Taylor Allderdice High School

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Taylor Allderdice High School
Know something. Do something. Be something.
Location
2409 Shady Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Coordinates: 40.429514° N 79.919379° W
USA
Information
School district Pittsburgh Public Schools
Principal Robert Scherrer
Enrollment

1,625 as of 1-May-2007[1]
Type Public
Grades 9–12
Mascot Dragon
Color(s) Green and White
Established 1927
Representative William Isler
Homepage Taylor Allderdice High School

Taylor Allderdice High School is a public school located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Taylor Allderdice is one of ten high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and it has the largest student population of any school in the district. The school is named for Taylor Allderdice, a former president of the National Tube Company.

Its feeder district includes all or parts of East Hills, Homewood, Hazelwood, Greenfield, Hays, New Homestead, Lincoln Place, Point Breeze, Regent Square, Park Place, Squirrel Hill, and Swisshelm Park. Students from other neighborhoods within Pittsburgh and the borough of Mt. Oliver may also attend Allderdice through the pre-engineering magnet program or through the No Child Left Behind Act.


The school has been consistently recognized as one of the best urban public high schools in America. During the 1994-96 school years, Taylor Allderdice High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[2] the highest award an American school can receive.[3][4]

In 2005, Taylor Allderdice was ranked as tied for 1,062nd place in Newsweek's ranking of America's top high schools[5], in 2006 it was ranked 1,036th[6], and in 2007 it earned the rank of 1,183, the 18th-highest ranked school in Pennsylvania.[7][8]

In 2005, the school was ranked as 148th of 601 high schools in Pennsylvania.[9]

Contents

[edit] Current student body

As of 1 May 2007[1]

Subset Number of students Percent
All 1,625 100%
White 913 73.18%
African American 630 27.77%
Asian 27 1.66%
Hispanic 13 0.80%
Mulitracial 40 2.46%
American Indian 2 0.12%
Male 858 52.80%
Female 767 47.20%

[edit] The Foreword

Students wishing to work on the school paper are required to take one of two journalism courses, which teach "gathering accurate information and interviews from official sources in order to inform, educate, interest, or entertain student readers."

The Foreword is currently controversially run by homosexual Editor-in-Chief Max Goldman. He is the first Editor-in-Chief to be enrolled in the educational assistance program. The Faculty Advisor to the newspaper is Carol Baldock.

[edit] Alma Mater

To Allderdice a song of joy we raise
Her trifold creed in word and deed we praise;
She stands on high to guide us through the days
Our loyalty we pledge to her always!

In quest of knowledge may she be our guide
To serve her well be this our aim and pride
She leads us on as comrades side by side
To that fair goal where truth and love abide.[10]

The traditional singing of the Allderdice alma mater was returned to Taylor Allderice by the decree of Principal Cassandra Richardson Kemp in 2006. It is now sung every Monday and Friday morning at Allderdice High School.

[edit] Musicals

Year Musical Director
2008 Footloose Dr. Bernadine Srocki
2007 Bye Bye Birdie Dr. Bernadine Srocki
2006 The Wiz Dr. Bernadine Srocki
2005 Seussical the Musical Dr. Bernadine Srocki
2004 Once Upon a Mattress Dr. Bernadine Srocki
2003 Little Shop of Horrors Mrs. Eloise White-Beck
2002 Guys and Dolls Ms. Leah-Rae Bivins
2001 Peter Pan Mr. Ken Lutz
2000 Pippin Mrs. Eloise White-Beck
1999 West Side Story Mr. Ken Lutz
1998 Into the Woods Mr. Ken Lutz
1997 The King and I Mr. Ken Lutz
1996 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Mr. Ken Lutz
1995 South Pacific Mr. Ken Lutz
1994 The Music Man Mr. Ken Lutz
1988 Fiddler on the Roof Mr. Ken Lutz
1981 Oklahoma! Mrs. Betty Caplan
1980 Carousel (musical) Mrs. Betty Caplan
1979 Bye Bye Birdie Mrs. Betty Caplan
1978 Fiddler on the Roof Mrs. Betty Caplan
1977 Annie Get Your Gun Mrs. Betty Caplan

[edit] Notable alumni

Name Graduating Class Occupation
Marty Allen 1940 Stand-up comedian and dramatic actor
Myron Cope 1947 The late Pittsburgh Steelers radio announcer and sports commentator; worked on school newspaper.[11]
Howard Fineman 1966 Political journalist, Newsweek editor and columnist
Gene Forrell Composer and conductor[12]
Antoine Fuqua 1983 Movie director[13]
Gary Graff 1978 Music journalist[14].
Pittsburgh Slim 1997 Hip hop artist
Wiz Khalifa 2006 Hip hop artist[15]
Maxine Lapiduss 1978 Comedienne and actress.
Larry Lucchino President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and the San Diego Padres[16]
Kathleen Marshall Choreographer, theater and film director[17]
Rob Marshall Theater and film director[13][17]
Curtis Martin 1991 New York Jets running back[18]
Jimmy McGuire 1984 Member, Jeopardy! Clue Crew
Jesse Michaels 1981 Singer of many influential punk rock bands, most notably Operation Ivy and Common Rider
Eddie Rosenstein 1981 Documentary Filmmaker, noted for The Gospel According to Mr. Allen, A Tickle in the Heart, School Play, Waging a Living, and Sandhogs
Bob O'Connor 1962 Former Pittsburgh politician and mayor[19]
Nathaniel Philbrick Author[20]
Marlin Slutsky 1983 Drummer/Singer, Big Daddy Project
Evan Wolfson 1974 Civil rights attorney.[21]

Jim "Big Cat" Williams- American Football Player, Chicago Bears

Joel Solomon (1998)- Television and Film Writer

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Allderdice. Pittsburgh Public Schools Web Site. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  2. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006
  3. ^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  4. ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  5. ^ Kantrowitz, Barbara; Julie Scelfo and William Lee Adams. "The 100 Best High Schools in America", Newsweek, 2005-05-16. Retrieved on 2006-11-22. 
  6. ^ Kantrowitz, Barbara; Pat Wingert. "What Makes a High School Great?", Newsweek, 2006-05-08. Retrieved on 2006-11-22. 
  7. ^ "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,300 top U.S. schools", Newsweek, May 28, 2007. Accessed June 4, 2007.
  8. ^ Chute, Eleanor. "7 high schools ranked among best in U.S.", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2007-05-24. Retrieved on 2007-05-24. 
  9. ^ Allderdice High School, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania / PA school information. School Digger Website. Retrieved on 2005-01-05.
  10. ^ School Handbook. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  11. ^ Collins, Mark. "Everything is Cope-aesthetic", Pitt Magazine, [University of Pittsburgh], September 1996. Retrieved on 2006-11-25. 
  12. ^ Monica L. Haynes. "Obituary: Gene Forrell / Award-winning composer and conductor", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2005-09-28. Retrieved on 2006-11-25. 
  13. ^ a b Weiskind, Ron. "Goldmann driven daffy by Looney Tunes film", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2003-11-22. Retrieved on 2006-11-25. 
  14. ^ Cf. http://www.rockcritics.com/interview/garygraff.html. Retrieved on December 12, 2006.
  15. ^ Roberts, Josie. "The hip-hop pulse", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2005-06-28. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. 
  16. ^ Donoho, Ron (June 1999). Lucchino!. San Diego Magazine. Archived from the original on 2002-09-10. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
  17. ^ a b Rawson, Christopher. "Broadway follows in their footsteps", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1994-03-06. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 
  18. ^ Finder, Chuck. "AFC Playoffs / The Jets: Curtis Martin a football star by accident", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2005-01-14. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 
  19. ^ Lord, Rich. "Obituary: Mayor Robert E. O'Connor / His enthusiasm for city was unbounded", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2006-09-02. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 
  20. ^ Authors, chef highlight Drue Heinz lecture series, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 25 April 2007
  21. ^ Rotstein, Gary. "Gay marriage advocate says Time's honor good for cause", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2004-04-22. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 

[edit] External links

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High Schools of the Pittsburgh Public Schools
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