The Philadelphia Education Fund’s Scholars Advantage summer program is a stipended academic enrichment program for teens that blends in-class learning and expert led trainings, with targeted college visits and career exposure experiences. In its fifth year under the direction of Madeline Birkner, PEF’s Senior Manager of Persistence, Scholars Advantage aims to broaden the students’ perspectives of what lies beyond their high school – and postsecondary education – years, giving them more tools and confidence to achieve success in college and career.
In 2025, Scholars Advantage enrolled approximately 60 students from a collection of Philadelphia parochial and West Philly public high schools, including Mastery-Shoemaker, West Catholic, Overbrook, and West Philly high schools. Students chose to concentrate learning in either computer science, intro to human anatomy, or an OSHA-10 certification course, each designed and taught by Lindback Award winning teachers, Erik Wiessmann, Galeet Cohen, and Jessica Villanueva-McCollum respectively.
Throughout the 4-week program, which was based out of Temple’s Center City Campus, students attended day trips to colleges and universities, including Haverford College and Villanova University, plus had the unique opportunity to experience overnight stays at Penn College of Technology and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Career exposure is also central to the Scholars Advantage summer program, and Birkner coordinated several engaging job site visits and informative career speakers throughout the summer, including trips to the Comcast Technology Center, The Franklin Institute, and Herr’s Factory. Career presentations and training sessions were conducted by professionals representing organizations and institutions including Jefferson Einstein Health, World Cup PHL, Campus Philly, Gift of Life, and Launchpad Philly, covering topics such as emergency medicine, Stop the Bleed, CPR certification, coding, website design, organ donation, OSHA workplace safety and beyond.
From dissecting sheep brains to building websites and earning safety certifications, these students wrapped their summer with curiosity sparked, a boost of confidence, and a head start on the upcoming school year.
Scholars Advantage is proud, and deeply grateful, to be supported by the Connelly Foundation, the Jeanne and Herbert Hansell Fund, and through state grant funds stewarded by Senator Vincent Hughes’ office.
