Conestoga High #1....say what??

[TheGLOV]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/car...ery-state/ss-AAsjPSE?ocid=spartanntp#image=39

Comments anybody??

Anybody disagree?

Support your opinion if so kindly.

Thanks!

 

[Relayer]

Conestoga has always been regarded as one of the premier public high schools in PA.

 

[TheGLOV]

Conestoga has always been regarded as one of the premier public high schools in PA.

Upper St. Clair HS (CRUST) as the locals call it,...Mt. Lebanon HS, and North Allegheny H.S. surely are pissed about this. Sewickley Academy is withholding comment at this time.

Shadyside Academy declined comment.

 

[LafayetteBear]

My wife (Conestoga Class of '78) heartily agrees. Thanks for the heads up, Glov. (Of course, now I gotta hear it for awhile. )

 

[LionJim]

I wouldn't think that anyone would guess that Poolesville HS was the best public school in Montgomery County, MD, much less the state.

 

[grinagrin]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/car...ery-state/ss-AAsjPSE?ocid=spartanntp#image=39

Comments anybody??

Anybody disagree?

Support your opinion if so kindly.

Thanks!

Is this the school where Corey Jones, the #1 WR in his class, ahead of Randy Moss, back in the mid 90’s went to?

 

[Delco Lion]

Is this the school where Corey Jones, the #1 WR in his class, ahead of Randy Moss, back in the mid 90’s went to?

No that was Conestoga Valley.

 

[royboy]

No that was Conestoga Valley.

...which is on the east side of Lancaster; probably the best regarded public school in that area is Manheim Twp.

 

[19333lion]

I am still the only Conestoga grad to have finished in the 11th 10th of a graduating class!

It is a really good school, tainted by a BS scandal a few years back.

My daughter's class had 95 NHS students out of a class of 500 or so. Expectations are sky high for a lot of the kids. It was a lot more fun in the 70s....

 

[BRETTPSU]

A couple years ago my niece graduated from State High with a 4.1 or 4.3(can't remember) and finished 61st in her class. Close to a quarter of the kids in front of her went Ivy or Academy. That's some serious competition.

 

[Delco Lion]

I am still the only Conestoga grad to have finished in the 11th 10th of a graduating class!

It is a really good school, tainted by a BS scandal a few years back.

My daughter's class had 95 NHS students out of a class of 500 or so. Expectations are sky high for a lot of the kids. It was a lot more fun in the 70s....

It is a very good school. My brother went there when we moved to to the Philly area. Great academics and extracurricular activities. It does seem like they have had a string of unwanted bad press in the past several years, the "BS football thing", and 3-4 employees getting arrested.

 

[grinagrin]

No that was Conestoga Valley.

Thanks

 

[Ranger Dan]

I was thinking Conestoga (Valley) in Lancaster County as well... where is this Conestoga?

 

[Dr. Evel]

3 of my 4 kids went to Conestoga. It is located in Berwyn, PA. Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships. Town names: Paoli, Berwyn, Wayne (which also sends some to Radnor) and little bit of Malvern.

 

[Ranger Dan]

3 of my 4 kids went to Conestoga. It is located in Berwyn, PA. Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships. Town names: Paoli, Berwyn, Wayne (which also sends some to Radnor) and little bit of Malvern.

Thanks. My wife grew up in Malvern and went to Great Valley... I'll have to ask her about them. Maybe there was a rivalry.

 

[Dr. Evel]

As for opinions, these rankings remind me of the star system and ranking system for HS football players. Who is to say that player #65 is better than #104? There are a lot of good schools out there.

Conestoga was fine. Some great teachers, some teachers with attitude. There is a big element of heredity vs. environment in the area, which some of the teachers tend to forget. Very good elementary schools, and the HS academics were aspirational.

 

[Grant Green]

Thanks. My wife grew up in Malvern and went to Great Valley... I'll have to ask her about them. Maybe there was a rivalry.

What a dumpy town (tic).
Stoga was in the central league so not a rival. now Downingtown was a different story.

 

[tboyer]

Conestoga has always been regarded as one of the premier public high schools in PA.

Some people may not know this is referring to Conestoga -- Easttown/Tredyffrin, on the Main Line -- not Conestoga in Lancaster.

If you have a bright motivated kid who wants to be challenged, Conestoga would be one of the best in the Philly suburbs. Tremendous resources and course offerings. Other great high schools include Lower Merion and Harriton, Central Bucks West, Radnor and Haverford.

The highest achieving high school in Pa. is Masterman in Philly but that's a magnet school for gifted kids so it's kind of a different animal.

And really there are lots of first class high schools who don't score as high on standardized tests because they're more diverse, but they're great schools where bright kids can get whatever they need. Schools like Ridley in Delaware Country or Abington. Lots of great public schools in this corner of the state.

 

[19333lion]

What a dumpy town (tic).
Stoga was in the central league so not a rival. now Downingtown was a different story.

I beg to differ. While in different leagues, there have been many rivalries over the years, in the context of out of league play and district competition. A lot of kids there play on the same travel squads for different sports. Girls sports in particular have had some notable games over the years. CHS-GV was Conestoga's final Thanksgiving rivalry game, before both districts ended the traditional game. A large loss IMO!

 

[TheGLOV]

Wouldn't it be neat to have cheerleaders cheering you on while you are taking the S.A.T's??

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

We just moved from that area last year...my son (still in elementary school) would’ve gone to the STEM Academy in Downingtown. At the time we left it was the top ranked public HS in the state (top 100 overall nationally). Regardless of whether it (or Conestoga) is actually #1 doesn’t really matter...your options are typically more broad coming out of any of these “ranked” schools just for their reputations.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

Wouldn't it be neat to have cheerleaders cheering you on while you are taking the S.A.T's??

Yeah THIS would really make it easier for me to focus on my test...

 

[Media Fan]

Having lived in Easttown Township for 38 years, I remember when those from neighboring school districts were quite comfortable telling me how good their school district was.
HAVING SAID THAT, IMO there are great kids everywhere--every bit as good as those @ Conestoga.
EVERYWHERE.

 

[TheGLOV]

Any out-of-staters want to comment on their states HS ranking??

 

[Dr. Evel]

Conestoga has a good class on making Boilo.

Not really, but I wanted to combine the two threads...

 

[Grant Green]

I beg to differ. While in different leagues, there have been many rivalries over the years, in the context of out of league play and district competition. A lot of kids there play on the same travel squads for different sports. Girls sports in particular have had some notable games over the years. CHS-GV was Conestoga's final Thanksgiving rivalry game, before both districts ended the traditional game. A large loss IMO!

Perhaps things have changed but when I attended GV in the late 80s I don't recall any significant games vs Conestoga. GV dropped to AA in 89 so wouldn't have even met stoga in playoffs for a number of years.

Like I said, when I was there downingtown was a huge rival with west Chester not far behind.

 

[royboy]

Perhaps things have changed but when I attended GV in the late 80s I don't recall any significant games vs Conestoga. GV dropped to AA in 89 so wouldn't have even met stoga in playoffs for a number of years.

Like I said, when I was there downingtown was a huge rival with west Chester not far behind.

Great Valley has at least produced a Nittany Lion footballer in Ryan Buchholz. Don't recall one from Conestoga offhand.

 

[Relayer]

Conestoga just won back to back state titles in boys soccer and this year's team finished #9 in the country by USA Today. The baseball program has reached the baseball finals twice in the past 7 years, winning the championship in 2011. They've had moderate success in football but haven't good in a few years.

 

[Delco Lion]

Conestoga just won back to back state titles in boys soccer and this year's team finished #9 in the country by USA Today. The baseball program has reached the baseball finals twice in the past 7 years, winning the championship in 2011. They've had moderate success in football but haven't good in a few years.

The boys and girls lax teams are some of the best in the East and have won a number of State championships in the recent years.

 

[Grant Green]

Great Valley has at least produced a Nittany Lion footballer in Ryan Buchholz. Don't recall one from Conestoga offhand.

F yeah!

 

[N&B4PSU]

A couple years ago my niece graduated from State High with a 4.1 or 4.3(can't remember) and finished 61st in her class. Close to a quarter of the kids in front of her went Ivy or Academy. That's some serious competition.

Dammmmmmm... when you can run a 4.1 and finish 61st... that is one helluva class!!

but seriuously, congrats to her!

 

[19333lion]

Great Valley has at least produced a Nittany Lion footballer in Ryan Buchholz. Don't recall one from Conestoga offhand.

JoePa offered Marquis Weeks as a safety. He wanted to play RB. He went to Virginia where they promptly turned him into a safety. A few over the years that should have been offered but weren't (Steve Schindler, BC, 1st round draft choice of Broncos in '76 comes to mind immediately. His classmate, Glenn Capriola, who also played at BC and was drafter as a RB. Brad Herzlich, the kid who went to BC as a lber, got Ewings Sarcoma, and still played for the Giants for 5-6 years).

 

[10002268]

I wouldn't think that anyone would guess that Poolesville HS was the best public school in Montgomery County, MD, much less the state.

Because it’s not....

 

[Agoodnap]

Having lived in Easttown Township for 38 years, I remember when those from neighboring school districts were quite comfortable telling me how good their school district was.
HAVING SAID THAT, IMO there are great kids everywhere--every bit as good as those @ Conestoga.
EVERYWHERE.

It's not always about the school or the kids...the difference is usually the parents and whether they care about school AND take responsibility for their child's education. That's a big AND in the last sentence.

 

[gregoryj95]

Conestoga grad here (1990), with a good friend who is a longtime teacher in the English department there. Even in my day, we had the most National Merit Finalists, kids getting 1500-1600 on the SATs, all that stuff. So many advantages within that district between the tax base, its well-earned reputation which gives them a distinct hiring advantage, wealthy parents who are willing and able to provide excellent support to students and programs, etc.

Our decision on where to live and have our children go to school came down to the TE district and the PV district, which was our ultimate decision. In the end I wanted to get away from that Main Line attitude, and ended up very happy with a district that's right around the Top 10 in PA. Worked out great for us, including my daughter who just KILLED it in her first semester at University Park. Lots of great public school districts in PA, that is for sure.

 

[tboyer]

We just moved from that area last year...my son (still in elementary school) would’ve gone to the STEM Academy in Downingtown. At the time we left it was the top ranked public HS in the state (top 100 overall nationally). Regardless of whether it (or Conestoga) is actually #1 doesn’t really matter...your options are typically more broad coming out of any of these “ranked” schools just for their reputations.

Yeah any kind of ranking tells you a lot more about the demographics of the student body than it tells you about the school. The more white you are, the lower the proportion of ESL kids, higher the median family income, the higher the test scores. Really the key to high test scores is to not allow apartment buildings and to have a history of housing discrimination (like many places in the Philly suburbs) which have kept non-white families from moving in. Has nothing to do with the school itself.

In a sense, the best students don't even need the "best" high schools. they will thrive anywhere. I have a brilliant niece who attends one of the "worst" (by test scores) high schools in her central Pa. county -- but she's going to be a national merit scholar and is getting absolutely everything she needs from this high school because they have a great faculty and administration -- they just serve a lot of low-income kids who lower their average test scores.

And needless to say it's true for colleges. Malcolm Gladwell wrote about a study of kids who were admitted to both PSU and Penn -- and they tracked the success of these kids 10 years later. And found that the kids who attended PSU were every bit as successful as well as the kids who attended Penn. The school choice made no difference whatsoever in career success.

 

[CoastFan]

Any out-of-staters want to comment on their states HS ranking??

Well, I've never lived in New York City, but if the academic reputation of a public high school is in question, it's hard to argue against the Bronx High School of Science. While this is a public high school, to say that admission is highly selective is putting it mildly.

Of the Nobel Laureates in physics, I believe two graduated in the same year. Of current scientists of note, I believe Neil Degrasse Tyson is an alumnus.

The following is copied from Wikipedia.

The average SAT score in 2012 was 2,010 out of 2,400.[3] Almost all Bronx Science graduates continue on to four-year colleges, and it is a "feeder school" with many graduates going on to attend schools in the Ivy League and other institutions each year.[16] Bronx Science has counted 132 finalists in the Intel (formerly Westinghouse) Science Talent Search, the largest number of any high school.[31] Eight graduates have won Nobel Prizes—more than any other secondary education institution in the United States[65]—and six have won Pulitzer Prizes.[66][67] Of the eight Nobel Prizes earned by Bronx Science graduates, seven of them are in physics, which earned Bronx Science a designation by the American Physical Society as an "Historic Physics Site" in 2010.

 

[TheGLOV]

Well, I've never lived in New York City, but if the academic reputation of a public high school is in question, it's hard to argue against the Bronx High School of Science. While this is a public high school, to say that admission is highly selective is putting it mildly.

Of the Nobel Laureates in physics, I believe two graduated in the same year. Of current scientists of note, I believe Neil Degrasse Tyson is an alumnus.

The following is copied from Wikipedia.

The average SAT score in 2012 was 2,010 out of 2,400.[3] Almost all Bronx Science graduates continue on to four-year colleges, and it is a "feeder school" with many graduates going on to attend schools in the Ivy League and other institutions each year.[16] Bronx Science has counted 132 finalists in the Intel (formerly Westinghouse) Science Talent Search, the largest number of any high school.[31] Eight graduates have won Nobel Prizes—more than any other secondary education institution in the United States[65]—and six have won Pulitzer Prizes.[66][67] Of the eight Nobel Prizes earned by Bronx Science graduates, seven of them are in physics, which earned Bronx Science a designation by the American Physical Society as an "Historic Physics Site" in 2010.

Wow!

Thank you!

 

[royboy]

Our decision on where to live and have our children go to school came down to the TE district and the PV district, which was our ultimate decision. In the end I wanted to get away from that Main Line attitude, and ended up very happy with a district that's right around the Top 10 in PA. Worked out great for us, including my daughter who just KILLED it in her first semester at University Park. Lots of great public school districts in PA, that is for sure.

thanks, but what is the PV district?

 

[phillybillyreprise]

...which is on the east side of Lancaster; probably the
best regarded public school in that area is Manheim Twp.

Hempfield grads may disagree.