Our Mission & History

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide a rigorous academic learning environment that fosters lifelong learners who are committed to being knowledgeable, caring and internationally-minded citizens.

The IB Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Our History

Our school is named after three individuals with significant roles in the history of education in Philadelphia

Joseph E. Hill was born in Philadelphia in the summer of 1855. He graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth in June of 1873.  Most of his life was spent as an instructor in the Institute, which became Cheyney State Teachers’ College. He was most noted by his contemporaries as being an outstanding teacher and a tireless worker.  In 1881, he and seven others organized the Amphion Society, a colored male choral association that achieved much prominence at the time. He died of pneumonia on January 18, 1892.

Samson L. Freedman was a teacher who dedicated his life to improving relations between people. He was the force behind establishing the District Six Human Relations Teachers Group.  He was a prime mover in the acceptance of the P.F.T. to help teachers gain more recognition.  He worked with the NAACP Northwest Branch, and was a President of the Greater West Oak Lane Coordinating Council, an umbrella group of neighborhood civil groups. After his term was completed, he started a northwest neighbors group to help stabilize a changing neighborhood population shift. He was a leader in his synagogue and lived his beliefs.

Morris E. Leeds was an electrical engineer known for inventions in the fields of electrical measuring devices and controls. He was a graduate of Haverford College and the University of Berlin, and he founded Leeds & Northrup Co, a Philadelphia electrical instrument manufacturer.  He was inducted into the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Academy of Political and Social Sciences.