Upper Darby High School

Infobox school
name = Upper Darby High School
motto = Vision Becoming Reality
established = 1895
principal = Chris Dormer
enrollment = 3,893 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 229.0 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 17.0
type = Public high school
location = 601 N. Lansdowne Avenue, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026
colors = Purple & Gold
nickname = Royals
information = 610-622-7000
website = [http://www.udsd.k12.pa.us/schools/highschool/udhs.php?school=ud School website]

Upper Darby High School (UDHS) is a four-year public high school located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, United States, as part of the Upper Darby School District. UDHS is also the oldest high school in Delaware County, PA, having been established in 1895.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 3,893 students and 229.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 17.0. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=4224320&ID=422432001972 Upper Darby High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 19, 2008.] cite web
title = Upper Darby High School, School Report Card 2004
work = Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
publisher = Upper Darby School District
url = http://udsd.k12.pa.us/AYPreportcard/2003-2004/UDHS_2004.pdf
accessdate = 2007-10-17] cite web
title = Upper Darby Senior High School
work = SchoolDataDirect
publisher = Council of Chief State School Officers, and Standard & Poor's
url = http://www.schoolmatters.com/app/location/q/stid=39/llid=118/stllid=153/locid=2682
accessdate = 2007-10-17] The population is diverse, with over 55 nationalities represented. It has a long-established athletic rivalry with neighboring Haverford High School, as well as a long-standing football rivalry with Monsignor Bonner High School, located less than a block away. UDHS was part of the inspiration for Upper Darby alumna Tina Fey's movie comedy "Mean Girls". The mascot of Upper Darby High is the Royal, which is portrayed as a male lion. The school emblem is the royal oak tree, the yearbook is named the Oak, and the newspaper is called the Acorn.

Upper Darby High School is home to the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, a nearly 1,800-seat theater that hosts not only school functions, but also between 200 and 400 events annually. During the summer, the arts center hosts the largest summer theater group in Delaware County: Summer Stage, with over 200 participants in multiple musicals. Harry Dietzler founded the Summer Stage program in 1976.

During the summer of 2008 Upper Darby High School Principal Geoff Kramer retired after 13 years as principal. Kramer's replacement is former Assistant Principal Chris Dormer.

Notable alumni

Upper Darby High School's Wall of Fame committee recognizes individuals who have become leaders in their industries. [cite web
title = Wall of Fame
publisher = Upper Darby High School
url = http://www.udsd.k12.pa.us/alumni/wof.php
accessdate = 2007-10-17]
*Jason Alexander; Class of 1995: 2006 U.S. Army Forces Command’s (FORSCOM) Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year. "Best Warrior" Competition winner. Department of the Army Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year.Fact|date=April 2008
*Lloyd Alexander; Class of 1940: Fantasy writer, author of the books forming the basis for Disney's "The Black Cauldron".
*Keith Andes . 1938: Broadway and film actor. [Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/96490.html "Broadway Baritone Keith Andes, of Wildcat, Dead at 85"] , "Playbill", November 28, 2005. Accessed November 24, 2007.]
*Peter Bernardino; Class of 1936: National Wrestling Hall-of-famer
*Dick Botticelli; Class of 1942: Under the name Dick Richards: drummer for Bill Haley & His Comets 1953-55, singer for The Jodi mars 1955-1958, singer/drummer for The Comets 1989-present; actor
*Mario J. Civera, Jr.; Class of 1965: Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
*Jim Croce; Class of 1960: Singer-songwriter, one Number 1 album.
*William M. DeCampli; Class of 1969: Astrophysicist and cardiac surgeon
*Heather Donahue; Class of 1991: Star of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Taken".
*Robert H. Engrossing; Class of 1942: Research ophthalmologist and philanthropist
*Tina Fey; Class of 1988: Senior writer, "Saturday Night Live". Scriptwriter and co-star, "Mean Girls" [ and the tv show 30 Rock. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,118079,00.html "Tina Fey Gets the Last Laugh"] , Fox News, April 25, 2004. Accessed November 28, 2007. "Back in the late 1980s, Fey and the other "AP-class brainiac nerds," as she called her clique, used to sit together in the lunchroom at suburban Philadelphia's Upper Darby High School, making up nasty nicknames for their classmates."]
*Kermit Gordon; Class of 1933: Former trustee of the Ford Foundation and President of the Brookings Institution
*Warren E. Grape; Class of 1951: Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia, mentor/teacher of two U.S. Surgeons General, Vice President for PROJECT HOPE, and Medical Director/ Executive Director of the International Center for the Health Sciences.
*Todd Gregory; Class of 1984: Radio personality in Springfield,MA .
*Cindy Dee Holmes; Class of 1966: Author, "Red Balloons Fly High", "Slaying the Virus Villains", and a "A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul"
*James D. Houston; Class of 1977: Received a 1991 Academy Award for design and development of Disney's CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) and a 2007 Academy Award for development of a film archiving and restoration system. [cite web
title = Scientific and Technical Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
publisher = Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
url = http://everything2.com/e2node/Academy%2520Awards%253A%2520Scientifical%2520and%2520Technical%2520Award%2520%2528Scientific%2520and%2520Engineering%2520Award%2529
accessdate = 2008-08-30]
*F. Joseph Loeper; Class of 1962: Former majority leader of the Pennsylvania Senate
*Deborah Ann Landau, Class of 1993: Published Poet
*David MacAdam; Class of 1928: Discoverer of MacAdam ellipses; former head of image structure at Eastman Kodak Research Laboratory, former President of Optical Society of America
*James J. Morris; Class of 1966: Vice President, Engineering and Manufacturing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes
*Terence Nolen; Class of 1981: Artistic director of the Arden Theater Company
*Dot Germain Porter; Class of 1943: Professional golfer, U.S.G.A. Amateur Champ in 1949, U.S.G.A. Senior Champ in 1977, 1980, 1981.
*Joseph P. Primavera, III, Ph.D.; Class of 1969: Diplomate (Forensic Medical Psychology),American Board of Psychological Specialties; Diplomate, American Board of Vocational **Experts; Psychologist,Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Center at the Jefferson Heart Institute.{7.}
*Jack Ramsay; Class of 1942: NBA coach, Basketball Hall of Fame 1992, Seventh-winningest coach in NBA history
*Todd Rucci; Class of 1988: Played for the New England Patriots
*Floyd Wedderburn; Class of 1994: Played for the Seattle Seahawks
*Todd Rundgren; did not graduate: musician and award-winning record producer
*Alvin Sargent; Class of 1945: two-time Academy Award winner for screenplays ("Julia" and "Ordinary People").
*Lou Schonder; Class of 1977: Director and Founder, earthMed (2007). Director of Medical Programs, Project Open Hearts (2006-07). President, Philadelphia Area Medical Instrumentation Association (1993-94). Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)/American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE) Robert L. Morris Humanitarian Award (2007).
*Sterling Volta; Class of 1939: Research Scientist, Missile and Space Division of General Electric, listed in "American Men of Science", "American Men and Women of Science", "Who’s Who in Science and Engineering", and "Who’s Who in the World" Fact|date=April 2008
*George Wackenhut; Class of 1937: Founder of Wackenhut Corp, major security contractor
*Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh; Class of 1961: Sheriff of Chester County, Pennsylvania. One of only 22 female sheriffs in the USFact|date=April 2008
*William Wharton; Class of 1943: Writer, author of "Birdy", later made into an award-winning movie of the same name.
*Virginia Zakian; Class of 1966: Princeton Professor in Life SciencesFact|date=April 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.udsd.k12.pa.us/schools/highschool/udhs.php?school=ud UDHS Official website]
* [http://www.udpac.org Upper Darby Performing Arts Center]
* [http://www.newsofdelawarecounty.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/SingleWeekly]