- Montour High School
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Montour High School Location 223 Clever Road, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
Robinson Township, Pennsylvania Coordinates: 40°28′02″N 80°07′07″W / 40.46722°N 80.11861°W
United StatesInformation Type Public Established 1956 School district Montour School District Principal Mr. Todd Price Faculty 75 Number of students ~1000 Color(s) Black and Gold Mascot Spartan Information 412-490-6500 Website Montour High School 
The Hiltop, Montour High School's Campus
Montour High School's Sign
Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts: The Montour School District (pink) is at the right center, just west of Pittsburgh (green). In addition, the district borders Sto-Rox (Orange) and Carlynton (Blue) to the east, Chartiers Valley (Orange) to the south, West Allegheny (Blue) and Moon Area (Green) to the west and Cornell (Blue) to the north.Montour High School is a public high school located at 223 Clever Road in Robinson Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The only high school for the Montour School District, it serves the suburban towns of Kennedy and Robinson Townships, and the boroughs of Ingram, Pennsbury Village, and Thornburg.
Established in 1956 the campus that serves students in grades 9 through 12 opened in 1957. The campus is divided into three buildings: the 9th/10th grade building, 11th/12th grade building, and the main gymnasium with a pool and weight room.
The High School underwent renovation, High School students and (isolated) 6th graders attended David E. Williams Middle school, and the middle and elementary students were split among the three primary schools for the 2010-2011 school year. The new high school is asbestos free and includes newly renovated classroooms, hallways, and a cafeteria. The 9/10 and 11/12 buildings are connected through a new lobby. The high school opened by the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.
Contents
Academic achievement
The Montour School District was ranked 34th out of 105 Western Pennsylvania School Districts in 2009 by the Pittsburgh Business Times, a drop of three spots from the year prior. The ranking was based on three years of student academic performance on the PSSAs in three subjects: math, reading, writing and one year of science.[1] In 2008, the school district ranked 111th out of 498 districts state-wide.
Graduation Rate:[2]
2010 - 58% 2009 - 98% 2008 - 98%PSSA Results[3]
11th Grade Mathematics 2009 - 69% proficient and above (55% state-wide)
2008 - 71% proficient and above (56% state-wide)11th Grade Reading:
2009 - 81% proficient and above (65% state-wide)
2008 - 77% proficient and above (64% state-wide)11th Grade Science:
2009 - 48% proficient and above (39% state-wide)College remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 36% of the Montour 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.[4] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, about one in three, or 33%, of recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.
Campus Renovations
In 2006, Montour School District officials announced a plan to remodel the buildings of the existing high school campus and preparation for construction officially began in January 2008. However, financial issues had brought the project to a temporary halt and parts of the building, including one of the tunnels, half of the 11/12 building including the library and the auditorium and band room in the 9/10 building were sealed off from student access, rendering them unusable since the 2007-08 school year.
In 2007, the board approved approved the project at a cost of $49 million. However, in May 2008, months after preparation had begun, bids for construction came in somewhere from $5 million over budget. Conflict ensued between PJ Dick, the construction manager, and Graves & McLean, the architect. By early 2009, those two firms had been replaced by Burns & Scalo and Apostolou & Associates, respectively.[5] On July 16, 2009 Apostolou & Associates held a presentation that revealed construction plans, that would, among other changes, connect the 9th/10th and 11th/12th grade buildings and include a new free-standing administration building.[6] A memorandum released by Apostolou & Associates laid out a timeline that scheduled groundbreaking in May, 2010 and completion in September, 2011.[7]
As the proposed January, 2010 groundbreaking date neared, however, school officials had received new information that essentially deemed it unsafe for students to be present during the renovation. As a result, acting Superintendent Dr. Boyer proposed closing the campus for the 2010-11 school year and completing the renovation in time for the 2011-2012 school year. Ultimately this plan was approved by the school board. Consequently, Montour High School was relocated to the grounds of David E. Williams Middle School for the 2010-11 school year. The scheduled 14-month renovation of the Hilltop campus began in June, 2010. The high school renovation was completed in September 2011 in time for the 2011-12 school year. [8]
Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium, home of the football, soccer and track & field teams, was renovated during the Summer of 2009. FieldTurf was installed to replace the natural grass field and a new surface was installed on the six-lane track. Also replaced were the partially-wooden bleachers and one-story press box; in their places are new aluminum bleachers and a new two-story press box. While the academic buildings were closed for the 2010-11 school year, Birko Stadium was available for use.[9]
Project Lead the Way
Montour is one of the current schools at the forefront of Project Lead the Way, a technology curriculum combining both sciences and math to promote engineering principles and technology prior to college matriculation. Courses currently offered at the Hilltop include Introduction to Engineering and Design (considered the first module), Principles Of Engineering (second module), and Digital Electronics (third and final module.) With the campus renovation yielding a modern workspace with all the technological needs of the classes, the Technology Education department introduced more classes, including Civil Engineering & Architecture as well as Computer Integrated Manufacturing for students to divulge into more specific areas of engineering.[10]
Administration
- Principal: Mr. Todd Price
- Assistant Principals: Mr. William King and Mrs. Jennifer Kosanovic
Interscholastic sports
Montour High School is a member of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, a division of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League. The only school-sponsored sports that compete in another league are Ice Hockey (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League), Boys & Girls Bowling (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League) and Ultimate Frisbee (Pittsburgh High School Ultimate League).
Fall Winter Spring Cross Country (boys and girls) Basketball (boys and girls) Baseball Soccer (boys and girls) Golf (boys) Football Wrestling Tennis (boys) Tennis (girls) Ice hockey Softball Volleyball (girls) Indoor Track and Field (boys and girls) Volleyball (boys) Gymnastics (girls) Outdoor Track and Field (boys and girls) Bowling (boys and girls) Ultimate Frisbee (boys and girls) Notable alumni
- Tony Fratto - Former Deputy White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush,[11]
- Sonni Abatta - Former KDKA-TV morning news anchor and current evening news anchor for WOFL[12]
- Michael Keaton - Actor[13]
- Ted Kwalick - Professional and college football player[14]
- John Hufnagel - Professional and college football player and professional football coach
External links
References
- ^ Western Pennsylvania School District Rankings, Pittsburgh Business Times, May 15, 2009.
- ^ Montour School District Academic Achievement Report Card 2009
- ^ Montour High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2009
- ^ Pennsylvania College Remediation Report http://www.scribd.com/doc/23970364/Pennsylvania-College-Remediation-Report
- ^ David, Brian (2010-02-04). "Montour's tumultuous decade". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10035/1033227-57.stm.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Montour School District - High School Construction". Montourschools.com. 2009-09-11. http://www.montourschools.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=352&linkid=nav-menu-container-4-17&PHPSESSID=d8b8424f2a48040799fb6433edbd79b8. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ David, Brian (2010-04-15). "Montour moving sixth-graders in with high schoolers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10105/1050724-100.stm.
- ^ David, Brian (2009-09-25). "Stadium work complete, Montour focuses on school renovation". Post-gazette.com. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09268/1000768-100.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ Montour High School | Technology Education
- ^ "Tony Fratto". Nndb.com. http://www.nndb.com/people/180/000130787/. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ Owen, Rob (2009-07-10). "KDKA's Abatta heads for anchor job in Orlando". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09191/982879-67.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ^ "Michael Keaton". Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/michael-keaton/contributor/28843/bio. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ^ College Football Hall of Fame
Categories:- Educational institutions established in 1957
- High schools in Pennsylvania
- Education in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area
- Schools in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
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