Conestoga High School
| Conestoga High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
200 Irish Road , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1955 |
| Principal | Timothy Donovan |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | approx. 1,900 |
| Color(s) | Burgundy and Gray |
| Mascot | The Pioneer |
| Newspaper | The Spoke |
| Website | [1] |
Conestoga High School, located in Devon-Berwyn, a community in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, is the only high school in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District.
Conestoga (also known as "Stoga" or less popularly as "The Big C") is located 24 miles northwest of Philadelphia in a series of affluent suburbs known as the Main Line. Stoga currently has about 1,900 students, almost evenly divided among grades nine through twelve. Frequently ranked one of the best schools in Pennsylvania, Conestoga offers more Advanced Placement (AP) classes and boasts more National Merit Semifinalists than any other school in the state, public or private. Last year, students took 1,148 AP tests in total, of which 93% were passed with a 3 or higher. The average SAT score for the Class of 2005 was 1180.[2]
Because of its performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments, Conestoga received extra funding from the state.
Administration
Timothy Donovan, the current principal, is aided by four assistant principals: Nancy Adams, Chris Groppe, Richard Gusick, and Amy Meisenger. Donovan and Gusick both taught in Conestoga's Social Studies department before becoming administrators, while Adams previously taught in the Math department. Donovan was also a coach on the varsity football team before becoming principal.
College matriculation
95% of Conestoga graduates go on to college; 92% of them to four-year ones. The graduating Class of 2005 sent one or more students to Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Syracuse University, Rutgers University, Miami University, Elon University, University of Minnesota, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame du Lac, and Princeton University. The most popular college choice for Conestoga students, however, is Pennsylvania State University. 55% of Conestoga students leave Pennsylvania for college and 57% attend private institutions after graduation.[3]
For the since graduated Class of 2006, at least two Conestoga students were admitted to each of the top 10 universities on the US News & World Reports list, except for Columbia, which only admitted one student. Ten or more students were admitted to Penn and Duke, respectively ranked the fourth and fifth best universities in the country.
Departments
Conestoga has eight academic departments: Business/Technology, English, World Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, and Wellness/Fitness/Family & Consumer Science. To graduate, students must earn 24 credits. 1 credit is equivalent to a year-long class which meets every day for 43 minutes, which is the length of the eight periods at Conestoga (though 8th period is actually 44 minutes, so that Conestoga's school day can be precisely 7 hours long, from 7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.). Students must earn 4 credits in English, 2 in Languages, 3 in Math, 3.5 in Social Studies, and 3 in Science.
Distinctions and Honors
Newsweek magazine has consistently rated Conestoga highly in its annual ranking of public high schools. Conestoga has been ranked 167th (1st in Pennsylvania) in 2006 [4], 195th in 2005 [5], and 197th in 2003 [6].
US Department of Education has acknowledged Conestoga as a Recognized School of Excellence. [7]
Student Council
The Conestoga Student Council has six components: four class councils serving each grade, an executive council presiding over those four class councils, and pseudo-assembly of elected homeroom representatives. The student council organizes class trips, dances (including Proms and Homecoming), and flower sales. The faculty sponsor of the student council is Mr. Seth Shore, a calculus teacher.
Schedule
On regular days, Conestoga has the following schedule:
- 1st period: 7:20 a.m. - 08:03 a.m.
- Homeroom: 8:07 a.m. - 8:16 a.m.
- 2nd period: 8:20 a.m. - 9:03 a.m.
- 3rd period: 9:07 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
- 4th period: 9:54 a.m. - 10:36 a.m.
- 5th period: 10:41 a.m. - 11:24 a.m.
- 6th period: 11:28 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
- 7th period: 12:49 p.m. - 1:32 p.m.
- 8th period: 1:36 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Lunch
At Conestoga, there are currently four lunch sessions, each of which serve about a quarter of the student population.
Seniors with lunch privileges are the only students allowed to leave school during this time. Many of them will frequent local restaurants and eateries.
Lunch A
- 5th period: 10:41 a.m. – 11:03 a.m.
- Lunch: 11:05 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.
- 5th (cont.): 11:37 a.m. - 11:58 a.m.
- 6th period: 12:02 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Lunch B
- 5th period: 10:41 a.m. - 11:24 a.m.
- Lunch: 11:28 a.m. - 11:59 a.m.
- 6th period: 12:02 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Lunch C
- 5th period: 10:41 a.m. - 11:24 a.m.
- 6th period: 11:28 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
- Lunch: 11:52 a.m. - 12:22 p.m.
- 6th (cont.): 12:24 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Lunch D
- 5th period: 10:41 a.m. - 11:24 a.m.
- 6th period: 11:28 a.m. - 12:11 p.m.
- Lunch: 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Trivia
- The school's colors are garnet and gray and its mascot is the Pioneer.
- Richard Nixon's last public appearance was at a Conestoga High School performance of Into the Woods. His granddaughter Jennie Eisenhower, great-granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, starred in the play as Little Red Riding Hood.[8]
- As a senior prank in the late '90s, the Pioneer was stolen from the school lobby and taken on a road trip across the eastern seaboard. The perpetrators sent the administration pictures as postcards from the Pioneer. Upon return to the lobby, the Pioneer was chained to the wall.
Notable Students
- Tianren Qi - nationally recognized student (USAMO and US Physics Team qualifier). [9][10]
- Katherine Axelsen - international champion rower (Scholastic Nationals Regatta Champion, Stotesbury Cup Regatta, Henley Women's Regatta Champion) [11][12]
Notable Former Students
- David Bush - CHS '98. Starting Pitcher for the Millwaukee Brewers. [13]
- Mark Connelly - Potter. [14]
- Liz Costello - CHS '06. State champion cross country runner. [15]
- Tommy Ferguson - CHS '06. State-recognized golfer.
- Mark Knepley - CHS '02. Nationally recognized swimmer.
Contraversy
- In both the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years, there were two instances (one each school year) of racially-charged graffiti. The first instance was targeted toward the African-American community while the second toward the Jewish community. The administration and student body have taken measures to stop this behavior and have widely spoken out against those few who tarnish the reputation of Conestoga High School.
- In June 2005, school administrators discovered that a music teacher, Christopher Genovese, had had an illicit affair with one of his students. Genovese is no longer working for the school and has completed a prison sentence for corrupting a minor. [16]
- According to 2003 PA Youth Survey conducted by The Coad Group, which measures the Tredyffrin/Easttown community against Chester County and Pennsylvania figures in drug and alcohol use, Conestoga's student body had a greater percentage of alcohol, binge drinking ("five or more drinks in a row"), marijuana, inhalant, hallucinogen and ecstasy use than the county, state and national average among 10th- and 12th-graders. Of 12th-graders, 57.1 percent admitted to using alcohol in the past month; 33.3 percent admitted to using marijuana in the past month; 27.1 percent admitted to being drunk at school in the past year, and 16.4 percent admitted to selling drugs in the past year. T/E's report compared 2003 survey numbers to results from 2001 and 1998. Marijuana levels dropped around 6 percent among 12th-graders and around 4 percent among 10th-graders from 2001 to 2003. [17]