Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School

Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School is a high school in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Colonial School District, with a current enrollment of approximately 1500 students.

Introduction

Plymouth-Whitemarsh is a top-tier public high school in the Philadelphia region, and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and features more than 200 course offerings, including 24 Advanced Placement (AP) courses audited by the College Board and more than 30 honors level courses. A technical education program is available through the Central Montco Technical High School.

Current Education Goals and Programs

PWHS is in the third year of a comprehensive reform process designed to ensure that graduates are well prepared for college and careers in the 21st century. The goal of this initiative, known as Plymouth Whitemarsh Graduates: Prepared for Every Possibility (PW PrEP), is to ensure that all PWHS students develop the analytical and problem-solving skills needed for success in college and career, with the recognition that the skills now needed for work, college and active informed citizenship are essentially the same. Through a College and Career Counseling Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, new programs are in place to ensure students’ post-secondary success in today’s competitive global economy. Career pathways in high priority occupational areas guide students toward integrated groupings of courses across various departments. The College Board’s College Ed program has become the foundation of a career awareness advisory program in the freshman and sophomore years. Job shadowing and supervised internships in each of the career pathways make the junior and senior years more relevant.

AVID

The Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program is another new option for some PWHS students. Colonial is the first district in Pennsylvania to implement AVID, a highly structured college prep system that prepares students in the middle who have not previously succeeded in a college preparatory path for admission to four-year universities and colleges. AVID is for bright students who might be under-achieving, underserved in the college system or first generation college students. “AVID is a high expectations and high supports program,” said PWHS Assistant Principal Dan Balek. “As the students move through their high school careers, they are mentored by the AVID teacher, are exposed to fundamental skills such as time management and organization, and higher-level skills such as Cornell Notes and effective questioning techniques to meet their individual needs as learners. The AVID program houses all the necessary components needed to prepare students for the rigors of post-secondary education.”

Role of Technology

Student learning has been transformed through instructional technology. All classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards, digital projectors and document cameras. Polycom videoconferencing technology brings the world to PWHS students through activities such as a narrated autopsy and conversations with noted authors. The school’s wireless capacity enables students’ daily use of the 20 laptop carts available in social studies, science and English language arts classrooms. Other computer labs facilitate the study of world languages, technology enhanced math instruction, and a broad array of computer programming, computer application, and digital media courses such as 3D animation, advanced photography and digital imaging, and Web design and development. State-of-the-art classroom laboratories in the modern science wing are now home to new forensic science and engineering courses, and students are applying skills learned in their science and technology courses in national competitions such as Science Olympiad and First Robotics.

tandardized Test Results

The end result of the PW PrEP initiative is that PWHS students are now achieving at high levels.

Advanced Placement Testing

In May 2007, 261 students participated in 383 AP examinations. Seventy-four percent earned a score of 3.0 or higher. Since 2004, the number of students taking college-level AP exams has risen significantly and the percentage of students scoring 3.0 or higher has increased 14 percent. The College Board recognized nearly four dozen PWHS students as AP Scholars for their exceptional achievement on the 2007 AP Exams. Two students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4.0 or higher (out of a 5.0 scale) on all AP exams taken and grades of 4.0 or higher on eight or more of these exams. Twelve students qualified for an AP Scholar with Distinction Award for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3.0 or higher on five or more of the exams. Seven students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3.0 or higher on four or more of the exams. Twenty-six students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3.0 or higher.

AT Reasoning Test

PWHS students also realized considerable increases on the 2007 SAT Reasoning Test. While national averages dropped across the board, PWHS students saw double-digit increases in their writing and critical reading scores and scored significantly higher than the state and national averages. In 2007, SAT mean scores for the top 100 ranked PWHS students were 665 in math, 638 in critical reading and 645 in writing for a combined mean score of 1948. That is 119 points higher than in 2006. The top 20 ranked students scored 140 points higher than their counterparts of the year before. In 2007, the top 20 averaged 730 in math, 720 in critical reading and 730 in writing for a total of 2180.

Pennsylvania System of Schools Assessment Testing

Students continue to improve on the Pennsylvania System of Schools Assessment (PSSA). In 2002, 54.3 percent of 11th-graders scored at the proficient or advanced levels in math. In 2007, 71 percent of PWHS juniors were advanced or proficient in math, which is nearly 80 percentage points higher than the current state average.

Notable alumni

* Beth Anders, All-American in Field Hockey and Lacrosse, Olympic Field Hockey Captain, 1984 bronze medalist, 9 time NCAA champion as coach of Old Dominion
* John Anderson, Director of 2006 Grammy-nominated documentary "Brian Wilson presents" SMiLE and lead singer of the Chicago-based band The Cleaning Ladys
* Jackie Frazier-Lyde, attorney and boxer (daughter of Joe Frazier), who fought Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali in noted women's bout.
* Marvis Frazier - boxer (son of Joe Frazier).
* Neil Gershenfeld, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, head of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms.Cite web|url=http://cba.mit.edu/about/index.html|title=Center for Bits and Atoms - Executive Summary|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 21|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|year=2007|author=MIT]
* James Martin (Jesuit writer), Jesuit priest and author, as well as a frequent commentator on Roman Catholic news for The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, ABC, NBC, FoxNews, CNN and NPR.
* John Pergine, former professional football player, University of Notre Dame, Washington Redskins.
* John Salmons, professional basketball player, plays for the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

ports teams

*Basketball, 28-4 in the 2007 season, 107-19 record since the 2003-2004 season, seven district championships, two state championships (1963,Cite web|url=http://www.pahoops.org/records.htm|title=Pennsylvania High School Basketball Records|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 21|publisher=Pennsylvania Basketball Website|year=2007|author=Pennsylvania Basketball Website] 1997Cite web|url=http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/basketball_past_champs.pdf|title=PIAA Champions|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 21|publisher=Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc.|year=2007|author=Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc.|format=.pdf] ).
*Golf - [http://www.pwgolf.org www.pwgolf.org]
*Tennis, undefeated season in 2006.
*Football, state playoffs in 2005 and 2006.League Champions in 2005 behind the backfield of Da'rel Scott and Lance Wilson. In the 1990s Plymouth Whitemarsh Football placed 8th in winning percentage in the state of Pennsylvania out of 563 High Schools under Head Coach Joe Iacovitti with a record of 94-20-2 including 7 league championships 90,91,94,95,96,97,99 District 1 Champion 1995 State Semi Finalist 1995.
*Bowling, Suburban One Individual League Champions 2006 (Chris Lawler) and 2007 (Kevin Rexroth).
*Baseball, Consecutive District I Playoff Appearances.Cite web|url=http://www.mywire.com/pubs/PhiladelphiaInquirer/2007/05/18/3535953?extID=10037&oliID=229|title=Conestoga, Pennridge top AAAA district field|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 21|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|year=2007|author=Jeff McLane for the Philadelphia Inquirer]
*Lacrosse, 7-3 in league, second place finish. (2007).
*Girls Cross Country, 8-1 in 2007 with the #1 runner in the league.
*Cheerleading, with numerous first place wins each year as well as countless bids to National competitions in Florida, Virginia, and Pittsburgh.

Recent Events

On October 11th, 2007 Plymouth Whitemarsh High School became aware that 14 year old home schooled Dillon Cossey had been planning a Columbine-like attack on the school as revenge against bullies. The boy had a large stock of air soft guns, including two .22 caliber pistols and 2 homemade explosives. The plan was exposed by a student informant who had been asked by the 14 year old to help in this act of violence. The informant turned him into the police and he was arrested.

The boy had a Youtube account and a MySpace page with a quote displayed "Mess with the best, die like the rest" He listed his heroes as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the shooters of the Columbine High School Massacre, and has a video still of the attack. The boy also possed notebooks filled with violence-oriented entries.

The boy's father, Frank Cossey has a previous criminal record, and the boy's mother, Michele Cossey was arrested for purchasing the weapons for her son.

In December 2007, Cossey was sentenced to remain at a juvenile facility until he turns 21.

Marching Band

The Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Marching Colonials have a long history of pride and success. They are most recently the Cavalcade of Bands American Division Open Class 2007 Bronze Medal winners. Their indoor colorguard now competes in the Tournament of Bands circuit indoor circuit and their indoor drumline competes in the Mid-Atlantic Percussion Society circuit.

References

External links

* [http://www.colonialsd.org/pwhs/site/default.asp Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School's website]
* [http://www.pwgolf.org Plymouth-Whitemarsh's golf site]