- Bethel Park High School, also called BPHS, is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,937 students in grades 9–12. Set up much like a college campus, it consists of eight buildings on an campus. Its curriculum includes ten Advanced Placement Program courses, 14 honors courses and four foreign language programs. Its mascot is the Black Hawk.
- Its mission statement is "To lead an educational partnership with the community, maintaining an environment that challenges all students to reach their potential as lifelong learners and responsible members of society."
- Alma Mater
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Oh Alma Mater, Bethel High
All hail to thee.
We sing thee praises every one
With love and loyalty.
From atop the summit’s brow
Keep a watchful eye.
We’ll always love thy colors true
Our Bethel High. - Academics
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Bethel Park's curriculum offers a wide range of academic opportunities. The school has long prided itself on its strong academics. In the 2006 Pittsburgh Business Times annual ranking of schools, Bethel Park High School was ranked # 9 out of 123 high schools in southwestern Pennsylvania. [1] 10 Advanced Placement courses are offered including: American and European History, English Literature and Language, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, Calculus BC, Java, Spanish, French, German, and Latin. BPHS also offers 14 Honors classes and numerous electives, not limited to but including, Law and You, Democratic Leadership, Sociology, Journalism, Media Literacy, Theatre Arts, and Web Page Design. Every other year, Bethel Park also offers a course called the China Experience, which is taught by a teacher from Bethel Park's sister school Xing Zhi High School in China. Spanish, French, German, and Latin are offered as well. The average SAT score at Bethel Park High School in 2006 was 1046, compared to the state average of 993. The class of 2009 produced 2 National Merit Scholars and 7 National Merit Commended Students and 105 students who received scholarships totaling $4.8 million.Forty-three percent of the Class of 2008 graduated with a QPA of 3.5 or higher, with 111 students maintaining their standing in the National Honor Society, by keeping their QPA at 3.85 or higher. The SAT scores of the Class of 2008 were 93 points higher than the State average and 55 points higher than the National average.
- Grading System
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Bethel Park High School uses the following grading system:
- A (90% and Higher)
- B (80% – 89%)
- C (70% – 79%)
- D (60% – 69%)
- F (Below 60%)
- I (incomplete)
- Grades are usually rounded up if it is .5 or above. Ex 89.5% = "A"
- Bethel Park High School began to offer Edline for progress reporting to all students. Teachers are expected to update grades on Edline the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th week of all grading periods (every two weeks).
- Campus
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The high school is one of few high schools in Pennsylvania that is composed of more than 3 buildings. In fact, the high school was originally intended to serve dual purposes as both the high school for Bethel Park and to be a campus for the Community College of Allegheny County. The campus opened in 1959 and was extensively renovated in 1996. The high school is made up of 8 buildings, with each building being specifically for a set of subjects.
- Building 1 - Science and Health. Also homerooms for freshmen.
- Building 2 - Social Studies, Business and Foreign Language. Also homerooms for sophomores/freshman.
- Building 3 - Math, Art, Computer Science and Marketing. Also homerooms for juniors
- Building 4 - English, and Family and consumer science. Also homerooms for seniors, and the location of both the principal's office, the attendance office, the nurse's office and the Writing Center.
- Building 5 - Technology education, and the Golf Room in the basement.
- Building 6 - Gym, the pool, the Athletic Office, the locker rooms and the rifle range in the basement.
- Building 7 - Cafeteria, Music, Auditorium, and Theatre arts.
- Building 8 - Media Center (Library).
- Buildings 2, 3, and 4 each feature a courtyard in the center of each building. The building 2 courtyard features trees and flower gardens. The building 3 courtyard has a circle of bricks. The building 4 courtyard features a fountain with a pond, benches, and flower gardens. Some teachers hold classes in the courtyards when the weather is nice.
- History
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In 1886 when the school district was formed, Bethel was a township, so the name of the school district was the Bethel Township School District.
- Bethel Park High School was originally called Bethel High School. The first Bethel High School held two classrooms and an auditorium; and employed four teachers. It was constructed in 1908 at the corner of South Park Road and Park Avenue for $6,400 and still stands today. The first graduating class of 15 students, five males and ten females, graduated in 1909.
- In 1914, the high school changed to a four year program. Around 1920 extracurriculars began. A 10 room grade school was constructed in 1927 near the high school on Park Avenue, in the current site of the current Bethel Park Community Center. The enrollment at the high school level outgrew the original high school facility and the high school students switched schools with the younger students in 1934.
- Enrollment over the years kept increasing, which necessitated additions to the high school on Park Avenue. During the construction of a new addition to the school on July 11, 1939, a fire broke out and heavily damaged the building, but construction continued and on September 20, 1940 a dedication was held to commemorate the new addition to the building. In 1949 a gymnasium was added to the Park Avenue school and in 1952 an upper wing was constructed to meet growing enrollment and student educational needs
- In 1956 the Board of School Directors purchased an plot on Church Road, known at that time as McCormack Farm, and plans were drawn to create a campus environment. In the fall of 1959, sophomores, juniors and seniors moved to their six-building campus, which consisted of two academic buildings, library, auditorium/cafeteria, physical education building and boiler house at a cost of $4.1 million for construction and equipment. Ninth graders stayed at the junior high.
- Ninth graders returned to campus in the fall of 1964 and were excluded again beginning in 1976. Finally, ninth graders returned to the campus again in 1985 and have remained since.
- The school was called Bethel High School until the campus high school opened in 1959, changing the name to Bethel Senior High School. It was not until 1964 that the school district added “Park” to its name, becoming Bethel Park Senior High School.
- The new Bethel Senior High School was dedicated on October 23, 1960, but the campus would not grow to its current size until seven years later. Phase II of the construction was completed in 1964 with the addition of another academic building and the industrial arts building. Phase III was completed in 1967 with the construction of the fourth academic building and a 6,300 seat football stadium and track, three tennis courts, seven basketball courts and a baseball field, as well as additions to the library, cafeteria and physical education building. Ten classrooms were added to Buildings 2 and 3 in 1969.
- In 1972 the first Bethel High School was converted into the School House Arts Center and was given historic landmark designation by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Association in 1990. When the high school students moved to their new campus, the former high school on Park Avenue was used as a junior high school until it was put up for sale in 1974. It was sold to the Municipality of Bethel Park in 1975 for $1 and closed in 1980.
- It was demolished in 1990 and is now the home of the Bethel Park Community Center. Before the school was demolished, the Bethel High School compass-style floor emblem that was in the vestibule, linking the gymnasium and auditorium in the old school, was carefully removed. The emblem is 9’2” in diameter and constructed from terrazzo, and now proudly adorns the lobby of the Community Center.
- In June 1994 a 26 month, $20 million renovation included new roofs, ceilings, terrazzo tile and carpeting, site work, painting, elevators, plumbing and HVAC, as well renovations to the gymnasium/swimming pool and industrial arts building. All renovations were completed to the eight buildings by 1996. Around 1996 “Senior” was dropped and the school is currently known as Bethel Park High School.
- Bethel Park High School remains the only campus style secondary school in western Pennsylvania, where students traverse the eight campus buildings on a daily basis. In February 2008, the Bethel Park Board of School Directors voted to construct a new high school building on the site of the current practice fields along Church Road. The current campus will continue to be used until the new building is constructed; then it will be demolished and the practice fields will be relocated in its place.
- School Principals
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1958-1960 – Theodore A. Siedle
1960-1967 – Robert E. Owsiany
1967-1976 – Edward A. Strall
1976-1985 – Thomas K. Walters
1985-1991 – Thomas R. Moses
1991-1996 – Lawrence A. Bukowski, Ph.D.
1996-2001 – Thomas A. Hisiro, Ed.D.
2001-2006 – David A. Helinski
2006-present – Zeb Jansante, Ed.D. - Student Life
- 1930s
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Curriculum in the 1930s consisted of English, History, French, Home Economics, Social Studies, Music, Latin, Science and Math.Events such as the May Day Celebration, class banquets, Halloween Parties and a New Year’s Dance were part of school life. Operettas were presented instead of the Musical. Clubs such as Girl Reserves, Hi-Y, The Secret Sixteen and the Junior Birdmen were popular among the students. Sports were limited to Boys Basketball and Football. Girls Basketball was an intramural sport.
- 1940s
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The 1940s saw an end to the Depression and the beginning of World War II. Like other schools, many young Bethel High School male students were active in the war. Female students did their part for the war effort by participating in organizations such as the Girl Reserves to knit mittens and socks for the soldiers. Because of war conditions, several interscholastic sports were cancelled. After the war, school life got back to normal, with music and dancing in the cafeteria during lunchtime for those who stayed.
- Dancing was an important part of school social life in the 1940s, with Student Council holding weekly dances in addition to the Prom and May Dance, which were held in the gymnasium.
- The curriculum expanded to include classes such as Shorthand, Wood Shop, Art, Physical Education, Spanish and Penmanship.
- Student clubs of the 1940s included the 8x Owls and Miracle Book Club. Sports grew to include Boys Golf.
- 1950s
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As Bethel moved into the 1950s, the high school began to grow. A new gymnasium with a divider enabled boys and girls gym classes to be held simultaneously. The addition of bleachers meant that students could attend sporting events and cheer for their teams from the stands.
- 1960s
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As Bethel rocked and rolled into the 1960s, the average student changed considerably. Events such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the onset of the Viet Nam War prompted students to break away from conformity.
- 1970s
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The spirit of rebellion continued into the 1970s, accompanied by a great deal of self-evaluation, as students became skeptical that they could change the world. But the Bethel student body was victorious in bringing change to their school. For example, Bethel students won the right to an Honor Study Program, the right to drive to school and have an influence on the curriculum. But as conservatism dominated the late 70’s, many of these privileges were revoked as the curriculum headed to a “back to basics” philosophy.
- 1970s student clubs reflected the interests of the day, including the Psychology Club, Chess Club, Coin Club, Radio Club, Last Resort Club, Monopoly Club, Flat Earth Society, Future Secretaries of America and Astronomy Club.
- Social events in the 1970s included the Sadie Hawkins Dance, Christmas Dance, Sock Hop, Sweetheart’s Dance and Campus Carnival.The 1970s saw the creation of several girls sports teams, including Volleyball, Swimming, Tennis, Softball, Golf, Track and Cross Country. Boys Ice Hockey had its inception in the 1970s as well.
- 1980s
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Graduating classes in the 1980s declined from more than 700 students in 1980 to 479 in 1989.
- Both boys' and girls' swimming teams were dominant in this decade, with the boys winning Pennsylvania state championships in 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1988, and the girls winning state championships in 1981, 1985 and 1988.
- The boys' baseball team won the Pennsylvania state championship in 1988 and finished second in 1985 and 1987. The girls' softball team finished second in 1987.
- 1990s
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Issues such as drunk driving, brought about the creation of a SADD group in the 1990s, as well as a Newcomers Club to welcome new students to campus. Activities included the Club Coca-Cola Dance, Colonial Day, Twin Day and Mardi Gras Week. Traditions which had their inception in the 1990s and still continue today include Senior Appreciation Day, the Cheerleaders annual Fashion Show to benefit Make-A-Wish, the SGA Volleyball Tournament and the ever-popular Man of the Year dance competition, which debuted in 1991. The Goofy Awards began in 1995 and continue today.
- The First
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The first school cafeteria in Allegheny County opened at Bethel High School in 1930 and was staffed by students who earned one credit toward graduation for their participation.
- Notable alumni
- Barbara Feldon - Movie and Television Actress, most notably co-star of Get Smart
- Armon Gilliam - NBA player and 2nd overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft
- George Mesta - Industrialist, founder of Mesta Machine Company in West Homestead, PA. Husband of Perle Mesta (Mesta actually graduated from the precursor of BPHS, called Bethel Public Academy, in 1880)
- Weird Paul Petroskey - Musician, BPHS Class of 1988. Produced In Case of Fire, Throw This In when a student at BPHS.
- Katelyn Rushe - author of Deer Lake, a book about a retaliation of deers, which are common in Pennsylvania (where she is from)
- Rick Sebak - Movie Writer, Producer, and Narrator
- Jim Shooter - Comic book writer and editor; Editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, 1978 - 1987. Wrote comics for DC while a student at BPHS.
- Tom Skladany - NFL Pro Bowl Punter [2]
- Matt Smith - Politician and Pennsylvania State Representative
- Mike Westhoff - NFL coach; current special teams coordinator for New York Jets
- Richard White - Voice of Gaston in Disney's 1991 animated movie Beauty and the Beast
- The History of Bethel Park High School retrieved 27 July 2008 and 29 July 2008 at http://www.bpsd.org/bphs/historyofbphs.html, credits Bethel Beacon Yearbooks (1931-2008), Cathy Born and the Bethel Park High School Records Office, newspaper clippings from the Bethel Park Library, Bethel—Our Home by John Biewener, From Acres to Charter Acres by the Bethel Park Junior Women's Club, and The Bethel Park Centennial 1886-1996 Commemorative Book.
- External links
- Official website
- School Matters's Bethel Park High School
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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