Ridley High School

Ridley High School
Address
901 Morton Avenue
Folsom, Pennsylvania, 19033
United States
Coordinates 39°53′30″N 75°20′07″W / 39.8918°N 75.3353°WCoordinates: 39°53′30″N 75°20′07″W / 39.8918°N 75.3353°W
Information
Type Public High School
Established 1934
School district Ridley School District
Principal William Mills
Assistant principals Susanne DiBianca
Deena Wasson
Dave Maiers
Faculty 130
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2140
Color(s) Green and White         
Mascot Green Raider
Website www.ridleysd.org

Ridley High School serves the Ridley School District. Ridley High School is located in Folsom, Pennsylvania, and has an average student population of 2,200. The school draws students from many socioeconomic backgrounds due to Ridley Township's economically diverse population. The new high school opened in September 2001. In 2010, Ridley High School had 2,067 students with 146 teachers. There were 1,071 male students and 992 females. Low income students - 445.[1] The Principal is William Mills. The Assistant Principals are: Mrs. Deena Cellini-Wasson, Mrs. Susanne DiBianca and David Maiers.

The original building, previously known as Ridley Township High School, was completed in 1934 and was built, in part, by funding from the Works Progress Administration. The library, auditorium, and gym additions of the old school, built in the late 1960s still stand and are used as a community center. Basically, for 12 years Ridley High School has been in a new building. The old building is now the Community Center. The sports teams at Ridley use the community center gym for indoor training. The school had added a pond for the students involved with environmental classes and activities. The Ridley football team was the Central League champion in 2006 and 2007. Ridley is also home to one of the finest natatoriums in Delaware County.

Academic achievement

In 2011, Ridley High School was in Corrective Action II 2nd Year AYP status due to continuing low reading achievement among black male students. In 2010, the school was in Corrective Action II 2nd Year AYP status due to chronic low student achievement in reading and math.[2] The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the school administration to develop and submit for approval a School Improvement Plan to address the low achievement.

11th Grade Reading

11th Grade Math:

11th Grade Science:

College remediation rate

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 39% of the Ridley High School graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges.[11] Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years.[12] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.

SAT scores

From January to June 2011, 334 students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 475. The Math average score was 497. The Writing average score was 455.[13] Pennsylvania ranked 40th among state with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479.[14] In the United States 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.[15]

Academic programs

The school's academic program offers a huge variety of elective classes such as technology courses, and includes basics such as math, English, science, art, social studies, health, and physical education, as well as foreign languages, including Spanish, German, French, and Italian. Other course offerings include Computer Applications and Family and Consumer Sciences. A total of four, 85-minute classes are held in a day due to the school's block scheduling. Ridley operates on a two-semester schedule, with two marking periods in each semester. Ridley High School has established the Emerald Academy, an extremely rigorous course of core plus classes and extended time periods what normally takes weeks to finish is done in two days or less.

Ridley High School has a summer school program for its own students who have failed courses during the school year. Courses are offered based on enrollment and availability of faculty.

Classrooms for the Future grant

The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, Science, History, Math) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006-2009. Ridley High School did not apply to participate in 2006-07. In 2007-08, the high school received $589,355. The school received $106,189, in 2008-09.[16] Ridley High School used the funding to purchase several hundred macintosh laptops, WiFi enabled printers, and touch sensitive smartboards.

Extracurriculars

The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy.

By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.[17]

Sports

Ridley is very well known for its athletics.

Ridley Football has a long tradition known to some as the "Green Mystique" for their ability to pull off impossible victories. The football program has the highest winning percentage all-time in Pennsylvania. Ridley football has a rivalry with nearby Interboro High School football and play an annual match on Thanksgiving. The Ridley Football teams have won 22 Central Athletic League championships. They were PIAA AAAA state finalist in 1990 and PIAA District 1 AAAA champions in 2007 and 2009.

Its boys' lacrosse program is also well known in the country for winning several state titles throughout the past 15 years, including 3 straight titles 2001-03. The girls lacrosse team of 2007 lost in the state championship. The wrestling coach, Carl Schnellenbach, coached his 600th win in December 2005 and holds the record for most wrestling coaching victories in Pennsylvania. The patch on the back of the wrestling jackets has been updated to celebrate Mr. Schnellenbach's 659 wins.

Ridley has also had great success in the pool. The Diving team has 10 state medals that include a back to back championships for Josh Bonner. The diving tradition has also reached into the college ranks, producing 6 D-1 divers at Florida State, Penn State, Rutgers, East Carolina, and Drexel. Erin Saunders, in 2007, took gold at the Big East Conference Championship for Rutgers. Ridley's swimming has also found great success with numerous district one qualifiers as well as may All Americans and Academic All Americans. Ridley's swim coach Kurt Slenn's recorded his 250th win on December 29, 2009. Slenn has retired after 20 years with the team.

The mascot of the school sports teams is the Green Raider. While the mascot was originally represented by a Native American of the Lenni-Lenape tribe, the school and district have tried to reduce the amount of Native American imagery in use. The Ridley logo is now a stylized letter R, referred to as "The Rockin' R." The Sports in Ridley High School include:

Windscript

Ridley High School's literary-arts magazine serves as an outlet for student creativity. Windscript won the Gold Crown Award from Columbia University in both 2005 and 2006.There are many other clubs and events that occur throughout the year at Ridley High School. Ms. Sonja Kravchuk is the advisor to Windscript.

Ridley Reads

Ridley Reads is a program in which students take 15 minutes out of class time to read books. This program was made to help students read more.

Archive

The Ridley High School yearbook is a student publication. The all color book is a compilation of student interests, activities and achievements. Pages have been featured in Josten's (publisher) Look Book and the National Scholastic Press Association's Best of the High School Press. Best of the High School Press, NSPA’s slick, full-color book showcases examples of the finest student journalism in the country.

Notable Alumni

References

  1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, Ridley High School School Directory Information, 2010
  2. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "Ridley High School AYP Overview".
  3. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA and AYP Results".
  4. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "2009-2010 PSSA and AYP Results".
  5. ↑ The Times-Tribune. (September 14, 2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 PSSA results,".
  6. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (August 15, 2008). "2007-2008 PSSA and AYP Results".
  7. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2007). "PSSA Math and Reading results".
  8. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "Ridley High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2011" (PDF).
  9. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA results in Science".
  10. ↑ The Times-Tribune. (2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 Science PSSA results,".
  11. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (January 20, 2009). "Pennsylvania College Remediation Report,".
  12. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2008
  13. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2011). "Public School SAT Scores 2011".
  14. ↑ College Board (September 2011). "SAT Scores State By State - Pennsylvania".
  15. ↑ "While U.S. SAT scores dip across the board, N.J. test-takers hold steady". NJ.com. September 2011.
  16. ↑ Pennsylvania Auditor General (December 22, 2008). "Classrooms for the Future grants audit" (PDF).
  17. ↑ Pennsylvania Office of the Governor Press Release, (November 10, 2005). "Home-Schooled, Charter School Children Can Participate in School District Extracurricular Activities".

External links