Independence Charter School

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Independence Charter School Independence Charter School Independence Charter School (ICS) is a community-oriented public K-8 charter school located in Center City Philadelphia.

At Independence Charter we provide our students with an intellectually stimulating and internationally focused environment emphasizing the arts, languages and world cultures. Recognized nationally for our innovative global studies program, we are the only Philadelphia school to deliver an integrated curriculum that uses world cultures and second language acquisition to introduce and connect content disciplines. One of our ultimate goals is to develop a bilingual, interculturally-competent and high achieving student body. All students at ICS study Spanish within two distinct programs: the Spanish Enhanced program, which includes 30-40 minutes of Spanish daily; or the Spanish Immersion program, in which students begin in Kindergarten with a 90% Spanish and 10% English infusion. By fifth grade that balance is 50/50. Middle school students are also introduced to Arabic with sixth graders receiving one hour of weekly instruction (which increases to two hours in the seventh grade) while continuing their Spanish studies. By the time they graduate, all ICS graduates are bilingual and biliterate in Spanish and have introductory knowledge and skills in Arabic. Independence Charter serves over 800 students from almost every zip code in Philadelphia. Students are randomly chosen through an annual blind lottery. Independence Charter was founded in 2001 by a group of parents and community members devoted to raising their families in Philadelphia. These founding members developed ICS’s mission and program, and many remain instrumental today as parents of current students and in founder seats on our Board of Trustees.

There’s nothing like diving into a new book! Thank you ICS PTA and all the parent volunteers who helped unpack, set-up, ...
10/24/2026

There’s nothing like diving into a new book! Thank you ICS PTA and all the parent volunteers who helped unpack, set-up, stock shelves, guide students, worked the register and pack-up. What A Week!

Rounding out the week with smart thoughts from young minds.
10/23/2026

Rounding out the week with smart thoughts from young minds.

Unity Day partnered with a colorful Fall day makes for a lovely (early dismissal) Wednesday! 🧡
10/21/2026

Unity Day partnered with a colorful Fall day makes for a lovely (early dismissal) Wednesday! 🧡

Twas an excellent day for the Fall Fest! Thanks for jumping, eating, shopping, crocheting, painting, laughing, climbing,...
10/18/2026

Twas an excellent day for the Fall Fest! Thanks for jumping, eating, shopping, crocheting, painting, laughing, climbing, chatting and enjoying! Shoutout to our unrivaled ICS PTA and the volunteers that made it possible! Big thank you to “Skeleton”, “Urban Lily”, “Pizza Mom”, “Banksy”, “Book Man” and “The Chairman” for pulling it all together. If you left your pumpkins on Saturday to dry, you can find them in the front office, this week only.

Fall Fest Is Coming…Fall Fest Is Coming! You know what that means…Red Stone Pizza, Face Painting, Pumpkin Craft, Games, ...
10/14/2026

Fall Fest Is Coming…Fall Fest Is Coming! You know what that means…Red Stone Pizza, Face Painting, Pumpkin Craft, Games, Bounce House, Playground Fun, ICS Swag for sale…and so much more! Weather looks autumnal 🤞 - “sweatah weatha”! Visit the PTA link in the bio to register for Fall Fest (so we have enough food), volunteer and brush up on Book Fair details (like eWallet and when your child’s class is visiting).

While the first day back after a long weekend has particular feels, we fondly remember our mug exchange during Professio...
10/13/2026

While the first day back after a long weekend has particular feels, we fondly remember our mug exchange during Professional Development day and our Halal lunch.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month both inside and outside ICS. Applauding our artists and dancers…today and a...
10/01/2026

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month both inside and outside ICS. Applauding our artists and dancers…today and always! Celebrando el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, tanto dentro como fuera de ICS. ¡Aplaudimos a nuestros artistas y bailarines... hoy y siempre!

Building. Taste testing plantains. Learning. Painting. Cheering. Students Running. “Misplacing”. Gotta ❤️ September and ...
09/19/2026

Building. Taste testing plantains. Learning. Painting. Cheering. Students Running. “Misplacing”. Gotta ❤️ September and all those back to school feels!

We are getting into our September routines: morning meetings, fire drills, reviewing expectations, building classroom co...
09/04/2026

We are getting into our September routines: morning meetings, fire drills, reviewing expectations, building classroom communities and back to school nights! No running in the hall, parents!

ICS PTA’s Welcome Back Party at The Boathouse at FDR park; advice to new families from current students & families.
08/28/2026

ICS PTA’s Welcome Back Party at The Boathouse at FDR park; advice to new families from current students & families.

Address

1600 Lombard Street
Philadelphia, PA
19146

Opening Hours

Monday 7:45am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 7:45am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 7:45am - 5:30pm
Thursday 7:45am - 5:30pm
Friday 7:45am - 5:30pm

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