Haverford High School

Coordinates: 39°59′01″N 75°18′06″W / 39.9837°N 75.3017°W / 39.9837; -75.3017
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Haverford High School
Address
Map
200 Mill Rd

,
19083

Information
TypePublic
MottoHonor - Truth - Health - Service
FoundedBuilding, 1956
School districtSchool District of Haverford Township
SuperintendentMaureen Reusche
PrincipalPete Donaghy
Staff117.47 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,943 (2020–21)[1]
Student to teacher ratio16.54[1]
Color(s)Crimson   Gold  
Athletics conferencePIAA District 1 3A/4A Central League[2]
MascotHenry
NewspaperThe Fordian
YearbookGreystones
Athletic DirectorGregory Decina
Website[1]

Haverford Senior High School is the public high school of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the School District of Haverford Township. It is at 200 Mill Road in Havertown. The school serves the entirety of Haverford Township, including all of the unincorporated community of "Havertown" (a place name created by the US Postal Service to designate ZIP Code 19083, which is wholly within Haverford Township), and the Haverford Township portions of the unincorporated communities of Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Drexel Hill, and Wynnewood.

History[edit]

The first recorded purchase of land for educational purposes in Haverford Township was made on October 28, 1797. A stone structure erected on a site along Darby Road at the crossroads Coopertown served as a school until 1872.[3] Today, known as the Federal School, the building still stands and serves as a window to history for Haverford Township children. Every fourth-grade student spends a day at the Federal School learning what it was like to be a student in 1797.

The Llanerch School was built in 1905 and still stands on Darby road. It served as the high school until 1910. The Oakmont School was built on Eagle Road at Hathaway Lane in 1912 to serve as the new high school. It remained the high school until 1923. With the dawn of a new decade and World War I in the past, Haverford Township began experiencing another wave of expansion. In 1923, the "new" Haverford High School on Darby Road was completed. It was expanded to include a junior high school in the 1930s and now serves as the Haverford Middle School; it previously housed the school district's administrative offices.

In 1956, the new (and current) Haverford High School was constructed on Mill Road, creating a complex of fields and buildings used by both the high school and the adjacent Haverford Middle School.

Haverford High School, 2014

The high school building was expanded and modernized from 1996 to 1999. Renovations took a long time and created many issues, one being that one side of the school is higher than the other. The most significant physical addition to the school during these years was the demolition of a small building at the rear center of the (used as counselling suite and lounge area) and the construction of a three-floor addition to house new and spacious science classrooms/laboratories, as well as large seminar classrooms. With this change, rear classrooms in the center of the original building lost exterior windows, and now looked out over open common space adjacent to two new cafeterias, separated by a large new kitchen. Further, this new addition included new administrative offices. This meant that these offices left their original locations along the front of the center wing of the original building. This space became a new principal's office, infirmary, and sewing classroom. A new staircase was added. With the construction of the additions, the wood, metal, and motor shops were eliminated from the building, along with those courses. Wood shop continued to be offered at the Haverford Middle School facility.

Sports[edit]

The Haverford High School sports teams are called the "Fords," and they have a Model T Ford as their mascot. A book about the athletic history of the school (1914 to 2014) was written by Art Sciubba.[4]

WHHS[edit]

Haverford High pennant

WHHS is the student-run high school radio station of Haverford Senior High School. It is the oldest high school radio station in the country. The station itself is located within the school, and the transmitter is located nearby, covering a 5 to 10-mile radius. WHHS originally occupied 89.3 FM until 1992, when the FCC forced it to change frequencies, and then 107.9 FM, until a new, major radio station based in Philadelphia (WRNB) forced WHHS to change frequencies again. WHHS currently occupies 99.9 FM under a special exemption from the FCC while the station undergoes the formal process of applying for a station license.

Typical show formats include rock, classic rock, rap/hip-hop, sports talk, political talk, and sometimes more eclectic genres like classical or jazz. Occasionally, shows feature live performances from local or school-based bands.

Students apply for a radio show (usually 90 minutes long), and a typical show has two to four hosts. On the basis of interviews and previous experience with the station, students are chosen to fill several positions, including Station Director, Director of Music, and Director of News. The radio station provides an introduction into the radio or communications industries for students interested in careers in these fields.

In 2006, the station began broadcasting live sporting events such as football and hockey, even broadcasting live from the Wachovia Spectrum, the former home of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers. The station is continuing to branch out into the community with the effort spearheaded by producing a product that township residents can understand and enjoy while teaching students necessary skills and encouraging creativity. This has been accomplished in many ways, including a 12-hour election day special with interviews before the elections with such politicians and Congressman Curt Weldon and Congressman-elect Joe Sestak.

Alumni[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Haverford SHS". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "PIAA — School Details: Haverford High School". piaa.org.
  3. ^ "About Haverford / School District History". www.haverford.k12.pa.us. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  4. ^ PaganoCORRESPONDENT, Rich. "Sports Flashback: A century of Haverford High School Athletics, part 2". Delco News Network. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "Philadelphia's Garrett Brown, Steadicam inventor, to join Inventors Hall of Fame". May 14, 2013.
  6. ^ DeLuca, Dan (December 7, 2014). "Alex G: One-man band a Philly indie success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  7. ^ "Sam Venuto". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  8. ^ "University of California President Mark G. Yudof". Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  9. ^ "Mark Yudof Named Sole Finalist for UT System Chancellor | The University of Texas at Austin". www.utexas.edu. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011.
  10. ^ "Past Presidents : Office of the President". www1.umn.edu. Archived from the original on September 3, 2004.

External links[edit]

39°59′01″N 75°18′06″W / 39.9837°N 75.3017°W / 39.9837; -75.3017