Chester High School is an urban, public high school located in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States with a ZIP code of 19013-4288. Chester, which offers grades 7 through 12, is a part of the Chester-Upland School District. The school serves the City of Chester, Chester Township, and Upland. In 2009-10, the school had 1,302 pupils, with 779 pupils qualifying for a federal free or reduced-price lunch. The school employed 78 teachers yielding a Student/Teacher Ratio of 16.69. In 2011, 26 of the teachers were designated Non-Highly Qualified Teachers under No Child Left Behind. Qualifying students may choose to attend one of the district's two magnet high schools Smedley Allied Health Campus or Science and Discovery Campus.
The school's first floor has the headquarters of the school district.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Graduation rate
In 2011, the graduation rate declined to 50%. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate.
- 2010 - 68%
- 2009 - 63%
- 2008 - 74%
- 2007 - 74%
In 2007, Johns Hopkins University reported that Chester High School was among 47 Pennsylvania high schools and nationwide nearly 2,000 that have exceptionally high drop out rates. Nearly 8 percent of Pennsylvania's high schools had high dropout rates, with 60 percent or less of their incoming freshmen making it to graduation.
Chester Clippers Basketball Video
Academic achievement
In 2011, Chester High School declined to Corrective Action II 5th year due to unrelenting low student achievement. In 2010, the school was in Corrective Action II 4th year AYP status. Due to the low academic achievement, the school was mandated by No Child Left Behind to permit students to transfer to a school (within the District) with adequate achievement for over 7 years. No such school exists Chester Upland School District. Chester High School remains in Title I School Improvement which brings state professional resources and supplemental financial assistance to the school. In 2010, the school was cited, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as among the bottom 5% for student academic achievement in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
11th Grade Reading
- 2011 - 15% on grade level, (64% below basic). State - 69.1% of 11th graders are on grade level.
- 2010 - 24% on grade level, (60% below basic). State - 66%
- 2009 - 18% (62% below basic). State - 65%
- 2008 - 9% on grade level, (75% below basic). State - 65%
- 2007 - 9% on grade level, (76% below basic). State - 65%
11th Grade Math:
- 2011 - 15% on grade level (68% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 60.3% of 11th graders are on grade level.
- 2010 - 8% on grade level, (83% below basic). State - 59%
- 2009 - 5% on grade level, (80% below basic). State - 56%.
- 2008 - 3% on grade level, (88% below basic). State - 56%
- 2007 - 3% on grade level, (86% below basic). State - 53%
11th Grade Science:
- 2011 - 3% on grade level (70% below basic). State - 40% of 11th graders were on grade level.
- 2010 - 1% on grade level, (56% below basic). State - 39%
- 2009 - 2% on grade level, (71% below basic). State - 40%
- 2008 - 0% on grade level, (65% below basic). State - 39%
College remediation rate
According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 63% of the Chester 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. Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.
SAT scores
In January-June 2011, 105 Chester-Upland School District students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 372. The Math average score was 358. The Writing average score was 323. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among state with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479. In the United States, 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. The averaged scores were: Verbal 497 (out of 800), Math 514 and in Writing 489.
Dual enrollment
The District offers a dual enrollment program to its high school students. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offered a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions. For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $20,260 for the program.
Graduation requirements
In Chester Upland School District, ninth grade students are required to earn 7 credits to be promoted to 10th grade. To move from Grade 10 to Grade 11, 13 credits must have been earned. To be promoted from Grade 11 to 12 the student must have earned a total of 20 credits. The District offers students the opportunity to recover up to two credits, not earned during the previous school year through the Credit Recovery Program, which is offered during the second semester and during the summer.
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 2015 and 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students' Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.
School safety and bullying
The school district administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying in the high school, in 2009. There were 30 incidents involving law enforcement, including 98 fights and 67 assaults. Thirty four pupils were assigned to alternative education.
Extracurriculars
The district offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy.
Sports programs include; football, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, baseball, tennis, track and club activities. The Athletic Director is Jeffery Legette. This school has a long-standing tradition of Championship wins in basketball. The Clippers have won eight state championships: 1983, 1989, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2012. Chester was state runner-up in 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1972, 2003, 2007 and 2013. Since the 1981-82 season, Chester has qualified for the state tournament every year except for 1991-92.
By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.
Notable alumni
- E. Wallace Chadwick, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
- Tom Chism, professional baseball player
- John V. Diggins, former Delaware County Court president judge
- Darrin Govens, Guard, St. Joseph University
- Ron Henry, professional baseball player
- Will Hunter, Safety, Minnesota Vikings
- Thaddeus Kirkland, Pennsylvania State Representative
- Wilbur Kirkland, professional basketball player
- Lew Krausse, Jr., professional baseball player
- Danny Murtaugh, professional baseball player, coach and manager
- Jameer Nelson, Guard, Orlando Magic and St. Joseph's University
- Curly Ogden, professional baseball player
- Jack Ogden, professional baseball player
- Dominic F. Pileggi, Pennsylvania Senator, 9th District
- Johnny Podgajny, professional baseball player
- Bo Ryan, Men's Basketball Coach, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Dawn Sowell, Professional Track and Field athlete
- Horace Walker, Former NBA Forward
- Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, professional basketball player for the Saint John Mill Rats of the NBL
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets
- Dr. Cora Turpin, Former Democratic State Committee Member
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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