Woodland Hills High School

Woodland Hills High School
Address
2550 Greensburg Pike Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1987
School district	Woodland Hills School District
Superintendent	Alan N Johnson salary $112,200 (2012) contract October 2013 - October 9, 2016
Principal	Kevin Murray
Staff	Guidance Counselors Mr. Colin O’Grady 12th grade, Mr. Jeff Brand 11th grade, Mr. Mark Arnold 10th grade, Ms. Stacey Rebich-Kim 9th grade
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,244 (2012)[1]
• Grade 9	343
• Grade 10	311
• Grade 11	326
• Grade 12	264
• Other	Enrollment projected by PDE to decline to 809 pupils by 2020[2]
Color(s)	Turquoise, Black, White
Mascot	Wolverine
Website	http://www.whsd.net/school_home.aspx?schoolid=1

Woodland Hills High School is a large, urban public high school providing grades 9-12 for the Woodland Hills School District located in Churchill, Pennsylvania. It services the communities of Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek, and Wilkins Township. In April 2014, Principal Dan Stephens retired and an interim principal was appointed.^[3] In 2013, Woodland Hills High School enrollment was reported as 1,244 pupils in 9th through 12th grades, with 69% of pupils were eligible for the federal free or reduce priced lunch due to family poverty. Additionally, 16.6% of pupils receiving special education services, while 9.8% of pupils were identified as gifted. The school employed teachers.^[4] Per the PA Department of Education 100% of the teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The school is a Title I school.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2011, the school reported an enrollment of 1,278 pupils in grades 9th through 12th, with 851 pupils eligible for a federal free or reduced price lunch due to the family meeting the federal poverty level. In 2011, the Woodland Hill High School employed 102 teachers yielding a student-teacher ratio of 12:1.^[5] According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of the teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.^[6]

Woodland Hills High School students may attend Forbes Road CTC for training in the trades . The Allegheny Intermediate Unit IU3 provides the School with a wide variety of services like specialized education for disabled students and hearing, speech and visual disability services and professional development for staff and faculty.

Woodland Hills High School was the result of a 1981 court-ordered desegregation merger. Before the merger, the building was the location of the Churchill Area High School.

Graduation Rate

In 2013, Woodland Hills School District's graduation rate was 81.5%.^[7] In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Woodland Hills High School's rate was 81.3% for 2010.^[8]

• 2012 - 81%^[9]
• 2011 - 77.8%

According to traditional graduation rate calculations

• 2010 - 78% ^[10]
• 2009 – 83%
• 2008 – 80% ^[11]
• 2007 – 80% ^[12]

Western Pennsylvania local academic ranking

Woodland Hills High School was ranked 97th out of 124 western Pennsylvania school districts, in 2013, by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on the last three years of student academic performance on the PSSAs on: math, reading, writing and science.^[13] (includes 105 districts in: Allegheny County, Armstrong County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Washington County and Westmoreland County, but excludes Duquesne City School District & Midland Borough School District due to their not operating a high school). In 2012, Woodland Hills High School ranked 102nd in the western Pennsylvania region for academic achievement.

Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program

In July 2012, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released a report identifying Woodland Hills School District having six schools among the lowest achieving schools for reading and mathematics in 2012. Woodland Hills High School was among the 15% lowest achieving schools in the Commonwealth. Parents and students may be eligible for scholarships to transfer to another public or nonpublic school through the state's Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program passed in June 2012.^[14] The scholarships are limited to those students whose family's income is less than $60,000 annually, with another $12,000 allowed per dependent. Maximum scholarship award is $8,500, with special education students receiving up to $15,000 for a year's tuition. Parents pay any difference between the scholarship amount and the receiving school's tuition rate. Students may seek admission to neighboring public school districts. Each year the PDE publishes the tuition rate for each individual public school district.^[15] Fifty-three public schools in Allegheny County are among the lowest-achieving schools in 2011. According to the report, parents in 414 public schools (74 school districts) were offered access to these scholarships. For the 2012-13 school year, eight public school districts in Pennsylvania had all of their schools placed on the list including: Sto-Rox School District, Chester Upland School District, Clairton City School District, Duquesne City School District, Farrell Area School District, Wilkinsburg Borough School District, William Penn School District and Steelton-Highspire School District.^[16] Funding for the scholarships comes from donations by businesses which receive a state tax credit for donating.

AYP History

In 2012, Woodland Hills High School was in Making Progress: in Corrective Action II fifth year Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status. In 2011, Woodland Hills High School was in Corrective Action II 5th Year AYP status.^[17]

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the Woodland Hills High School administration was required to notify parents of the school's poor achievement outcomes and to offer the parent the opportunity to transfer to a successful school within the District. Additionally the school administration was required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to develop a School Improvement Plan to address the school's low student achievement. Under the Pennsylvania Accountability System, the school district must pay for additional tutoring for struggling students.^[18] The High School is eligible for special, supplemental funding under School Improvement Grants which the school must apply for each year.^[19]

• 2010 - declined to Corrective Action 2 (fourth year)
• 2009 - declined to Corrective Action 2 (third year)^[20]
• 2008 - declined to Corrective Action 2 (second year)^[21]
• 2007 - declined to Corrective Action 2 (first year)^[22]
• 2006 - declined to Corrective Action 1^[23]
• 2005 - declined to School Improvement 2
• 2004 - declined to School Improvement 1
• 2003 - Warning

Academic achievement

2013 School Performance Profile

Woodland Hills High School achieved 69 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature - 70% were on grade level. In Algebra 1, only 57% showed on grade level skills. In Biology, just 31% showed on grade level science understanding.^[24] According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2,181 public schools (less than 73 percent of Pennsylvania public schools), achieved an academic score of 70 or higher. Pennsylvania 11th grade students no longer take the PSSAs. Instead, they now take the Keystone Exams at the end of the associated course.^[25]

PSSAs

Pennsylvania System of School Assessments, commonly called PSSAs are No Child Left Behind Act related examinations which were administered from 2003 through 2012. The exams were administered in the Spring of each school year. In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its high school assessments to the Keystone Exams in Algebra 1, Reading/literature and Biology1. The exams are given at the end of the course, rather than all in the spring of the student's 11th grade year.^[26]

11th Grade Reading:

• 2012 - 65% on grade level, (15% below basic). State - 67% of 11th graders are on grade level.^[27]
• 2011 - 56% (20% below basic). State - 69.1%^[28]
• 2010 - 59% (19% below basic). State - 66% ^[29]
• 2009 - 59% (21% below basic). State - 65% ^[30]
• 2008 - 50% (29% below basic). State - 65% ^[31]
• 2007 - 51% (27% below basic). State - 65% ^[32]

11th Grade Math:

• 2012 - 51% on grade level (25% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 59% of 11th graders are on grade level.^[33]
• 2011 - 40% (34% below basic). State - 60.3% ^[34]
• 2010 - 46% (34% below basic). State - 59% ^[35]
• 2009 - 46% (33% below basic). State - 56% ^[36]
• 2008 - 33% (44% below basic). State - 56% ^[37]
• 2007 - 35% (41% below basic). State - 53% ^[38]

11th Grade Science:

• 2012 - 17% on grade level (32% below basic). State - 42% of 11th graders were on grade level.^[39]
• 2011 - 16% (41 below basic). State - 40%^[40]
• 2010 - 26% (30% below basic). State - 39%
• 2009 - 23% (34% below basic). State - 40% ^[41]
• 2008 - 16% (40% below basic). State - 39% ^[42]
• 2007 - tested. results withheld by PDE.

For the 2011-12 school year, Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) ranked Woodland Hills High School 449th out of the 676 public high schools in Pennsylvania. The ranking was based solely on the combined math and reading PSSA test scores from that high school.^[43]

College Remediation Rate

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 50% of the Woodland Hills 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.^[44] 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.^[45] 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

In 2013, Woodland Hills High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 446. The Math average score was 447. The Writing average score was 424. The College Board reported that statewide scores were: 494 in reading, 504 in math and 482 in writing. The nationwide SAT results were the same as in 2012.^[46]

In 2012, 183 Woodland Hills High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 442. The Math average score was 442. The Writing average score was 426. The statewide Verbal SAT exams results were: Verbal 491, Math 501, Writing 480. In the USA, 1.65 million students took the exams achieving scores: Verbal 496, Math 514, Writing 488. According to the College Board the maximum score on each section was 800, and 360 students nationwide scored a perfect 2,400.

In 2011, 215 Woodland Hills High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 446. The Math average score was 443. The Writing average score was 414.^[47] Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479.^[48] 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.^[49]

The Pennsylvania Department of Education compared the SAT data of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania to students in urban areas. From 2003 to 2005, the average total SAT score for students in rural Pennsylvania was 992, while urban students averaged 1,006. During the same period, 28 percent of 11th and 12th graders in rural school districts took the exam, compared to 32 percent of urban students in the same grades. The average math and verbal scores were 495 and 497, respectively, for rural students, while urban test-takers averaged 499 and 507, respectively. Pennsylvania’s SAT composite score ranked low on the national scale in 2004. The composite SAT score of 1,003 left Pennsylvania ranking 44 out of the 50 states and Washington, DC.^[50]

AP Courses

In 2013, Woodland Hills High School offered 12 Advanced Placement (AP) courses at a higher cost than regular courses. Students have the option of taking College Board approved courses and then taking the College Board's examination in the Spring. Students, who achieve a 3 or better on the exam, may be awarded college credits at US universities and colleges. Each higher education institution sets its own standards about what level of credits are awarded to a student based on their AP exam score. Most higher education give credits for scores of 4 or 5. Some schools also give credits for scores of 3. High schools give credits towards graduation to students who take the school's AP class. At Woodland Hills School District the AP courses are weighted, but students must earn a grade of B or better to receive the weighted value.^[51] At Woodland Hills High School just 21% of students, who took an AP course, earned a 3 or better on the AP exam.^[52] At Woodland Hills students who fail to achieve a 70% or better during the first marking period of an AP course may be reassigned to another course at the appropriate grade level.

Gifted Department

The Gifted and Talented Education department currently has three teachers: Ms. Lesley Krasman (Social Studies), Mr. Jeffery Snyder (Technology), and Mrs. Jodi Blasi (Science).

The Gifted Department is particularly strong in the Science Olympiad competitions as well as its selection of particular students to Hometown High-Q. The WHHS Gifted Department also produces a yearly award-winning magazine - Graphiti - which features student literature and artwork. The Gifted Department also offers classes in American Sign Language, Creative Writing, Robotics and a Theater Workshop.

One particularly strong part of the Gifted department is its Mock Trial team. The team has been Allegheny County champions three of the past six years, and the team made it to the semi-finals at the state level in 2009. The Mock Trial team is coached by Mr. Kevin McGuire.

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 to 2009. The Woodland Hills School District did not apply to participate in 2006-07 or in 2007-08. The Woodland Hills High School received $188,223 in 2008-09.^[53] Among the public school districts in Allegheny County the highest award was given to Highlands School District which received $835,286. The highest funding statewide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County - $9,409,073. The grant program was discontinued by Governor Edward Rendell as part of the 2009-10 state budget.

Extracurriculars

The District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive, costly sports program. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). According to Pennsylvania’s Safety in Youth Sports Act, all sports coaches, paid and volunteer, are required to annually complete the Concussion Management Certification Training and present the certification before coaching.^[54] The school is part of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). Sports participation physicals are given free of charge at the Woodland Hills Athletic Training Room. The District is noncompliant with state law, due to failing to post its Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities Disclosure Form on its website. George Novak is the District's Athletic Director in 2013-14.

Sports

The District funds:

Varsity

According to PIAA directory July 2013 ^[55]

The Woodland Hills High School Athletic Department has a long history of athletic success.

• Girls Basketball - WPIAL Champion: 1997, PIAA State Runner-Up: 1997

• Rifle - 2014 and 2015 PIAA State Champion, 2012 PIAA Runner-Up. WPIAL Champion: 1992, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2014, 2015

• Girls Track - WPIAL Champion: 1986

In its 25-year history it has produced nearly 100 Division I football recruits. In 2011, the school had nine graduates in the NFL, the most of any school in the United States: Jason Taylor, Steve Breaston, Lousaka Polite, Ryan Mundy, Shawntae Spencer, Rob Gronkowski, Terrence Johnson, Wes Lyons and Darrin Walls.^[56] WPIAL Champion: 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2009. PIAA State Runner-Up: 1996, 2001, 2002

Notable Alumni

• Tirrell Greene (Class of 1990)
• Jason Taylor (Class of 1992) (Homeschooled from grades 10–12) NFL Defensive End for Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, and New York Jets. Attended and played for the University of Akron.
• Steve Breaston (Class of 2002), NFL Wide Receiver for Kansas City Chiefs, and Arizona Cardinals. Attended and played for the University of Michigan.
• Shawntae Spencer (Class of 2000), NFL Cornerback for Oakland Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers. Attended and played for the University of Pittsburgh.
• Lousaka Polite (Class of 1999): NFL Fullback for Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys. Attended and played for the University of Pittsburgh.
• Ryan Mundy (Class of 2003), NFL Safety for New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Attended and played for the University of Michigan and West Virginia University.
• Terrence Johnson (Class of 2004), NFL Cornerback for Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, and New England Patriots. Attended and played at California University of Pennsylvania.
• Rontez Miles (Class of 2007), NFL Safety for New York Jets. Attended and played at California University of Pennsylvania.
• Wes Lyons (Class of 2005): NFL player with Pittsburgh Steelers. Attended and played at the West Virginia University.
• Darrin Walls (Class of 2006), NFL Cornerback for New York Jets, and Atlanta Falcons. Attended and played at University of Notre Dame.
• Monte Simmons (Class of 2007), NFL linebacker, Kent State Golden Flash
• Rob Gronkowski (Class of 2007), NFL Tight End for New England Patriots. Attended and played for the University of Arizona.

Notable faculty

• Jim Tomsula, defensive line coach in 1990

References

External links

• www.churchillareahighschool.com
• District website

Coordinates: 40°26′11″N 79°51′23″W / 40.4363°N 79.8564°W / 40.4363; -79.8564