- Conestoga High School
-
Conestoga High School 
Established 1954 Type Public secondary school Principal Amy Meisinger Students 2,024 (2011) Grades 9-12 Location 200 Irish Road,
Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, USAColors Garnet and Gray Mascot The Pioneer aka Craig Harold Schneck Yearbook The Pioneer Newspaper The Spoke Website www.tesd.k12.pa.us/stoga/,[7] 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 located 20.006 miles northwest of Philadelphia in the suburbs known as the Main Line. Currently ranked as a Silver Medal School by U.S. News & World Report,[2] Conestoga offers more Advanced Placement (AP) classes and boasts more National Merit Semifinalists (37 from Class of 2010) than any other school in the state, public or private.[citation needed] Last year,[clarification needed] students took 1,148 AP tests in total, of which 93% were passed with a 3 or higher. The average SAT score for the Class of 2008 was 594 in math, 580 in reading and 579 in writing.
Contents
College and university matriculation
96% of Conestoga graduates advance to colleges and universities; 93% of them to four-year colleges and universities. The graduating Class of 2009 sent one or more students to Harvard University, Yale University, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, Boston University, Boston College, Georgetown University, University of Richmond, New York University, Syracuse University, University of Notre Dame du Lac, Carnegie Mellon University, Villanova University, and Emory 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.[3]
Departments
Conestoga High School in 2006
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 Math, 3.5 in Social Studies, 3 in Science, and 1 in 2 of the special areas (Wellness/Fitness, Visual/Performing Arts, or Business/Technology).
Distinctions and honors
In the past, Newsweek magazine has rated Conestoga High School highly in its annual ranking of public high schools, although Conestoga is not included in Newsweek's rankings for 2011.[4] Conestoga was ranked 312th (3rd in Pennsylvania) in 2008, 301st (3rd in Pennsylvania) in 2007, 170th (1st in Pennsylvania) in 2006,[5] 195th in 2005,[6] and 197th in 2003.[7]
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 79th of America's Gold Medal High Schools in 2007.[8] In 2011, Conestoga was ranked as a Silver Medal School.[9]
The US Department of Education has acknowledged Conestoga as a Recognized School of Excellence.[citation needed]
SAT
In 2008, Conestoga seniors performed at least 75 points above the national average in every section of the SAT:[3]
Test Type National Average Conestoga Reading 502 580 Math 515 594 Writing 494 579 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.[3]
Advanced Placement Program
In May 2008, 573 Conestoga students, or 30% of the student body, took 1103 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. A score of 3 or higher was earned on 95% of the tests. AP courses offered at Conestoga are listed under Curriculum. This school year, the College Board will recognize 268 of these students as a Scholar, Scholar with Honor, Scholar with Distinction, State Scholar, or National Scholar.[3]
The Siemens Foundation for Advanced Placement has honored Conestoga twice with the 2006-07 High School Award and 2005-06 Student Award. This program highlights exceptional achievement in science, math, and technology.[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.[3]
Test Type State Conestoga Reading 1470 1680 Math 1360 1600 Writing 1340 1600 Stoganews.com
Conestoga is home to one of the only student-produced daily updated news Web site on the Main Line, Stoganews.com. It is produced by the staff of The Spoke. Stoganews.com was recently named one of the best high school newspaper Web sites in the country by Columbia University.[12]
Extracurricular activities
Athletic Teams
Conestoga competes in 17 different sporting events generally within the Central League.[13]
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
Winter
- Ice Hockey
- Squash
Spring
- Crew
- Rugby
- Ultimate Frisbee
Notable alumni
- Elizabeth Hoffman - CHS '64. Executive vice-president, Iowa State University, president emerita, University of Colorado System.
- Craig Lucas - CHS '69. Tony-award nominated American playwright, has written a number of plays, including Reckless which Conestoga performed in 2006.[14]
- Greg Osberg - CHS '75. President & CEO of Philadelphia Newspapers (owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer, & Philadelphia Daily News). Former president of Newsweek.
- Grant Shaud - CHS '79. Played Miles Silverberg on Murphy Brown.[15]
- Todd Glass - CHS '82. Comedian, Actor. A comedian since High School, Todd appeared as a contestant on the 2nd and 3rd seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing and has appeared regularly on programs such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Sarah Silverman Program, and had his own Comedy Central Presents special. His acting credits include TV Shows such as "Friends", "Home Improvement", and "Married with Children". His recent film credits include Marmaduke (voice) and Be My Baby.[16]
- Jennie Eisenhower - CHS '96. Actress, granddaughter of Richard Nixon and great-granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower - has directed the fall dramas and spring musicals at Conestoga in past years.[17]
- David Bush - CHS '98. Starting/Relief Pitcher for the Texas Rangers.[18] Signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in August 2011. [19]
- 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.[20]
- 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, Herzlich was the awarded the second-ever Honorary Lott Trophy.[21][22][23] In 2011, Herzlich signed with the New York Giants as a free agent.[24]
References
- ^ "Tredyffrin township, Chester County, Pennsylvania." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 26, 2009.
- ^ "Best High Schools". U.S. News & World Report. http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-high-schools/listings/pennsylvania/conestoga-high-school. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e http://www.tesd.k12.pa.us/stoga/profile.pdf
- ^ "America's Best High Schools". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2011/americas-best-high-schools.html. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ 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
- ^ "Gold Medal Schools". U.S. News & World Report. http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2007/11/29/gold-medal-schools.
- ^ "Best High Schools". U.S. News & World Report. http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-high-schools/listings/pennsylvania/conestoga-high-school. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ 2006 Siemens Awards for AP Winners
- ^ 2007 Siemens Awards for AP Winners
- ^ Columbia Scholastic Press Association: CSPA Announces 2009 Online Newspaper Crown Finalists
- ^ Conestoga High School PIAA
- ^ The Suburban and Wayne Times - Conestoga play unexpectedly leads to the playwright - in the yearbook
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ MainLineLife.com
- ^ ESPN - Dave Bush Stats, News, Photos - Texas Rangers - MLB Baseball
- ^ http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110814&content_id=23201390&vkey=news_phi&c_id=phi
- ^ CSTV.com: #1 in College Sports
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
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
- Conestoga Volleyball
Coordinates: 40°02′50″N 75°27′12″W / 40.04716°N 75.45332°W
Conestoga · Garnet Valley · Harriton · Haverford · Lower Merion · Marple Newtown · Penncrest · Radnor · Ridley · Springfield · Strath Haven · Upper DarbyCategories:- Pennsylvania Main Line
- High schools in Pennsylvania
- Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union
- Educational institutions established in 1955
- Schools in Chester County, Pennsylvania
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