South Park High School (South Park, Pennsylvania)

South Park High School
Location
2005 Eagle Ridge Road,
South Park, PA 15129, United States Coordinates: 40°20′06″N 80°04′15″W / 40.33500°N 80.07083°W
Information
Type Public High School
Established 1938 (Snowden H.S)
School district South Park School District
Principal Dr. Patricia Smith
Grades 9–12
Number of students 750 in 2010
Color(s) Royal Blue and White, Black Accent
              
Mascot Eagles
Newspaper SPress
Information (412) 655-4900
Website sparksd.org

South Park High School is a public high school in Allegheny County for residents of South Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. South Park Senior High School building opened in 2005. As of the 2005-2006 school year, the school had 752 students enrolled and 44.5 teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 16.9 students/teacher.[1] Enrollment is projected to decline to 600 students in 2020.[2] The campus includes: six full computers labs, an Indoor swimming pool, a full cafeteria services, a lighted stadium with 6 lane track, central administration offices, two multi-purpose athletic fields, two maintenance buildings, upper and lower field houses, full sized and auxiliary gyms, and a beautiful auditorium with a stage. Other rooms include two fully equipped Art Rooms, a Band Room, a Culinary Arts Room, Preschool Room, Technological Production Lab, Weight Room, and a TV Studio. The high school also boasts a beautiful atrium, where students on the upper floor can look down at the floor below. The average indoor area to be maintained is app. 208,000 sq ft.

Graduation rate

In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. South Park School District's rate was 94% for 2010.[3]

According to traditional graduation rate calculations:

Graduation requirements

The South Park School Board requires a minimum of 25 credits for a student to graduate including: English 4 credits, Social Students 4 credits (includes Civics, West. Civ. & U.S. History), Science 3 credits (includes Biology), Mathematics 3 credits (must take Algebra and Geometry), Computer Information Technology I & II 1 credit, Health and PE. 2 credits (swimming required), Independent Living 0.5 credits and Electives 7.5 credits.[8][9] Students must earn a minimum of 7.0 credits per year to progress to the next grade.

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district.[10]

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 2015 and 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.[11]

Classes

South Park High School offers and array of classes to choose from. Core subjects include Mathematics, English, Social Studies, and Science. Electives subjects include Foreign Languages, including Spanish, French, and German, Business classes, such as Accounting and Business Math, and Technology Education. The Family Consumer Sciences Department includes classes, such as Culinary Arts, Understanding Children I & II, The Developing Child, Nutrition, and Independent Living. The Fine Arts Department includes Art, Music, and Media. These classes include TV Production I, II, & III, Digital Animation, Theater Arts I & II, Sports Broadcasting, and Digital Photography as far as Media goes. Art Classes include Pottery I, II, & III, Drawing and Painting I, II, & III, and Printmaking. Music includes Concert Band, Concert Choral, Jazz and Rock History, Music Theory, and Music Appreciation.

Academic Achievement

In both 2010 and 2009, the South Park Senior High School achieved AYP status.[12]

PSSA Results:
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Math
11th Grade Science:

College remediation

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 31% of South Park Senior 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.[19] 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.[20] 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.

Dual enrollment

The high school offers a Dual Enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Many Allegheny County high schools are participating in the program. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. Parents are responsible for costs. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.[21] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[22]

Extracurricular activities

The school offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility to participate is determined by school board policy.[23][24] At South Park Senior High School a student on academic probation will not be permitted to participate in any extra curricular or inter-scholastic activities or programs. A student that is not passing at least 3 core subjects and 1 other one-credit course or 2 one-semester courses during a grading period does not have acceptable academic standing and is placed on academic probation for the next nine week grading period.

Clubs

Athletics

South Park High School competes in the PIAA's District 7, commonly referred to as the WPIAL. WPIAL-affiliated sports at SPHS include:

Boy's Sports

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Cross Country
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Soccer
  • Swimming/Diving
  • Track & Field
  • Volleyball
  • Wrestling

Girl's Sports

  • Basketball
  • Cross Country
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Swimming/Diving
  • Tennis
  • Track & Field
  • Volleyball

Athletic facilities at SPHS include two gyms, a weight room with an adjacent aerobics room, an indoor swimming pool, a football stadium, a baseball field, and a track.

PIAA Team Championships

GenderSportYear(s)
BoysFootball1997, 2005
GirlsSoccer2007
BoysSoccer2005, 2006
GirlsBasketball2013

WPIAL Team Championships

GenderSportYear(s)
BoysFootball1955, 1997, 2005
GirlsSoccer2001, 2006, 2007, 2008
BoysSoccer2005, 2006, 2014
GirlsBasketball1998, 2008, 2013
GirlsSoftball2003
BoysTrack1975
GirlsTrack1998, 2010
GirlsCross Country1986
BoysGolf1992

References

  1. ↑ South Park Senior High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed July 23, 2008.
  2. ↑ Enrollment and Projections by LEA, Pennsylvania Department of Education, July 2010
  3. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (March 15, 2011). "New 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation Now Being Implemented".
  4. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "South Park School District - School AYP Data Table".
  5. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2009). "South Park Senior High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2010" (PDF).
  6. ↑ The Times Tribune (2009). "Allegheny County High School Graduation rate".
  7. ↑ Pennsylvania Partnership for Children (2008). "PA High School Graduation Info by School District 2007".
  8. ↑ South Park School Board Graduation Requirements Policy 217
  9. ↑ South Park School Board and Administration (2010). "South Park Senior High School Program of Studies 2010".
  10. ↑ Pennsylvania General Assembly. "Pennsylvania Code §4.24 (a) High school graduation requirements".
  11. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 2011). "Pennsylvania Keystone Exams Overview".
  12. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "South Park Senior High School - School AYP Overview".
  13. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, (2010). "South Park School District Academic Achievement Report Card 2010," (PDF).
  14. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2007). "PSSA Math and Reading results by School 2007".
  15. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, (2010). "South Park Senior High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2010," (PDF).
  16. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2009). "PSSA Math and Reading results by School 2009".
  17. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2008). "PSSA Math and Reading results by School 2008".
  18. ↑ "Report on Science PSSA 2008". August 2008.
  19. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (January 2009). "Pennsylvania College Remediation Report".
  20. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics
  21. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "Dual Enrollment Guidelines".
  22. ↑ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. "Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement.". Retrieved March 2010.
  23. ↑ South Park School Board (2011). "South Park School District Policy Manual Extracurricular Policy 122" (PDF).
  24. ↑ South Park School Board (November 2006). "South Park School District Policy Manual Interscholastic Athletics Policy 123" (PDF).