Theorem.

Eleventh Grade

Algebra 2- a course designed to introduce students to real numbers, equations, inequalities, polynomials, factoring, rational expressions, irrational and complex numbers, quadratics, matrices and determinants.

Twelfth Grade

Elementary Functions- a study of the elementary functions (power functions, polynomials, rational, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric) with an emphasis on their behavior and applications. Some analytic geometry and elements of the calculus as well as the application of matrices to the solution of linear systems is also included.

Science

Ninth Grade

Active Physics- an introductory physics course that studies matter and energy. Basic principles of physics are explained. An understanding of physical laws and their relationship to everyday events will be stressed.

Tenth and Eleventh Grades=

Biology - (10th and 11th) - develops an understanding of living things. Topics include the chemistry of life, cell structure and genetics, thermal, and behavior of fluids.

Chemistry - (11th) - a course that teaches the composition and structure of matter.

Twelfth Grade

Environmental Science- a course teaching environmental concepts and how they affect the sustainability of ecosystems. Using laboratory lessons, students will understand how man and his environment interact in the biosphere. Physics- a conceptual and problem solving course designed to teach the basic relationships between matter and energy. Through the use of laboratory experiences, students will come to learn and understand the physical laws that govern the universe.

Student activities

Sports

The sports that are active at Randolph are baseball, football (which is shared with Dobbins), and basketball.

Student Government

Randolph Student Government Association is an organization that provides social and community activities for the student body during the school year. The officers and student representatives from each homeroom spend time learning about governmental practices and responsibilities. The members of the Student Government meet with the principal once a month to discuss school matters and student concerns.

Students are encouraged to participate in school activities by awarding honor points for all grades, attendance, activities, club memberships, and sport teams. Honor points are accumulated over the four year high school period. During an awards assembly held in June, students are given certificates, pins, trophies, and medals based on the number of honor points they have. Seniors look forward to wearing these medals at graduation.

Legacy

The Legacy Program is a non-profit organization sponsored by Delaware Valley College through a United States federal grant: TRJO. Legacy provides workshops, tutorials, field trips and individual counseling to students designed to address the following: academic enrichment; college/career preparation; ethnic identity and cultural diversity; and leadership development. Legacy has provided workshops, lectures and trips to over 500 students since its inception at Dobbins/Randolph Area Vocational Technical School in 1994. Trips have included visits to local colleges and universities and New York television shows: "Montel Williams", "Forgive or Forget", "Queen Latifah" and "Peoples Court".

Peggie Johnson

Randolph have lost their principal, Principal Peggie G. Johnson. She died at age 62, on October 30, 2010, of brain cancer at the medical facility of Brittany Pointe Estates, the retirement community in Upper Gwynedd, near Lansdale. Mrs. Johnson, a Philadelphia teacher and school administrator for four decades, had lived in Chalfont since 1978. Her husband, Warren, said she was the principal at Randolph Technical High School, 3101 Henry Ave., for the last seven years, before illness prevented her from returning for this academic year.

The teachers and students remembered her by having a memorial at the school in her remembrance Those present were her husband, friends, Commissioner Ayers of the Philadelphia Fire Department, alumni of the school, and students.

Principal Johnson was laid to rest on Saturday, Nov. 13 2010 at Whitemarsh Cemetery.

References

• http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/randolph/A_P_Randolph.html