# Education: A Look Inside the District's Struggling Schools

 [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200740/IMG_0561-1-e1449452137321.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_0561-1/) 

  Teachers continue to try to keep schools a catalyst for change.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200742/IMG_05551-e1449452104806.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_0555-5/) 

  Empty desks are a rare commodity in the district’s overcrowded schools.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200746/IMG_24863-e1449451590516.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_2486-4/) 

  More students are moving within walking distance of their schools.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200751/IMG_24581.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_2458-2/) 

  At the heart of the financial crisis are officials in the school district headquarters on North Broad Street.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200752/IMG_24812-e1449451763746.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_2481-3/) 

  Facing a heavy financial burden, some in the district look at charter schools as the future.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200755/IMG_24831-e1449451867347.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_2483-2/) 

  On the first day of classes, schools welcomed fewer buses and more students.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200758/IMG_80202.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_8020-4/) 

  ACT/SAT and college prep courses remain on the budget chopping block.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200800/IMG_80272.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_8027-3/) 

  Teachers are doing the best they can with limited resources.  [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/25200801/IMG_80341-e1449451512767.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/img_8034-2/) 

  CAPA High School in South Philadelphia educates the district’s rising artists.  

 --*Text and image by Lora Strum and Ashley Hart*