Conestoga High School
Conestoga High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
200 Irish Road Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania United States |
|
Information | |
Type | Public secondary school |
Established | 1954 |
Principal | Amy Meisinger |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 2,060 (2014-2015) |
Color(s) | Garnet and Gray |
Mascot | The Pioneer |
Yearbook | The Pioneer |
Website | www.tesd.net/stoga/ |
Conestoga High School, located in Tredyffrin Township,[1] Pennsylvania, United States, is the only secondary school in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District.
Conestoga, nicknamed "Stoga," is 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Philadelphia in the suburbs known as the Main Line. In the 2015 edition of Newsweek's "America's Top High Schools," Conestoga High School was ranked 51st in the nation and the highest ranked high school in Pennsylvania.[2] For the 2012–2013 school year the school was ranked as a Gold Medal School by U.S. News & World Report, ranked number 313 nationally.[3] The average SAT score for the Class of 2014 was 607 in mathematics, 598 in reading and 590 in writing.
Contents
College and university matriculation
97% of Conestoga graduates advance to colleges and universities, 92% of them to four-year colleges and universities. Graduating classes from 2009 to 2014 sent one or more students to each of the Ivy League colleges, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, The California Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University. The most popular university choice for Conestoga students is Pennsylvania State University. The second most popular choice is the University of Pittsburgh. Fifty-two percent of Conestoga students leave Pennsylvania to attend colleges and universities, and more than 52% attend private institutions after graduation.[4]
Departments
Conestoga has eight academic departments: Business/Technology, English, World Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, and Wellness/Fitness/Family & Consumer Science. Students must earn 24 credits in order to graduate. 1 credit is equivalent to a year-long class, which meets every day for 43 minutes. Thus, the seven periods at Conestoga are 43 minutes in length, but the 8th period meets for 44 minutes, so that Conestoga’s school day can be precisely 7 hours long (7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.). Students must earn 4 credits in English, 2 in languages, 3 in mathematics and 3 in science. The classes of 2013 and 2014 must also get 3.5 credits in Social Studies and 1 in 2 of the special areas (Wellness/Fitness, Visual/Performing Arts, or Business/Technology), and the classes of 2015 and beyond must get 3 credits in Social Studies and 2 in all 3 of the special areas. In each department there is a wide variety of classes that a student can take.
Distinctions and honors
In 2012 Conestoga was ranked the 180th best high school in the country and 1st in Pennsylvania.[5] Conestoga was ranked 312th (3rd in Pennsylvania) in 2008, 301st (3rd in Pennsylvania) in 2007, 170th (1st in Pennsylvania) in 2006,[6] 195th in 2005,[7] and 197th in 2003.[8]
U.S. News and World Report consistently includes Conestoga High School in their annual list of America's "Best High Schools." U.S. News & World Report ranked Conestoga as a Gold Medal High School, the 313th of America's for 2010–2011.[3]
SAT
The Conestoga Class of 2014 performed at least 94 points above the national average in every section of the SAT:[4]
Test Type | National Average | Conestoga |
---|---|---|
Reading | 497 | 598 |
Math | 513 | 607 |
Writing | 487 | 590 |
National Merit/College Board Recognition
The Conestoga Class of 2009 includes 21 National Merit Semifinalists, 35 National Merit Commended Students, 1 National Achievement Scholar, and 1 National Hispanic Scholar award recipients.[4]
Advanced Placement Program
In May 2008, 573 Conestoga students, or 30% of the student body, took 1,103 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. A score of 3 or higher was earned on 95% of the tests.[4]
The Siemens Foundation for Advanced Placement honored Conestoga thrice, with the 2009 Student Award, 2006–07 High School Award, and 2005–06 Student Award. This program highlights exceptional achievement in science, mathematics, and technology.[9][10][11]
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
Conestoga students consistently perform well on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), which is administered in Reading, Mathematics and Writing to every eleventh grader in public schools throughout the state. The average scaled scores for Conestoga students were among the highest in the state in 2008.[4]
Test Type | State | Conestoga |
---|---|---|
Reading | 1470 | 1680 |
Math | 1360 | 1600 |
Writing | 1340 | 1600 |
Stoganews.com
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Conestoga is home to one of the only student-produced daily updated news Web sites on the Main Line, Stoganews.com. It is produced by the staff of The Spoke and TETV. Stoganews.com has been the recipient of several national awards that have recognized it as one of the best high school news websites in the nation: the Columbia Scholastic Press Association awarded it a Gold Crown in 2009 and a Silver Crown in 2012, and the National Scholastic Press Association named it one of its 2011 Online Pacemaker Finalists.
Extracurricular activities
Dominance in Lacrosse
Conestoga has become a national powerhouse in lacrosse. Conestoga has played in every PIAA State Championship, dating back to its start in the spring of 2009. The Pioneers lost to LaSalle High School in the first-ever state title game in 2009. Since then, Conestoga won three straight state championships, including a 10–7 win against LaSalle in the 2012 PIAA State Championship. After graduating nine Division I players in 2012, the Pioneers lost to LaSalle College High School 13–4 in the 2013 State Championship game.[12]
On March 22, 2012, #3 Conestoga defeated #1 Calvert Hall High School (MD) 11–10 at Calvert Hall [13] The Pioneers then became the top-ranked team in the nation after that game, which they held until losing 12–11 to Garden City.[3] Conestoga currently has former players playing for college powerhouses such as Duke, Loyola, Maryland, Cornell, University of Notre Dame, Georgetown, Ohio State, Delaware and Drexel.
Athletic Teams
Conestoga competes in 17 different sporting events generally within the Central League.[14]
Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Cross Country | Cross Country | Winter | Basketball | Basketball | Spring | Baseball | Softball | ||
Football | Field Hockey | Swimming | Swimming | Lacrosse | Lacrosse | |||||
Golf | Golf | Indoor Track | Indoor Track | Track | Track | |||||
Soccer | Soccer | Wrestling | Cheerleading | Tennis | ||||||
Tennis | ||||||||||
Volleyball | ||||||||||
Cheerleading |
Athletic Clubs
Fall
- Ice Hockey
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Cross Country
- Volleyball
Winter
- Ice Hockey
- Squash
Spring
- Crew
- Rugby (Conestoga boasts the oldest High School Rugby program in the United States – founded in 1971 by Clarence Culpepper who played for and coached the US National Men's Team.)[15]
- Ultimate Frisbee
In 2011, Conestoga became the first school in Pennsylvania history to win three boys state championships in the same season when the boys lacrosse, tennis, and baseball teams all won their respective state titles. Later on that year, the boys soccer team also won states, bringing Conestoga's yearly total to four titles. The boys lacrosse team and boys tennis team continued this into 2012, when the lacrosse team won the championship for the third straight year, and the tennis team won for the second consecutive year.
Notable alumni
- Jennie Eisenhower – CHS '96. Actress, granddaughter of Richard Nixon and great-granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower; directed fall dramas and spring musicals at Conestoga in past years.[16]
- Drew Endy – CHS '88. Bioengineering professor at Stanford; leader in synthetic biology, a founder of the Registry of Standard Biological Parts and helped develop the BioBrick standard.[17]
- Christine Fan – singer and actress.
- Todd Glass – CHS '82. Comedian, actor.[18]
- Mark Herzlich – CHS '06. Boston College linebacker who won his battle with Ewing's sarcoma; before his cancer diagnosis, Herzlich was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as well as a finalist for the Butkus Award. In 2009, was awarded the second-ever Honorary Lott Trophy.[19][20][21] In 2011, signed with the NY Giants as a free agent.[22]
- Elizabeth Hoffman – CHS '64. Executive vice-president, Iowa State University, president emerita, University of Colorado System.
- Abbi Jacobson – CHS '02 co-star and co-creator of Comedy Central television series Broad City.
- Craig Lucas – CHS '69. Tony-award nominated American playwright, has written a number of plays, including Reckless which Conestoga performed in 2006.[23]
- Johanna Schmitt – CHS '70. Distinguished Professor of Evolution and Ecology, UC Davis; Stephen T. Olney Professor of Natural History and Harrison S. Kravis University Professor, Brown University. American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010), National Academy of Sciences (2008), Past President, Society for the Study of Evolution and American Society of Naturalists. PhD, Biology, Stanford University, BA with Distinction, Biology, Swarthmore College.[24]
- Peter Staley – CHS '79. AIDS and LGBT rights activist.
- Blake Wexler – CHS '07. Comedian, writer.[25]
- David Bush – CHS '98. Starting/Relief Pitcher for Philadelphia Phillies since August 2011. Previously with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers.[26][27]
- Brian Chippendale – drummer and vocalist in noise rock bands Lightning Bolt and Mindflayer, as well as an underground comic book artist.
- P.T. Ricci – CHS '05. All-American lacrosse player at Loyola University Maryland and Major League Lacrosse All-Star.
- Grant Shaud – CHS '79. Played Miles Silverberg on Murphy Brown.[28]
- Marquis Weeks – CHS '00. Running Back for the Seattle Seahawks, has gone back and forth from their practice squad to active roster, played in college for the University of Virginia.[29]
References
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External links
- Conestoga's homepage
- T/E School District homepage
- Conestoga Baseball
- Conestoga Girl's Lacrosse
- Conestoga Boy's Soccer
- Conestoga Wrestling
- Conestoga Cross Country and Track and Field
- 'Stoga Music Department
- 'Stoga News
- 'Stoga Yearbook
- Conestoga Volleyball
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- ↑ "Tredyffrin township, Chester County, Pennsylvania." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 26, 2009.
- ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 http://www.tesd.k12.pa.us/stoga/profile.pdf
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The 1,200 Top U.S. Schools – Newsweek America's Best High Schools – MSNBC.com
- ↑ The 1,200 Top U.S. Schools – Newsweek America's Best High Schools – MSNBC.com
- ↑ 2003 List: The Top High Schools – Newsweek America's Best High Schools – MSNBC.com
- ↑ 2006 Siemens Awards for AP Winners
- ↑ 2007 Siemens Awards for AP Winners
- ↑ 2009 Siemens Awards for AP Winners
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- ↑ MainLineLife.com
- ↑ Graduation Year: 1988, Conestoga High School Alumni, accessed January 14, 2013
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- ↑ The Suburban and Wayne Times – Conestoga play unexpectedly leads to the playwright – in the yearbook
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- ↑ [1]
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