Gene R. Alessandrini ’55

Gene R. Alessandrini ’55

Temple University: BS – 1958; MS – 1963.

Gene has taught in eight decades. He started as a mathematics teacher at Southern in 1958, was head of the mathematics departments at Germantown and Southern High Schools, and taught computer classes at SPHS Evening School. In 1993, he became an adjunct professor at Camden County College, where he still teaches.

At Southern, Gene sponsored the Student Association and the Class of 1965. He trained many teachers (from Temple, Penn, Penn State, and the Peace Corps), received a $100,000 grant from IBM for a computer lab, helped to create computer classes for many students, and coordinated with Drexel U. to send Southern’s best there for free calculus classes while they were students at Southern; he taught calculus to those students and helped them and others to prepare for the SAT. He created a math team that won competitions in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

As a member of the SPHS Alumni Exec Committee, Gene chaired the Cultural Hall of Fame and Award of Excellence Cmtes, and presented the recipients at annual dinners.

With two classmates, Gene created audio-visual presentations of The Singers of Southern High and The Musicians of Southern High. The singers’ presentation has been requested often and received well in the Philadelphia area.

Gene co-authored books by Dr. Anthony Evangelisto, et al:

South Philadelphia High School: School of the Stars, Amazon, 2021.

The Stars of Southern High: Profiles of former graduates…, Amazon, 2019.

South Philadelphia High School, The Campus History Series, Arcadia Publishing, 2018.

He is the recipient of the SPHS Alumni Award of Excellence, the CCC Teacher Excellence Award, and the CCC Impact Award.

Gene said that he is “rewarded by the successes of thousands of students through 64 years of teaching. Priceless!”