Fox Chapel Area High School

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Location
Fox Chapel Area High School
611 Field Club Road Pittsburgh, PA 15238 Coordinates: 40.518921° N 79.869039° W USA
Information
School district	Fox Chapel Area School District
Principal	Dr. Ken Williams
Enrollment	1640 ^[1]
Type	Public
Grades	9-12
Athletics	Football, Boys Golf, Girls Golf, Boys Ice Hockey, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Boys Tennis, Girls Tennis, Boys Volleyball, Girls Volleyball, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Boys Swimming & Diving, Girls Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Baseball, Girls Softball, Boys Track & Field, Girls Track & Field, Boys Cross-Country, Girls Cross-Country, Girls Field Hockey, Girls Gymnastics, Girls Lacrosse
Athletics conference	WPIAL AAA(PIAA District 7)
Motto	"Success for ALL Students"
Mascot	The Fox
Color(s)	Red, White, and Black
Homepage	Fox Chapel Area High School

Fox Chapel Area High School (Established in 1961) is a public school in the Fox Chapel borough of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. It was recognized and honored with the title of "New American High School showcase site" in 1999 under the New American High Schools initiative.

1 Mission Statement
2 Current student body
3 Awards
4 Controversy within student body
5 Sharpsburg Walkout
6 Notable alumni
7 2008-2009 Student Council Members
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Mission Statement

“

Our mission is to provide the opportunity for all students to maximize their potential and achieve success. We will actively engage the entire learning community in a rigorous educational program that:

teaches knowledge, skills, and concepts in a variety of academic disciplines;
nurtures individual interests and talents;
inspires intellectual curiosity;
develops integrity and personal responsibility;
encourages a global perspective;
embraces diversity; and
fosters the emotional, social, and physical well-being of each person
in order to prepare citizens capable of improving the world in which they will live.^[2]

”

[edit] Current student body

As of 2006.^[3]

Subset	Number of students	Percent
All	1640	100%
White	1514	92.3%
African American	25	1.5%
Asian	79	4.8%
Hispanic	21	1.3%
American Indian	1	0.1%
Male	840	51.2%
Female	800	48.8%

[edit] Awards

Fox Chapel Area High School has been named a New American High School. It has also been selected as a national Blue Ribbon school and was named one of the Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America. It was named one of the nation’s top public high schools for 2003 by Newsweek magazine, received the state and national Drug-Free Schools and Communities Prevention Recognition Award, and was one of 63 schools in the nation cited by Redbook magazine for “Overall Excellence.” Exceptional Parent Magazine recognized the high school with its Education Award for its “programs that illustrate quality education for all children” and the high school was also featured as one “of the area’s best schools” in Pittsburgh Magazine.

[edit] Controversy within student body

While remaining a highly regarded school for its academic achievements, Fox Chapel Area High School has had an arduous struggle between its varying students. The Fox Chapel School District is made up of six different municipalities, each with differing levels of socio-economic status. Furthermore, Fox Chapel has a strong athletic and conservative social infrastructure. This has made relationships difficult between popular students and those who struggle to conform, and has led to numerous challenges between upper class and lower class students.

[edit] Sharpsburg Walkout

On October 19, 2007, a selected handful of Fox Chapel students carried forth the yearly tradition of "Fresh Friday," a pre-Halloween practice where students dress fresh in order to bring excitment to the monotonous school days. Costumes included baggy clothing, metal chains, fake piercings, bandanas, and "rat 'staches" drawn on the face. "Thug jugs" (pints of iced tea from the high school cafeteria, with holes punched through the top of the lids, which were popular among certain Sharpsburg students) were also carried with the outfits. Participating members would walk around school for the day displaying "gangsterism".

A select group of Sharpsburg students viewed this as an act of mocking and stereotyping. Concerned, they expressed their feelings by organizing a walkout during school hours. The administration took immediate and firm action in dealing with this issue, delivering disciplinary punishments as school policies mandated. While most of the students from Sharpsburg and other areas participated in this event, most were not truly concerned and viewed the walkout as something fun to do to get out of class and draw attention. Many decided to disrupt ongoing classes by banging on classroom windows and sticking crudely constructed SBG signs with wads of chewing gum and other adhesive agents. Despite efforts by Dr. Williams and other members of the administration to convince walking members to return to the building, many refused and continued marching. Eventually, Pittsburgh radio station KDKA came to FCAHS (informed of the event by a student-sent email), and interviewed various Sharpsburg protestors.

"We come here to get an education, not to get picked on."

Police cars were on the scene, and the protest did not escalate into violence. However, the administration has implemented school programs of UNITY and such in an attempt to bridge this gap in the student body.

[edit] Notable alumni

Bill Thomas, Ice hockey player for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Eddie Ifft, stand-up comedian.
Beth Ostrosky, The fiancée of Howard Stern.
David Newell, Mr. McFeely from Mister Roger's Neighborhood.^{[citation needed]}
Chad Killian, Fullback, Maryland, recently signed to the San Diego Chargers ^[4]