Upper St. Clair High School
Upper St. Clair High School (USCHS) is a public school in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, USA, serving students in grades 9–12. The school is part of the Upper St. Clair School District. USCHS is one of three secondary schools in Pennsylvania to be recognized as a Blue Ribbon School three times (in 1984, 1989, and 2000). History. In the late 18th century, Higbee School, a one-room log cabin, was the first known school in the area and was located on the northeast border of present Upper St. Clair, just south of the current site  of the school. This was the first school west of the Alleghenies. Upper St. Clair High School was established in 1957, with the creation of a tenth grade class. Prior to 1957, Upper St. Clair students completing the ninth grade at Ft. Couch School were then enrolled as transfer students at neighboring high schools, primarily Mt. Lebanon, with Upper St. Clair Township paying their tuition as out-of-jurisdiction students. When Mt. Lebanon High School, due to crowded conditions, decided to no longer accept Upper St. Clair students, the Upper St. Clair School Board voted to create a high school . Dr. Carl Streams was recruited from Mt. Lebanon to become the new Supervising Principal, and he in turn recruited a high school faculty. One grade was added to Ft. Couch School each year from 1957 through September 1959, when the first high school senior class was enrolled. The inaugural class graduated in June 1960, and numbered 74 students, with most continuing on to college. The Class of 1960 created many of the traditions and artifacts for the high school, including the school colors, alma mater, mascot, yearbook, and school newspaper. Concurrently, a new high school building was constructed at the  northwest corner of the intersection of McLaughlin Run and Washington Roads, where formerly the Clifton School had been located. The Class of 1962 graduated from this new building, although they had not attended classes there. With the completion of a new high school building, Ft. Couch School reverted to its earlier status as a junior high school, then a middle school. During Dr. William Pope's tenure as district superintendent, Upper St. Clair High School was substantially remodeled in 2000. The renovations included replacements of much of the school's aging building; the mechanical systems; and allowed for many technological  advancements such as widespread Internet access. The renovations improved the facilities, allowing for a professional-sized theater, two full-sized gymnasiums, a weight room, and a racquetball court. Academic facilities were also improved with a library at the center of the academic wing. The library was dedicated to Dr. Pope in 2003 upon his retirement. Beginning around 2015, the school district began implementing a 1:1 iPad program for middle school students and later introduced Chromebooks to both the middle schools and the high school. The high school implemented Securly web filtering and also opened a Square-powered online store for  students to purchase additional accessories. In 2018, USCSD broke ground on a rebuild of the high school's aquatic facility. The larger of the two new pools will house 8 lanes, and a separate smaller pool will be built to accommodate students with special needs. The aquatic facility was part of an overall $22,650,000 capital project program which simultaneously built new office space for the district near the Panther stadium and renovated Boyce Middle School's athletic facilities. Academics. USCHS students may choose to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) courses to experience college-level academics and potentially earn college  credit for passing AP exams. A 2009 report found that 62.9% of 12th graders enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement (AP) course, with 88.9% of those students passing at least one AP exam. The school also offers an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. A 2009 report found that 21.7% of 12th graders had taken and passed at least one IB test. Among participants in the IB program, 84.6% passed at least one IB test. Of the entire 12th grade class surveyed, 3.3% earned an IB diploma. Extracurricular activities. Athletics. Upper St. Clair High School competes in the PIAA's District  7, commonly referred to as the WPIAL. WPIAL-affiliated sports at USCHS include baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, rifle, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling. Non-WPIAL sports include cheerleading, crew, fencing, and ice hockey. Club teams are usually called the Upper St. Clair Panthers, with the mascot being the black panther. Athletic facilities at USCHS include two gyms, an indoor swimming pool, a football stadium, and a track. The 1989 football team won the WPIAL Quad A Championship and the PA Quad A State Championship, finished with a 15–0 record and No. 4  final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings. The 2004 soccer team won the PIAA State Championship for the second year running, finishing with an undefeated 27–0 record, and was ranked 1st nationally by the NCSAA. The 2006 football team won the PA Quad A State Championship, finishing with an undefeated 16–0 record, and were ranked in the top-ten nationally, in several polls. Upper St. Clair High School maintains a heated rivalry with Mount Lebanon High School, right down the street. Music. The USCHS music program has three components: (1) choral courses, (2) instrumental courses, and (3 ) extra-curricular activities. The focus of courses is on performance rather than music theory or history. Choral courses include Men's Ensemble, Women's choir, Clarion Choir and Pantheon Choir, and can be elective or selective. Extra-curricular vocal ensembles include the Chanteclairs depending on student interest. Instrumental courses offerings include string and full orchestra, concert band, and jazz band. The two most popular student activities sponsored by USCHS are the marching band and the spring musical. The Panther Marching Band holds a two-week training program during the summer to help students prepare for football half-time performances and  festivals. In addition, it rehearses after school during the first nine weeks of the school year. The band makes at least one trip each spring to perform at a major festival. Each March, USCHS students perform a Broadway musical. The musical is a community event, involving 30–40 student managers, 250 students in cast and supporting crew roles, an adult staff of 40 musical specialists, and a group of 100 adult volunteers called Theatre Angels. Students participate in a wide variety of capacities, including directing, acting, dancing, costume design, set construction, lighting, publicity, and playing in the pit orchestra. Recent musicals  performed are The Drowsy Chaperone (2017), Evita (2018), Hello, Dolly! (2019), Shrek (2020), and Smokey Joe's Cafe (2021). Arts. The "St. Clarion" is the school's student newspaper. It usually produces four issues annually as well as a senior magazine issue. The paper is made during both journalism classes and by student volunteers. The paper writes on both world and campus news, detailing many events from sports to school policy changes. The paper is funded by community advertisers as well as student fund-raising. The "Montage" is the school's literary arts magazine produced by the student body. The  Montage produces one issue per year, selling copies to the student body in May. The magazine publishes original poems, short stories, personal essays, artwork, photography, and musical compositions written by the students. A staff of 15–20 people compiles the submissions into the magazine. As with the "St. Clarion", the "Montage" is funded by both community advertisers and student fund-raising. The Upper St. Clair Theater, renovated in 1999, hosts a fall play and spring musical every year, with students filling most of the cast and crew roles. It is managed by Aramark. Awards and rankings. Upper St. Clair High School  is one of three secondary schools in Pennsylvania to have won the Blue Ribbon Award three times; the others being Fort Couch Middle School, which is also located in the Upper St. Clair School District, and neighboring Mt. Lebanon High School (Upper St. Clair's biggest rival). In 2000, the United States Department of Education recognized USCHS as one of 27 New American High Schools. In 2008, Upper St. Clair High School ranked 216 in "Newsweek"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s list of the 1,300 Top High Schools. USCHS ranked in the "silver medal" category in "U.S. News & World Report"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Best  High Schools 2009 listing. In 2012, for the 7th year in a row, Upper St. Clair school district was ranked the #1 best performing school district out of 105 school districts in the 7 county region around Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh Business Times. http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2012/04/06/upper-st-clair-top-school-district-7.html?page=all International Baccalaureate controversy. An academic controversy during the 2005–2006 school year was the elimination of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Members of the new school board elected in 2005 criticized the program as being too costly, a needless duplication of Advanced Placement, and a proponent of socialist values. In February 2006 the new school board voted  5–4 to phase out the IB program over two years, allowing only current 11th and 12th grade students to complete requirements. In March 2006, the ACLU filed a lawsuit and an out-of-court settlement was reached in May 2006 with two main stipulations. First, the program was reinstated for a minimum of two years. Second, a nine-month study to determine the value of the IB program was conducted as part of the settlement agreement. The study resulted in a recommendation to retain the IB curriculum.