Upper St. Clair High School

Upper St. Clair High School (USCHS) is a public school in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, USA, serving students in grades 9–12. The school is part of the Upper St. Clair School District. USCHS is one of three secondary schools in Pennsylvania to be recognized as a Blue Ribbon School three times (in 1984, 1989, and 2000).^[2]

History

Upper St. Clair High School was established in 1957, with the creation of a tenth grade class. Prior to 1957, Upper St. Clair students completing the ninth grade at Ft. Couch School were then enrolled as transfer students at neighboring high schools, primarily Mt. Lebanon, with Upper St. Clair Township paying their tuition as out-of-jurisdiction students. When Mt. Lebanon High School, due to crowded conditions, decided to no longer accept Upper St. Clair students, the Upper St. Clair School Board voted to create a high school. Dr. Carl Streams was recruited from Mt. Lebanon to become the new Supervising Principal, and he in turn recruited a high school faculty. One grade was added to Ft. Couch School each year from 1957 through September 1959, when the first high school senior class was enrolled. The inaugural class graduated in June 1960, and numbered 74 students, with most continuing on to college. The Class of 1960 created many of the traditions and artifacts for the high school, including the school colors, alma mater, mascot, yearbook, and school newspaper.

Concurrently, a new high school building was constructed at the northwest corner of the intersection of McLaughlin Run and Washington Roads, where formerly the Clifton School had been located. The Class of 1962 graduated from this new building, although they had not attended classes there. With the completion of a new high school building, Ft. Couch School reverted to its earlier status as a junior high school, then a middle school.

During Dr. William Pope's tenure as district superintendent, Upper St. Clair High School was substantially remodeled in 2000. The renovations included replacements of much of the school's aging building; the mechanical systems; and allowed for many technological advancements such as widespread Internet access. The renovations improved the facilities, allowing for a professional-sized theater, two full-sized gymnasiums, a weight room, and a racquetball court. Academic facilities were also improved with a 12,500-square-foot (1,160 m²) library at the center of the academic wing. The library was dedicated to Dr. Pope in 2003 upon his retirement.

In the late 18th century, Higbee School, a one-room log cabin, was the first known school in the area and was located on the northeast border of present Upper St. Clair. This was the first school west of the Alleghenies.^[3]

Academics

A typical school day at Upper St. Clair High School runs from 7:40 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., and is divided into 16 25-minute modules, or "mods", plus a 10-minute "homeroom" period at the start of the day.^[4] Generally, two mods corresponds to one "credit." Most courses are worth two credits and meet for ten mods a week.The school requires students to complete 45 credits to graduate. Of these, 28 credits must be in academic courses, including English (four years), mathematics (three years), science (three years), social studies (three years), and courses in the arts and/or humanities (two years).^[1][5]

USCHS students may choose to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) courses to experience college-level academics and potentially earn college credit for passing AP exams. A 2009 report found that 62.9% of 12th graders enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement (AP) course, with 88.9% of those students passing at least one AP exam.^[6]

The school also offers an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. A 2009 report found that 21.7% of 12th graders had taken and passed at least one IB test. Among participants in the IB program, 84.6% passed at least one IB test. Of the entire 12th grade class surveyed, 3.3% earned an IB diploma.^[6]

In the Class of 2006, 96.8% of USCHS's graduating seniors took the SAT, and the mean scores were 621 out of 800 for the verbal component and 613 out of 800 for the mathematics component. Forty-four percent of graduating seniors took the ACT, and the mean composite score was 28.9 out of 36.^[1] In the Class of 2008, 15 students were National Merit Scholarship Program semi-finalists and finalists, and 15 students were commended.^[7]

A survey of seniors in the Class of 2005 found that 98.9% planned to attend a four-year college or university following graduation.^[1]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Upper St. Clair High School competes in the PIAA's District 7, commonly referred to as the WPIAL. WPIAL-affiliated sports at USCHS include baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, rifle, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling. Non-WPIAL sports include cheerleading, crew, fencing, and ice hockey.^[8] Club teams are usually called the Upper St. Clair Panthers, with the mascot being the black panther.

Athletic facilities at USCHS include two gyms, an indoor swimming pool, a football stadium, and a track.

The 1989 football team won the WPIAL Quad A Championship and the PA Quad A State Championship, finished with a 15–0 record and No. 4 final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.

The 2004 soccer team won the PIAA State Championship for the second year running, finishing with an undefeated 27 – 0 record, and was ranked #1 Nationally by the NCSAA.

The 2006 football team won the WPIAL QUAD A Championship and the PA Quad A State Championship, finishing with an undefeated 16 – 0 record, and were ranked in the top-ten nationally, in several polls.

Upper St. Clair High School maintains a heated rivalry with Mount Lebanon High School, right down the street.

PIAA Team Championships

WPIAL Team Championships

Music

The USCHS music program has three components: (1) choral courses, (2) instrumental courses, and (3) extra-curricular activities. The focus of courses is on performance rather than music theory or history.^[10]

Choral courses include Men's Ensemble, Women's choir, Clarion Choir and Pantheon Choir, and can be elective or selective. Extra-curricular vocal ensembles may include Chanteclairs, Show or Jazz Choir, Triple Trio and Barbershop groups, depending on student interest. Instrumental courses offerings include string and full orchestra, concert band, and jazz band.^[10]

The two most popular student activities sponsored by USCHS are the marching band and the spring musical. The Panther Marching Band holds a two-week training program during the summer to help students prepare for football half-time performances and festivals. In addition, it rehearses after school during the first nine weeks of the school year. The band makes at least one trip each spring to perform at a major festival.^[10]

Each March, USCHS students perform a Broadway musical. The musical is a community event, involving 30–40 student managers, 250 students in cast and supporting crew roles, an adult staff of 40 musical specialists, and a group of 100 adult volunteers called Theatre Angels. Students participate in a wide variety of capacities, including directing, acting, dancing, costume design, set construction, lighting, publicity, and playing in the pit orchestra. Recent musicals performed are 42nd Street (2009), Brigadoon (2010), The Music Man (2011), and South Pacific (2012).^[10]

Arts

The St. Clarion is the school's student newspaper. It usually produces four issues annually as well as a senior magazine issue. The paper is made during both journalism classes and by student volunteers. The paper writes on both world and campus news, detailing many events from sports to school policy changes. The paper is funded by community advertisers as well as student fund-raising.

The Montage is the school's literary arts magazine produced by the student body. The Montage produces one issue per year, selling copies to the student body in May. The magazine publishes original poems, short stories, personal essays, artwork, photography, and musical compositions written by the students. A staff of 15–20 people compiles the submissions into the magazine. As with the St. Clarion, the Montage is funded by both community advertisers and student fund-raising.

The Upper St. Clair Theater, renovated in 1999, hosts a fall play and spring musical every year, with students filling most of the cast and crew roles. It is managed by Aramark.^[11]

Academic teams

The USCHS forensics team competes in the National Forensics League, National Catholic Forensics League (NCFL), and the Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL). USCHS qualified 39 competitors to postseason tournaments in 2012, an all-time high. The team has produced seven PHSSL State Champions.

Also, the school participates in Hometown High-Q, a jeopardy-style quiz bowl game hosted by Pittsburgh's KDKA television station. The team won third place throughout Pittsburgh's eighty-six teams in 2007. Also, the Academic WorldQuest team came third out of fifty-three teams in spring 2009, after having won the previous two years.

Awards and rankings

Upper St. Clair High School is one of three secondary schools in Pennsylvania to have won the Blue Ribbon Award three times; the others being Fort Couch Middle School, which is also located in the Upper St. Clair School District, and neighboring Mt. Lebanon High School (Upper St. Clair's biggest rival).^[2] In 2000, the United States Department of Education recognized USCHS as one of 27 New American High Schools. In 2008, Upper St. Clair High School ranked 216 in Newsweek's list of the 1,300 Top High Schools.^[12] USCHS ranked in the "silver medal" category in U.S. News & World Report's Best High Schools 2009 listing.^[6] In 2012, for the 7th year in a row, Upper St. Clair school district was ranked the #1 best performing school district out of 105 school districts in the 7 county region around Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh Business Times. http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2012/04/06/upper-st-clair-top-school-district-7.html?page=all

International Baccalaureate controversy

An academic controversy during the 2005–2006 school year was the elimination of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Members of the new school board elected in 2005 criticized the program as being too costly, a needless duplication of Advanced Placement, and a proponent of socialist values. In February 2006 the new school board voted 5–4 to phase out the IB program over two years, allowing only current 11th and 12th grade students to complete requirements.^[13] In March 2006, the ACLU filed a lawsuit^[14] and an out-of-court settlement was reached in May 2006 ^[15] with two main stipulations. First, the program was reinstated for a minimum of two years. Second, a nine-month study to determine the value of the IB program was conducted as part of the settlement agreement. The study resulted in a recommendation to retain the IB curriculum.^[16]

Notable alumni

• Sean Casey – First baseman – member, Cincinnati Reds^[17] Hall of Fame
• Stephen Chbosky – author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower^[18]
• Craig Dunaway – former football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers^[19]
• Kim Director – actress^[20]
• Tim Federle – former Broadway dancer and author of "Better Nate Than Ever"
• Kirk Ferentz – University of Iowa head coach^[21]
• Todd Haley – Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator^[22]
• Anthony Jeselnik – comedian^[23]
• Sean Lee – Linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys^[24]
• Jack Maitland – Running back for the Baltimore Colts and New England Patriots^[25]
• Ryan Malone – professional hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning, silver medalist with the 2010 United States Olympic Hockey Team (Malone did not graduate from USC) ^[26]
• Trisha Meili, the "Central Park jogger" – a 28-year-old jogger who was raped and beaten in New York City's Central Park in 1989.^[27]
• Kevin Orie – Third baseman for the Chicago Cubs^[28]
• Dylan Reese – Captain of Harvard Crimson hockey team, seventh-round draft pick by New York Rangers^[29]
• Kevin Slowey – Major League Baseball player, second-round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft^[30]
• Doug Whaley – Assistant General Manager and Director of Pro Personnel for the Buffalo Bills 2010–
• Terry Babcock-Lumish – Professor, economist, and policymaker. Founder & President of Islay Consulting LLC.

References

External links

• Official website
• Upper St. Clair School District
• Upper St. Clair Theater