The Friends Select Upper School currently comprises the 2nd floor of the Parkway building and the relatively new STEAM building. However, there is a new plan to move the Friends Select Upper School. The new 27,000 square foot space, Three Parkway, will be on the 2nd and 3rd floor of the building directly next door at 1601 Cherry Street.
The plan is for the 2nd floor of this new space to consist of 10 new upper school classrooms, many with views of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. There will also be an additional STEAM room and a multipurpose room. On the 3rd floor, there will be offices for faculty and staff with direct access to the rooftop. Additional bathrooms will be added for athletic use.
The space in the current Parkway building that is used by the upper school will become part of the middle school. There will also be spaces for lower school instructional specialists. Additional music rooms and practice spaces will be added to the Parkway building for students of all divisions, allowing the theater to be reserved for larger events. The Middle and Upper School library will remain where it is, but there will be a hallway that will connect it to Three Parkway.
Chris Singler, the Director of Upper School, explains, “the main goal for the project is to make sure there is enough space for middle and high school with rising enrollment.” Over the past 10 years, enrollment has increased from 533 students in the 2014-2015 school year to 663 students in the 2024-2025 school year, an increase of 130 students. This increase highlights the need for more classroom space and resources to accommodate the growing student body and to ensure that there is room for the school to grow in the future.
Construction is underway, with projected completion by August 1st.
