August 14, 2026
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Kensington High School students will take classes at Austin Meehan High School this fall due to asbestos concerns that arose when a new HVAC system was being installed at Kensington High, the district says.
Students won't be returning to Kensington High School this fall due to asbestos concerns, the School District of Philadelphia said.
Instead, classes will be held at Austin Meehan Middle School in Mayfair, which closed in 2022, through the end of December. Kensington High is expected to reopen in January.
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A new HVAC system was being installed this summer at Kensington High. During that process, an asbestos inspector "identified a concern about the demolition of the old system," Oz Hill, the district's deputy superintendent of operations, wrote in a letter to the school community on Thursday.
"We know this delay is an unexpected disruption, and we are committed to working with school leaders and families to make this transition as smooth as possible," Hill wrote.
Upon finding the asbestos, work immediately stopped on the HVAC project, Hill said. The district has been working alongside the city's Air Management Services office and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers to thoroughly clean the premises and test the air quality.
In the meantime, the district is preparing the Meehan building for classes. The school is considered a swing space for these kinds of issues. Last year, it housed Thomas Holme Elementary students until their new school building was finished.
Hill said other, closer schools also were considered, but none had the space or accessibility to support Kensington High's 400 students and 90 staffers.
Details about scheduling, transportation and other logistics will be released in the days ahead. The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 24.
Earlier this year, the school board approved a 10-year, $3 billion facilities plan to modernize 169 school buildings and shutter another 17. The decision to close schools drew criticism from community members, public education advocates and City Council members. Those closures are expected to take effect at the end of the academic year. The district will spend the year preparing for the transitions that students will make to other schools at this time next year.
