Coatesville Area High School

File:CoatesvilleRedRaider.jpg

Coatesville Area High School
Type	Public High School
Principal	Robert J. Fisher
Asst. Principal	Michele Snyder, Catherine Van Vooren
Grades	9-12
Location	Coatesville, PA, USA
District	Coatesville Area School District
Colors	Red and black
Athletics	PIAA District 1
Nickname	Red Raiders
Mascot	Red Raider
Yearbook	Talaria
Website	http://www.coatesville.k12.pa.us/

The Coatesville Area High School is part of the Coatesville Area School District, a school district based in the city of Coatesville, in central Chester County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The high school is divided into two schools:^[1]

• Coatesville Area Intermediate High School (CAIHS, but called the 9/10 Center or simply 9/10) for 9th and 10th graders
• Coatesville Area Senior High (CASH) for 11th and 12th graders

The school was home to the 2006 XC national champions and the 2001 AAAA state basketball champions. Sports rivals include Downingtown East, Downingtown West, and Bishop Shanahan.

Student demographics are reported as follows: White, 57.3%; African American, 32.0%; Latino, 9.0%; Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.5%; Native American, 0.2%.^[2]

The school was home to Detroit Pistons player Richard "Rip" Hamilton. Hamilton buys the high school basketball team uniforms and shoes each year, which they are able to keep following the season. Coatesville is the only high school in Chester County with an Air Force Junior ROTC unit.

History

The Coatesville High School was originally founded in the center of town in what is now the Benner Education Center. In the 1930s, the high school was relocated to what is now the Scott Middle School. In the 1960s, the high school was relocated to the current campus just east of the City of Coatesville, into the current CASH building. The current high school campus contains a large amount of land, much of it forested hillside, abutting the nearby Veteran's Hospital. The old stone house that had belonged to the previous owners became part of the district administration and remained on the campus. Several CCIU facilities are located on the high school campus, including the Center for Arts and Technology (CAT), a vocational school for county high schoolers.

During the early 1990s, the high school expanded and the CAIHS building was constructed on the site of the former swamp land, and became home to the 9th and 10th grades. CASH remained the home for the 11th and 12th grades, and a new football stadium was constructed on what had been open grass land The original football stadium (Scott Field) is located in the center of Coatesville and is used currently used by other organizations. The CAIHS building (or 9/10 Center) was not designed for the site, but instead used a predesigned building. An artificial hill had to be constructed to accommodate this building layout, and this caused major settlement issues following the building's construction. Most of these problems were resolved by ground and foundation repairs in the early years of the building, however the building continues to be monitored, and several crack gauges can be found all over the building's walls. Until the building was renamed the 9/10 Center in 2002, it was typically referred to by the nickname Chaos, a mispronunciation of the building's actual name, CAIHS, and a reference to the highly rowdy nature of the building, which was often overcrowded. The connotations associated with a high school containing two buildings bearing the common names of Chaos and Cash were a large motivator for the renaming of the buildings into the 9/10 Center and 11/12 Center (a name that has yet to stick).

The high school campus is currently undergoing major renovations to both the 9/10 Center building, and CASH. While the 9/10 Center is receiving slight renovations, CASH is being completely renovated with addition wings being added. The renovations are scheduled to be complete this coming school year.

Although certain grades are assigned to each of the two buildings, class scheduling, facility location, and necessity creates some student flow between the buildings between classes.

Since the 1980s, the district has seen explosive growth, and by the early 2000s the high school had already outgrown its second building, prompting debate over another expansion. The leading choice has long been to create a second high school, most likely on another campus containing the Rainbow Elementary School on the west side of the city, however no decision has so far been made.

References

1. ^ "Coatesville Area School District". http://www.coatesville.k12.pa.us/. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
2. ^ "School Matters, a Service of Standard & Poor's". http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools.aspx/q/page=dp/did=1101. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 

Coordinates: 39°59′28″N 75°47′49″W / 39.991°N 75.797°W / 39.991; -75.797