Upper Darby High School
Upper Darby High School is a four-year public high school located in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, as part of the Upper Darby School District. UDHS is also the oldest high school in Delaware County, having been established in 1895.
As of the 2010–11 school year, the school had an enrollment of 3,762 students and 256.85 classroom teachers, for a student-teacher ratio of 17.0.
The population is diverse, with over 55 nationalities of students. It has a long-established football rivalry with Monsignor Bonner High School, located less than a block away. Upper Darby High School was a part of the inspiration for Upper Darby alumna Tina Fey's movie comedy Mean Girls.
The mascot of Upper Darby High is the Royal, which is portrayed as a lion. In previous years, it was a court jester. The school emblem is the royal oak tree, the yearbook is named the Oak, and the newspaper is called the Acorn. An Acorn award is rewarded every year at the UDAEF Sweet Night Out Foundation Ball in February.
According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 4 teachers were rated "Non‐Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind. Upper Darby Senior High School is one of the largest high schools in Pennsylvania by enrollment. The High School is also home to the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, and the Summer Stage program.
Campus
The campus is adjacent to, but not within, the Drexel Hill census-designated place. It has a Drexel Hill postal address.Adequate Yearly Progress history
In 2011, Upper Darby Senior High School declined to Corrective Action II 5th Year AYP status due to chronic, low student achievement in reading and mathematics. The school met just one metric in 2011. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the school administration was required to notify parents of the school's poor achievement outcomes and to offer the parents the opportunity to transfer their child to a successful school within the District. Additionally, the school administration was required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to develop a School Improvement Plan to address the school's low student achievement. Under the Pennsylvania Accountability System, the school must pay for additional tutoring for struggling students.- 2010 – Corrective Action II 4th Year
- 2009 – Corrective Action II 3rd Year
- 2008 – Corrective Action II 2nd Year
- 2007 – Corrective Action II 1st Year
- 2006 – School Improvement II
- 2005 – School Improvement I – 2nd year
- 2004 – School Improvement I
- 2003 – Warning status
11th Grade Reading
- 2011 – 56% on grade level,. State – 69.1% of 11th graders are on grade level.
- 2010 – 53%. State – 66%
- 2009 – 53%. State – 65%
- 2008 – 51%. State – 65%
- 2007 – 57%. State – 65%
11th Grade Math
- 2011 – 58% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 60.3% of 11th graders are on grade level.
- 2010 – 54%. State – 59%
- 2009 – 50%. State – 56%.
- 2008 – 51%. State – 56%
- 2007 – 44%. State – 53%
11th Grade Science
- 2011 – 20% on grade level. State – 40% of 11th graders were on grade level.
- 2010 – 20%. State – 39%
- 2009 – 21%. State – 40%
- 2008 – 20%. State – 39%
College remediation rate
Dual enrollment
Upper Darby Senior High School offers a dual enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offered a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.For the 2009–10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $5,023 for the program.
SAT scores
From January to June 2011, 581 Upper Darby School District students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 440. The Math average score was 464. The Writing average score was 423. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal – 493, Math – 501, Writing – 479. In the United States, 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.Graduation rate
In 2011, Upper Darby High School's graduation rate was 92%. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Upper Darby Senior High School's rate was 80.99% for 2010.;According to traditional graduation rate calculations:
- 2010 – 85.43%
- 2009 – 85%
- 2008 – 81%
- 2007 – 81%
Graduation requirements
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 class of 2017, 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. In 2011, Pennsylvania high school students field tested the Algebra 1, Biology and English Lit exams. The statewide results were: Algebra 1 38% on grade level, Biology 35% on grade level and English Lit – 49% on grade level. Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Classrooms for the future grant
The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006 to 2009. The Upper Darby School District applied receiving $469,223 in 2006–07. In 2007–08, the District received $838,700. Upper Darby School District received $200,597 in 2008–09 for a total funding of $1,508,520. This was the highest total funding awarded to a school district in Delaware County The highest funding state wide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County – $9,409,073. In 2010, Classrooms for the Future funding was curtailed statewide due to a massive state financial crisis precipitated by a national economic recession.Arts
Upper Darby High School is home to the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, a nearly 1,800-seat theater that hosts not only school functions, but also between 200 and 400 events annually. During the summer, the arts center hosts the largest summer theater group in Delaware County: Summer Stage, with over 200 participants in multiple musicals. Harry Dietzler founded the Summer Stage program in 1976.Extracurriculars
Upper Darby High School offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive and costly sports program. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy. The Board complies with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association policy that students may practice and participate in competitions when failing up to 2 core curriculum courses.By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students residing 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.
Sports
Upper Darby sports teams compete in the Central League.The District funds:
- Boys Sports:
- *Baseball – AAAA
- *Basketball – AAAA
- *Cross Country – AAA
- *Football – AAAA
- *Golf – AAA
- *Indoor Track and Field – AAAA
- *Lacrosse – AAAA
- *Soccer – AAA
- *Swimming and Diving -AAA
- *Tennis – AAA
- *Track and Field – AAA
- *Wrestling – AAA
- Girls Sports:
- *Basketball – AAAA
- *Cheerleading – AAAA
- *Cross Country – AAA
- *Field Hockey – AAA
- *Golf – AAA
- *Indoor Track and Field – AAAA
- *Lacrosse – AAAA
- *Soccer – AAA
- *Softball – AAAA
- *Swimming and Diving – AAA
- *Girls' Tennis – AAA
- *Track and Field – AAA
- *Volleyball – AAA
Notable alumni
Upper Darby High School's Wall of Fame committee recognizes individuals who have become leaders in their industries. Wall of Fame members are noted by WoF after their information.- Lloyd Alexander; Class of 1940: Fantasy writer, author of the books forming the basis for Disney's The Black Cauldron. WoF
- Keith Andes; Class of 1938: Broadway and film actor.
- Mario J. Civera, Jr.; Class of 1965: Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives WoF
- Jim Croce; Class of 1960: Singer-songwriter, one Number 1 album. WoF first Wall of Famer
- Mark Cronin; Class of 1982: Creator and producer of many VH1 shows, including Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, Rock of Love Charm School, I Love Money, The Surreal Life, etc. WoF
- Heather Donahue; Class of 1991: Star of The Blair Witch Project and Taken.
- Tina Fey; Class of 1988: Senior writer, Saturday Night Live. Scriptwriter and co-star, Mean Girls and the TV show 30 Rock. Notable player in the 2008 presidential campaign because of her impersonation of Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. WoF
- Derek Frey, Class of 1991, film director and producer, produced several Tim Burton films.
- D'or Fischer, American-Israeli professional basketball player
- D. Barry Gibbons; member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Delaware County from 1961 to 1962
- Kermit Gordon; Class of 1933: President of the Brookings Institution, a Rhodes Scholar, and former Director of the United States Bureau of the Budget WoF
- Bob Lloyd; Class of 1963; NCAA First Team All-American and then American Basketball Association player
- F. Joseph Loeper; Class of 1962: Former majority leader of the Pennsylvania Senate WoF
- David MacAdam; Class of 1928: Discoverer of MacAdam ellipses; former head of image structure at Eastman Kodak Research Laboratory, former President of Optical Society of America
- Shannon Meehan; Class of 2001: Iraq War hero, author, disabled Veterans activist. WoF
- Terrence J. Nolen; Class of 1981: Artistic director of the Arden Theatre Company
- Dorothy Germain Porter; Class of 1943: Amateur golfer, winner – U.S. Women's Amateur in 1949, U.S. Senior Women's Amateur in 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983. WoF
- Jack Ramsay; Class of 1942: NBA coach, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 1992, seventh-winningest coach in NBA history WoF
- Todd Rucci; Class of 1988: Played for the New England Patriots
- Todd Rundgren; Class of 1966: Musician and award-winning record producer
- Alvin Sargent; Class of 1945: Two-time Academy Award winner for screenplays. WoF
- Jerome Socolovsky; Class of 1982: journalist, radio correspondent formerly with National Public Radio NPR and currently with Voice of America.
- "Uncle" Marty Stern; Class of 1954: Coach, best known for his success with the women's cross country team at Villanova. WoF
- George Wackenhut; Class of 1937: Founder of Wackenhut Corp, major security contractor WoF
- Floyd Wedderburn; Class of 1994: Played for the Seattle Seahawks
- Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh; Class of 1961: Sheriff of Chester County, Pennsylvania. One of only 22 female sheriffs in the US WoF
- William Wharton; Class of 1943: Writer, best known for his first novel Birdy, which was also successful as a film. WoF
- Jeff LaBar; best known for being the guitarist for the band Cinderella
- Simoni Lawrence; Class of 2006: Professional football player. Currently plays with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League
- Maaly Raw; Professional Hip-Hop producer. Having worked with Lil Uzi Vert, Kur and others