Rather than just teach carpentry skills, the school taught, and had dedicated space for, subjects such as brick laying, plastering, plumbing, machine building, tailoring, and hairdressing.

[2] The school was named for Edward Bok (1863–1930), a Dutch born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, who edited the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years.

[citation needed] In Summer 2014, Bok was put up for auction by the School District and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC).

Bok offered men's and women's interscholastic sports including: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, track and field, volleyball, badminton, cheerleading, drill, team, and weight training.

Their scores predictably returned to pre-scandal levels once Melton was convicted of cheating on the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment).