Interboro High School


Interboro High School is a high school located in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
As the sole high school in the Interboro School District, students from surrounding communities Glenolden, Norwood, Prospect Park itself, and the two towns of Tinicum Township attend grade levels 9-12 here.
The school district's school bus system is headquartered at the high school, as is "ITV," a television studio broadcasting to all cable-ready homes in the district.
As of the 2006-2007 school year, IHS has a student body of roughly 1,500. Enrollment declined to 1,272 by 2010 with 89 teachers.

Graduation rate

In 2011, the graduation rate was 92%. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Interboro High School's rate was 78% for 2010.
;According to traditional graduation rate calculations:
In 2011, the school declined to Corrective Action II 1st Year status due to chronic, low student achievement. In 2010, the school was in, Making Progress: in Corrective Action I status due to low student achievement especially in mathematics. Under No Child Left Behind the school was required to offer students the right to transfer to a successful high school in the district. None exists. The school was required by the PA Department of Education to develop a school improvement plan. Due to the low student achievement, the school qualifies for additional state funding to improve student achievement in reading, math and science. The school was one of 37 public schools statewide whose student achievement has fallen to this level in 2011.
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Math:
11th Grade Science:
According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 61% of the Interboro Senior High School graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges. Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.
Dual enrollment The high school does currently offer the Pennsylvania dual enrollment program which permits students to earn deeply discounted college credits while still enrolled in high school. The program is offered through over 400 school districts with the assistance of a state grant.

Graduation requirements

The Interboro School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 23 credits to graduate, including: math 3 credits, English 4 credits, history 4 credits, science 3 credits, Physical Education 1 credit, health 0.5 credit, Computer course 0.5 credits, family and Consumer Science 0.5 credit and electives. Students must earn a minimum of 4.5 credits to be promoted to 10th grade. To move to 11th Grade a student must earn a minimum 10.5 credits. To enter 12th Grade a student must earn a minimum 16.5 credits.
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 2015 and 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.

SAT scores

From January to June 2011, 181 Interboro High School students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 461. The Math average score was 468. The Writing average score was 445. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among state with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479. In the United States 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged Verbal 497, Math - 514 and in writing - 489.

Extracurriculars

The district offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and 16 sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy.
By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.

Prominent alumni

In 2004, Vince Papale, a native of Glenolden, Pennsylvania, was inducted in the Interboro hall of fame. He played three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, and was only an inspiration for the 2006 movie Invincible which very little followed Vince's "real" life. Vince actually was a long term substitute for Interboro when his Eagles opportunity came about. Unlike the movie, he was a bartender in the small town of Prospect Park in Delaware County rather than in the city of Philadelphia.
Carter Merbriar of "Captain Noah" fame graduated from the old Prospect Park High School in the early 1940s. Professional musician-turned-businessman
Jay Joseph, 2020 Presidential candidate and founder behind military-themed retailer BOPIUSA, is a native of Prospect Park and graduated from Interboro High School in 1994.