Advocacy for School Choice
Liguori Academy is Philadelphia’s high-impact, student-centered high school that transforms the lives of overlooked learners through School Choice, personalized postsecondary pathways, workforce education, and real-world readiness.
We exist to give students access to what their neighborhoods have long been denied: quality education, safety, stability, and opportunity.
The STOP Principles & Liguori
Innovation is the engine of American progress and nowhere is it more urgently needed than in education. Liguori Academy is honored to be a Yass Prize semifinalist and alumni awardee. The Yass Prize framework’s four pillars (Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless) highlight the people, programs, and policies proving that when innovation meets freedom, students, families, and communities flourish. Liguori Academy not only meets these pillars, but exemplifies them in practice and demonstrates what is possible when innovation, excellence, and access come together.
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Liguori is building a durable model of education that can be maintained and scaled: stable leadership, strong partnerships, and programs that lead to employability and continued learning, not just short-term fixes.
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We are reimagining what’s possible for students who have been written off elsewhere. Transformation at Liguori means:
Turning chronic absenteeism into sustained engagement.
Turning academic gaps into credentials, careers, and confidence.
Turning education deserts into centers of opportunity.
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Liguori strives to be outstanding in outcomes and experience:
Safe, welcoming, dignified environment.
High expectations with high support.
workforce education pathways and real-world learning that stand out in a city with blocked access to workforce education.
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We don’t wait for the system to fix itself. Liguori acts with a permissionless mindset by:
Creating new pathways where none existed.
Partnering directly with families, employers, and community leaders.
Advocating loudly for School Choice as a civil and human right, even when it challenges the status quo.
Liguori Academy Yass Prize Profile
Click below to see the Liguori Academy Yass Prize profile and learn more about the Yass Prize.
Liguori by the Numbers
The Truth About the Communities We Serve
In 19133, 41.2% of residents live below the poverty line.
In West Kensington, 28% of adults did not complete high school (13% citywide).
Violent crime in our students’ communities is 125% higher than the national average; overall crime 263% higher.
And yet, our students show up with hope, resilience, and ambition. They deserve better access and real pathways.
What Liguori Delivers
93% of students report feeling safer at Liguori than at their previous school.
Attendance improves significantly for students who were previously chronically absent.
100% of graduates leave with at least three career certifications.
Signature pathways: Technology, Digital Arts, Allied and Health Sciences, Construction Trades.
Leading Education in Philadelphia
What Sets Liguori Apart
Personalized education, workforce education pathways, extended hours, high expectations, and a culture of dignity and belonging; leading to life-changing outcomes.
What is an Education Desert?
Communities where students have limited or no access to safe, high-quality schools or workforce programs; forcing families into schools that do not meet their needs.
Why Liguori Exists
Because too many young people in Philadelphia live in neighborhoods that have been overlooked for too long. We provide the access, safety, tools, and opportunities they are denied elsewhere.
Proudly Accredited
Become a Part of Our Journey
Ready to become a part of Liguori Academy? Click the links below to see how you can show your support.