Message from the Mayor

Welcome to the Harrisburg Public School Foundation website.

Once considered one of the worst public school systems in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg’s school district is making remarkable headway in its efforts to reform and improve the quality of public education for children and young adults.

These efforts have profound implications. They not only aim at creating a bright and promising future for city youth, but to also prepare a skilled and available workforce to meet the challenges of the 21st Century economy. Success in these endeavors embrace the critical public policy goals of our nation, state and region.

The Harrisburg School District of today is far different than that of six years ago. Hope and pride have now replaced the despair and embarrassment that once plagued our public school system. The first enrollment gains in decades have now occurred, and dramatic increases in the graduation rates, the numbers of students going on to higher education, and rising state test scores have all been realized. Additionally, the numbers of students dropping out, getting pregnant, flunking grades or classes or exhibiting delinquent behavior are declining at double digit rates. All of these indicators bode well for the future of public education in Pennsylvania’s Capital City, and there are many deserving of thanks for this good effort.

Through the establishment of our new early education programs, which brings structured pre-school and kindergarten to children as young as 3 years old, and the start-up of the new Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, as well as our District-wide reform efforts, we are creating a comprehensive system of public education in Harrisburg that provides service and learning to citizens from near infancy to adult age post-graduate university level. No city in America is doing this.

Though substantial gains are being realized in this historic effort,
our success is not guaranteed. The single biggest challenge we face is securing the necessary funding to accomplish all that needs to be done. Unfortunately state funding allocations have remained essentially static, and an already over-burdened tax base is unable to absorb any major increases in an antiquated property tax system that has been our state’s Achilles Heel for generations.

For these and many other reasons the Harrisburg Public School Foundation was established to assist in securing the necessary resources to both continue the current work as well as expand the scope and capacity of urban schools. Through the Foundation, organizations, businesses and individuals can directly participate in or contribute to the historic work now underway, and receive the additional benefit of tax credits and deductions under state and federal charitable laws.

We urge you to seriously consider joining us as a partner in the historic effort to reform public education in Pennsylvania’s Capital City. The Harrisburg Public School Foundation stands ready to assist you in this effort, and the entire City of Harrisburg thanks you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen R. Reed
Mayor