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September 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the current Cheltenham High School (CHS). The first CHS was located on Union Avenue in Melrose Park and had a graduating class of four students. By 1906, the building grew too small for the number of students who wanted to attend and a new building opened on the corner of High School Road and Montgomery Avenue. This second building was the home of CHS until 1926. When this second building grew too small, the Ogontz Building opened and remained the site of the high school until 1959. Fifty years ago this year, the fourth high school site opened and has remained open, with some expansion and renovation, ever since. The 50th Anniversary Jubilee will be one of the highlights of CHS’s coming school year. Check the Cheltenham website (www.cheltenham.org) for ongoing celebrations in which you might want to participate.
Cheltenham High School is located at 500 Rices Mill Road in Wyncote, PA. Dr. Elliott Lewis serves as the High School Principal. For the 2009-2010 school year, there will be approximately 1500 students in grades 9 to 12. There were 405 graduates in the Class of 2009, 78 of whom earned academic achievement awards, 47 earned scholarships, seven were named National Merit Scholarship Finalists, 11 received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Foundation, two students were National Achievement Scholarship winners, 35 were inducted into the National Honor Society, and 46 earned athletic awards. Ninety-five percent of the 2009 graduates plan to attend an institution of higher learning, 3% will enter the work force, 1% will join the military and 1% will take a year off before attending college.
One of the most wonderful qualities of Cheltenham High School is its staff’s commitment to meeting the needs of every student. To that end, the high school will offer 26 Advanced Placement (AP) classes for the coming school year. In 2009, there were 20 AP classes. Four-hundred and twenty-five AP tests were administered and 91% of the tests received a 3, 4, or 5, a score considered to be sufficiently strong for the college a student will be attending to give advanced placement and/or college credit for that course. CHS will also be instituting a Universal Acceleration Program for 2009-2010, a program designed to support all students to experience a high level of academic achievement. In addition, a very wide range of 65 clubs, activities and/or organizations will be offered students in the beyond-school hours.
The staff and students of Cheltenham High School embrace their Panther Pride and their century old practice of academic excellence. Look for information on our new and improved website about all of the programs and pilot projects planned for 2009-2010. Also, be sure to check the calendar to see when there are sports events and musical performances that you might want to attend. For 2009-2010, CHS will continue their journey to greatness!
