In West Kensington, one of Philadelphia’s most economically challenged neighborhoods, high schools are rebuilding the path to graduation by embedding support directly inside classrooms. More than a quarter of West Kensington adults lack a high school diploma, and a 2025 Pew Research report found the neighborhood’s median income is among the lowest in the city, while its share of adults without diplomas is twice the Philadelphia average. Those conditions form the backdrop for a local strategy that pairs academics with daily, personalized guidance.
At Kensington High School, the four-year graduation rate climbed from 63 percent in 2017 to 72 percent in 2023. Nearby Kensington Health Sciences Academy rose from 71 percent to 83 percent over the same period, while Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School declined from 76 percent to 72 percent. District officials caution that Pennsylvania’s revised graduation requirements — which now create multiple pathways to a diploma — make it difficult to separate policy effects from school-level interventions.
For many students, school runs alongside urgent family responsibilities. Jeán Ruiz, now 24, lived in affordable housing with their single mother and worked odd jobs during high school to help pay rent, often at the expense of coursework. They recalled trying to focus on 12th-grade calculus while carrying financial pressure at home. Superintendent Tony Watlington framed those stakes during his State of the Schools address: “Graduating from high school is a life or death issue.”
Inside schools, nonprofit partners now fill gaps that traditional counseling structures cannot. The organization 12+ first embedded advisers at Kensington Health Sciences Academy in 2012 and later expanded to other neighborhood schools. At Kensington High School, seniors averaged 32 check-ins with 12+ advisers in 2024, far beyond what guidance counselors can provide when each is responsible for more than 200 students.
Guidance counselor Liz Winter handles basic graduation requirements, credit tracking, and scheduling, but refers students to 12+ when attendance problems emerge or when seniors lack clear plans after graduation. Many initially say they want immediate employment without understanding career options or credential requirements. 12+ advisers respond by mapping concrete next steps: college applications, trade apprenticeships, workforce certificates, FAFSA completion, resumes, and merit scholarships. The program also keeps an open-door policy so students can seek help without appointments.
Frank Wang, chief of staff for 12+, said that once students understand what a diploma unlocks, “going to school all of a sudden becomes way more incentivized.” He added that across participating schools, higher attendance closely tracks rising graduation rates.
Students describe motivation as coming from both home and school. Tenth grader Amiyah Acosta-Peterson at Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School said her family pushes her toward her goal of becoming a doctor, reinforcing why grades matter while teachers echo that message at school. She also said that seeing open-air drug use on her daily route makes some classmates feel that school is pointless.
Ruiz credits teachers and mentors at Taller Puertoriqueño, a Puerto Rican cultural center in Kensington, with keeping them on track to graduate. They now lead an after-school STEAM program there for neighborhood children.
Across Kensington, schools increasingly rely on embedded advisers to bridge information gaps for students who may have family support but lack access to professional networks or knowledge about postsecondary systems. Education researchers cited by district leaders link high school completion to higher earnings, more stable employment, and better long-term health outcomes.
