Westinghouse High School (Pittsburgh)

For other uses, see Westinghouse High School (disambiguation).

Westinghouse High School
Location
1101 N. Murtland Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208 40.460833°N 79.901211°W / 40.460833; -79.901211 United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1917
School district	Pittsburgh Public Schools
Principal	Ms. Evelyn King (Acting)
Grades	6–12
Enrollment	622 November 2011
Representative	Randall Taylor
Website	Official website

Westinghouse High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
City of Pittsburgh Historic Structure
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark
Front of school.
Location:	1101 North Murtland Street, Homewood West, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	40°27′39″N 79°54′4.36″W
Built:	1917
Architect:	Ingham & Boyd
Architectural style:	Classical Revival
Governing body:	Local, Pittsburgh Public Schools
NRHP Reference#:	86002716
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	September 30, 1986
Designated CPHS:	November 30, 1999
Designated PHLF:	2001

Westinghouse High School is a public school in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, or The Academy at Westinghouse named for Pittsburgh resident George Westinghouse.

The school has an enrollment of 707 students, 99% of whom are African American.

Westinghouse is one of ten high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Westinghouse High School is a 6-12 school, one of four created in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Girls in one building, Boys in another part of the building with Faison joining Westinghouse High School on a separate floor if the board approves. In the 2011-2012 school year, Westinghouse High School will get some of the closing Peabody High School's students that live East of Negley.

Curriculum and academies

In the past, Westinghouse offered Culinary Arts and Cosmetology as part of its school-within-a-school programs.

The Science and Math Academy (SAM) allows students to develop skills in math and the sciences. A summer program allows students in the Academy to work with several colleges and universities

The Business and Finance Academy teaches students the skills needed in the financial services field, preparing students for further work in college or in the job market. Students are provided with training in the computer skills used most frequently in the business world.

Notable alumni

• Billy Strayhorn, jazz composer, known for "Lush Life" and "Take the "A" Train".
• Erroll Garner, jazz pianist and composer
• Ahmad Jamal, jazz pianist
• Frank Cunimondo, jazz pianist.
• Maurice Stokes, Basketball Hall of Fame who led WHS to the Pittsburgh City Championship in both 1950 and 1951. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1955 and played in the NBA All-Star Game every year of his career, before an in-game injury in 1958 resulted in permanent paralysis and ended his career.
• Wendell H. Phillips, member Maryland House of Delegates, (1979–1987)
• Erroll B. Davis Jr. Chancellor, University of Georgia, WHS class of 1961
• Chuck Cooper, first black drafted in the NBA
• Bill Nunn, Jr., journalist and American football scout
• Caroline Bright Smith, mother of actor Will Smith, class of 1955.

See also: Westinghouse "Wall of Fame"

2011-2012 School Year

In the fall of 2011, Westinghouse High School closed and reopened as two single gender 6-12 Schools -- one being the Young Men's Academy and the other the Young Women's Academy at Westinghouse. Many students arrived from the closing Peabody High School as well as some closed K-8 schools (Lincoln and Faison schools) which moved grades into Westinghouse.

The major changes in the fall of 2011 at Westinghouse faced some community conflict because laws dictate that students can not be forced to go to a Single Gender school as a 'feeder pattern school.' Hence, Pittsburgh Public Schools board decided that students living East of Negley will attend Westinghouse but can opt out in 30 days and attend the default Pittsburgh Milliones, University Preparatory School which faced increased enrollment. Projected enrollment for Westinghouse was to be 750 students. But in the early fall of 2011, 450 students have signed up.

By November 2011, the three principals that started the school year at Westinghouse were gone and the district also made an announcement that the single-gender operations would end in early 2012. The ACLU and others made threats of looming legal challenges and rather than go to court, the district decided that changes were the more prudent pathway for the future of the school.

External links

• Westinghouse High School website
• Pittsburgh Public Schools
• National Center for Education Statistics data for Westinghouse High School