Original Research by School Decision on Christopher Columbus Cs
Christopher Columbus Charter School serves kindergarten through eighth grade as a single-school district in Philadelphia. The enrollment is small, distributed fairly evenly across the grade span. The student body is diverse across race and ethnicity, with white students making up the largest share, followed by Black, Asian, and Hispanic students in roughly equal proportions. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and English learner status were not available.
The school operates two campuses in South Philadelphia: one for kindergarten through fourth grade and one for grades five through eight. No state assessment results were available for analysis, so it is not possible to characterize the school's academic proficiency or trends. A graduation rate does not apply here because the school serves only through eighth grade.
Among Philadelphia County's districts, the school's chronic absenteeism rate places it in the top quartile, meaning attendance is relatively strong. Per-pupil spending falls in the middle range, lower half among the county's districts.
Publicly reported information indicates the school underwent its charter renewal cycle with the School District of Philadelphia's Charter Schools Office in the 2022-23 school year. At that time, the school also submitted a charter amendment to build an annex to expand its facilities. The terms of charter renewal determine whether the school continues to operate and at what authorized enrollment level, and a facilities expansion affects capacity and class space for current and incoming families. A parent considering enrollment may want to inquire directly with the school about the renewal terms and the timeline for any facility changes.
The same renewal evaluation surfaced compliance concerns. Publicly reported findings indicate that the school was found to have missing child abuse clearances in personnel files. Additionally, an eighth-grade teacher was arrested following an alleged sexual relationship with a student. The School District of Philadelphia renewed the charter despite these findings. These are accountability matters that parents weighing whether to enroll should discuss directly with school leadership and should factor into their decision-making.
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