Penn Hills High School

Building

The new $58 million Penn Hills High School building was opened on January 3, 2013. The school was designed by Architectural Innovations. There are two gymnasiums, with the main one seating 1,900. The auditorium has about 1,000 seats with state-of-the-art lighting and sound-systems. All classrooms include Promethean World interactive whiteboards. The building features large skylights that can be seen from both the top and bottom floors to promote natural lighting. The school's new HVAC system was expected to save 30 percent in energy costs.

Because the enrollment was decreasing at the time, Benjamin Herod, the author of Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs, criticized the decision to build the new school.

In 2012, the Pittsburgh Steelers funded a new $200,000 football field for the school.

Extracurriculars

The students have access to a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive sports program.

The Penn Hills Marching Band travels to football games and marches in a variety of parades throughout the year. Every year they return to Kennywood to perform, and take another trip out-of-state. Past band trips include Walt Disney World, Chicago, and Six Flags. The school also produces Gene Kelly Awards winning musicals and two plays per year.

Sports

The teams are referred to as the Penn Hills Indians and Lady Indians, and the student cheering section is known as the Tribe. The district funds:

;Varsity: ;Boys:

• Baseball - 5A
• Basketball- 5A
• Cross Country - AAA
• Football - 5A
• Golf - AAA
• Soccer - AAA
• Swimming and Diving - AAA
• Track and Field - AAA
• Volleyball - AAA
• Wrestling - AAA ;Girls:
• Basketball - AAAA
• Cross Country - AAA
• Golf - AAA
• Soccer (Fall) - AAA
• Softball - AAAA
• Swimming and Diving - AAA
• Girls' Tennis - AAA
• Track and Field - AAA
• Volleyball - AAA

According to PIAA directory January 2016

Notable alumni

• Dante Cephas – college football player for the Kansas State Wildcats
• Barry Church – professional football player in the National Football League (NFL)
• Aaron Donald – professional football player in the NFL and 3x Defensive Player of the Year
• Scott Edgar – college basketball coach
• Tom Flynn – professional football player in the NFL
• Bill Fralic – professional football player in the NFL
• Bill Fulton – professional baseball player
• Kevin Peter Hall – actor
• Daequan Hardy – college football player declaring for the 2024 NFL draft.
• Treyvon Hester – professional football player in the NFL
• George Karl – college basketball player; professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA)
• Abby Lee Miller – reality TV star
• Anthony Morelli – professional football player in the NFL and Arena Football League; college football player at Penn State
• Guy Primus – businessman and entrepreneur
• Salima Rockwell – volleyball head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Jake Schifino – professional football player in the NFL
• Herb Sendek – college basketball head coach
• Raion Strader – college football player for the Pittsburgh Panthers
• Tom Tumulty – professional football player in the NFL
• Damon Young – writer

References

References

1. "Penn Hills SHS". National Center for Education Statistics.
2. "Penn Hills Senior High School". Penn Hills School District.
3. Tribune Live.com. (2015). "PA Teacher Salaries Database".
4. "Penn Hills Opens New High School".
5. Forstadt, Jillian. (2024-01-23). "'Disillusioned' examines how Penn Hills and other suburbs undercut Black families' dreams". [[WESA-FM]].
6. (June 14, 2012). "Penn Hills High School getting new football field". WTAE.
7. Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2013). "Disclosure of Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities".
8. "2013 Gene Kelly Award Winners".
9. "Penn Hills High School Official Website". Penn Hills High School.
10. Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Association. (2016). "PIAA School Directory".
11. (September 18, 2018). "Penn Hills' Dante Cephas commits to Kent State". [[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]].
12. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/ChurBa99.htm Barry Church @ pro-football-reference.com]
13. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DonaAa00.htm Aaron Donald @ pro-football-reference.com]
14. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FlynTo20.htm Tom Flynn @ pro-football-reference.com]
15. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FralBi00.htm Bill Fralic @ pro-football-reference.com]
16. (11 May 1997). "Former Penn Hills baseball player finds success off the diamond". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
17. (July 13, 1987). "Kevin Peter Hall, Whose Predator Performance Is, Yes, Towering". [[People Magazine]].
18. (6 February 2019). "National signing day: Penn State receives two more commitments for incoming class of 2019".
19. "Packers sign DL Treyvon Hester".
20. John, Andrew. (May 5, 2017). "Penn Hills grad Hester realizes NFL dream after being drafted by Raiders". Trib Live.
21. Finder, Chuck. (June 13, 1996). "They Can't Forget Karl". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
22. Fittipaldo, Ray. (December 15, 2006). "Morelli critical of former high school coach". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
23. "26 Mar 1987, Page 115 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
24. "Penn Hills grad Salima Rockwell to lead Notre Dame women's volleyball program".
25. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SchiJa20.htm Jake Schifino @ pro-football-reference.com]
26. Enright, John. (June 13, 1996). "Penn Hills' Sendek finds staying power at Providence". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
27. Rizzo, Josh. (December 17, 2023). "Penn Hills grad Raion Strader makes immediate impact for Miami (Ohio) defense". [[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]].
28. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TumuTo20.htm Tom Tumulty @ pro-football-reference.com]
29. Byko, Laura. (2015-04-29). "Blogger left basketball behind to chronicle black experience in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.