Cheltenham High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the Wyncote neighborhood of Cheltenham Township, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, located from the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

of the City of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and from Center City. Serving grades 9 through 12, Cheltenham is the only high school in the School District of Cheltenham Township. It is fed by Cedarbrook Middle School, the only school in the school district for grades 7 and 8. Cheltenham High School was established in 1884 and is one of the oldest public high schools in Pennsylvania. The first location was on Ashbourne Road, and at the time of its closing in 1953, it was considered the oldest public school site in continuous use. ''Note:'' This includes The next building was at High School Road and Montgomery Avenue in

Elkins Park Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Ce ...

. The current Cheltenham High School located at 500 Rices Mill Road in Wyncote was built in 1959. It sits on a land area of approximately 47 acres, and is bound by Route 309, Route 152, Panther Road, Rices Mill Road, Carlton Avenue, and Old Mill Road. In 2017–18 the student ethnicity was distributed as follows: 54% Black, 31% White, 8% Asian, and 5% Hispanic. The school has approximately 1400 students in grades 9 through 12, with a student-teacher ratio of about 12:1. Cheltenham's athletic teams are known as the Cheltenham Panthers and are members of the PIAA District 1 in the American Conference of the

Suburban One League Suburban One League, often abbreviated "SOL" is an athletic conference in Southeastern Pennsylvania, serving high schools in Montgomery County and Bucks County. The league was established in 1922 as the "Suburban League." Since its inception, SO ...

. They have a long-standing tradition of holding a Thanksgiving Day football game against their cross-town rival, Abington Senior High School. The rivalry celebrated its 100th year in 2015. Among the school's notable alumni are the former Prime Minister of Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

, his older brother

Yoni Netanyahu Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu ( he, יונתן נתניהו; March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an American-born Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer who commanded the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal during Operation Entebbe, an operation to resc ...

, their class of 1964 classmate baseball Hall of Famer

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

, talk radio host

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, Liberty & Levin'' on Fox News. Levin worked in the admin ...

, 15-time Grammy Award winner

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

, and rapper Lil Dicky.

Operations

In 2004 the school adopted a stricter dress code because the administration felt that clothing that was too loose could hide identity badges and make identifying occupants more difficult.

Extracurriculars

Cheltenham Township School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive sports program.

Athletics

CHS is a member of the

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The PIAA's main ...

(PIAA) and in the Suburban One American Conference (SOL). It was one of the founding members of the SOL in 1922, and is one of 4 of the remaining original schools. Cheltenham Athletics promote sportsmanship above self, and therefore, consistently receive the SOL Sportsmanship Award. Cheltenham has teams in the following sports: ''Asterisk designates available to both boys and girls.''

Fall sports

*Cross country running* *Boys football *Soccer* *Girls field hockey *Girls tennis *Girls volleyball *Coed cheerleading *Coed unified cheer

Winter sports

* Basketball * * Indoor Track* * Swimming/Diving * * Boys wrestling

Spring sports

* Boys baseball * Boys tennis * Track & field* * Boys volleyball * Coed unified track

Girls Basketball Team

The Cheltenham Girls basketball team won the PIAA AAAA state championship in 2000, and again in 2007. They have won PIAA District 1 titles, and the Suburban One American Conference 23 times. Coach Bob Schaefer won his 700th game on February 5, 2010, and has coached the Panthers for 30 years. He has coached the WBCA All-American Forward, Laura Harper, who played in the WNBA and is the current head coach at

Coppin State Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. In terms of demographics, the Coppin State st ...

. Harper scored 2007 points during her Cheltenham Career. In 2007 (their 2nd championship year), the Panthers were honored by the

Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was established in May 2002 to honor individuals and groups who are either area natives who became prominent in the field of sports or who became ...

with the "Pride of Philadelphia Award." The award is given to individuals or teams who have "represented the Philadelphia area with dignity, determination, and class through athletic achievement. " On Tuesday March 27, 2012, Schafer resigned from his 31-year post as the Lady Panthers head coach. He finished with a 757-163 record, 2 PIAA AAAA state titles, 2 state runner-up, 4 District I Championships, and the

champions 24 out of the last 26 years. Schaefer, a West Hazleton native, was inducted into the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame in September, 2012.

Girls Track and Field

The Cheltenham Girls Track and Field Team has won six state championships. They have won four indoor PTFCA indoor state championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) and two outdoor PIAA State Championships (2015, 2016). They have also won seven PIAA District 1 championships (2013 - 2019)

Cheltenham–Abington rivalry

200px, The Cheltenham and Abington logos next to each other at the Abington gymnasium The Cheltenham–Abington rivalry, also known as "The Turkey Bowl", is a football game played between the Cheltenham Panthers and the Abington Galloping Ghosts. It has been played annually on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

since 1915, unless one of the teams has conflicts with PIAA playoffs. The rivalry is the fifth-oldest public high school rivalry in Pennsylvania, and the seventh-oldest including private schools. The schools are less than 2 miles apart. Despite not being in the same conference, the rivalry is prevalent in other sports, mainly basketball. In some sports, the teams do not play each other at all. Abington leads the overall series 55–34-6. Below is a chart of the all-time games of the rivalry.

Media

Cheltenham High School publishes a school newspaper "The Cheltonian," the school yearbook "El Delator," and various interviews, polls, and student work aired on

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

channel 42, which is the township channel.

Music and arts

Vocal music

Cheltenham has many

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

classes, such as Vwa Ba, Voces Altas, Concert Choir, and Select Choir, which all perform together biannually at the Winter and Spring Choir Concert. Other activities include the Touring Ensemble, CHS's

show choir A show choir (originally known as a "swing choir") is a musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often with an overarching theme. It is most relevant in the Midwestern United States and was popularized by the America ...

, in which students prepare a set of song and dance numbers-often with a central theme-and perform monthly around the community as well as at competitions. Most recently, the Touring Ensemble traveled to New Orleans in March of 2019. Cheltenham also sponsors two

A cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

groups, Sons of Pitch and Up the Octave.

Band and orchestra

Marching Band, Chamber Orchestra, etc.

Theatre

Cheltenham hosts an annual Music Theatre production, which occurs annually on the week preceding Spring Break.

Notable alumni

The Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame was established to "acknowledge the achievements of our alma mater's most remarkable graduates". The first class was in 1981, and have had inductions in 1984, 1987, 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2002. Hall of Fame inductees have a HoF next to their name. * Michael Baylson '57 Federal Judge for

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...

HoF * Brandon Bing, '07 Professional Football Player for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, '67 Grammy Award-winning Jazz Artist HoF *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on Nov ...

, '63 Grammy Award-winning Jazz Artist HoF * Michael S. Brown, MD, '58 1985 Nobel Prize in Medicine HoF *David Burd, '06 Rapper, known as Lil Dicky *

Laurie Colwin Laurie Colwin (June 14, 1944 – October 24, 1992) was an American writer who wrote five novels, three collections of short stories and two volumes of essays and recipes. She was known for her portrayals of New York society and her food columns in ...

, '62 Author and Columnist HoF *

Rebecca Creskoff Rebecca Creskoff (born February 1, 1971) is an American actress. Career Creskoff graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before attending New York University, where she received her master of fine arts degree. She has guest-starred in a nu ...

, '88 Actress *

Tom Feeney Thomas Charles Feeney III (born May 21, 1958) is an American politician from Orlando, Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas. Early life He was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Phi ...

, Member of Congress, R-FL *

Stuart F. Feldman Stuart Franklin Feldman (January 20, 1937 – July 11, 2010) was an American lobbyist and social activist who worked in the administrations of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. He co-founded in 1978 what became Vietnam Vete ...

, '54 (1937–2010), co-founder of

Vietnam Veterans of America Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA) is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government. VVA is th ...

.Naedele, Walter F
"Stuart F. Feldman, prime Constitution Center supporter"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', July 17, 2010. Accessed July 22, 2010. *

Glenn A. Fine Glenn Alan Fine (born March 22, 1956) is the former principal deputy Inspector General of the Department of Defense and former Acting IG of the Department of Defense. Fine previously served as the Inspector General of the United States Departme ...

, Inspector General,

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

HoF * Wilmot E. Fleming, '35 State Senator HoF * Jon D. Fox, '65 U.S. Congressman HoF * Patricia Greenspan, '62 Philosopher *

Robert Greenstein Robert Greenstein (born 1946) is founder and former president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on federal and state fiscal policy and public programs that affect low and moderate-incom ...

'63 founder and President of the

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a progressive American think tank that analyzes the impact of federal and state government budget policies. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Center's stated mission is to "conduct resear ...

HoF * Laura Harper, '04 Professional Basketball Player *

Trina Schart Hyman Trina Schart Hyman (April 8, 1939 – November 19, 2004) was an American illustrator of children's books. She illustrated over 150 books, including fairy tales and Arthurian legends. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illust ...

, '56 Artist & Illustrator HoF *

, '64 Professional Baseball Player HoF *

Maxine Kumin Maxine Kumin (June 6, 1925 – February 6, 2014) was an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1981–1982. Biography Early years Maxine Kumin was born Maxine Winokur on June ...

'42 Poet and Novelist HoF *

, '75 Conservative Talk Radio Host & Attorney *

Richard Levinson Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. Life and career Levinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the Unive ...

, '52 Emmy Award-Winning Writer & Producer HoF *

Chad Levitt Chad Levitt (born November 21, 1975) is an American former NFL football player. He is Jewish, was born in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania, is 6–1, and had a playing weight of 231 pounds. He played high school football, and wrestled and competed in ...

(b. 1975), '93 American NFL football player *

Franz Lidz Franz Lidz (born September 24, 1951) is an American writer, journalist and pro basketball executive. A ''New York Times'' archaeology, science and film essayist, he's a former ''Sports Illustrated'' senior writer,

, '69 Journalist *

William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

, '52 Emmy Award-Winning Writer & Producer HoF *

Craig Littlepage Craig Littlepage (born August 5, 1951) is an American college athletics administrator and former basketball player and coach. He is the former athletic director at the University of Virginia. He was named to that position in 2001 and has been wit ...

, '69 College Administrator & Educator HoF *

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for '' Prototype' ...

, '70 Musician HoF' *

Mary Ellen Mark Mary Ellen Mark (March 20, 1940 – May 25, 2015) was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were "away from mainstream society and t ...

, '58 Photojournalist HoF *

Chris Myarick Christopher George Myarick (born October 6, 1995) is an American football fullback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple. Professional career Miami Dolphins Myarick was signed by ...

, '14 Professional Football Player (Miami Dolphins, New York Giants) * Robert J. Myers, '29 Co-creator of United States Social Security program HoF * Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, '67 Prime Minister of Israel HoF * Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu (1946–1976), '64 Israeli military hero HoF *

Ronald Perelman Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman and investor. MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests in groceries, cigars, licorice, makeup, cars, photography, t ...

, '60 billionaire, philanthropist *

David Saxon David S. Saxon (February 8, 1920 – December 8, 2005) was an American physicist and educator who served as the President of University of California system as well as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Te ...

, '37 Physicist, Educator & Administrator HoF * Norma Shapiro '45 U.S. District Court Judge HoF * Ronald M. Shapiro, '60 Notable Sports Agent, Corporate Attorney, New York Times Best Selling Author HoF *

Robert C. Solomon Robert C. Solomon (September 14, 1942 – January 2, 2007) was a philosopher and business ethicist, notable author, and "Distinguished Teaching Professor of Business and Philosophy" at the University of Texas at Austin, where he held a named ...

, '60 Philosopher HoF *

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (born 1 April 1954) is the Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale School of Management, and Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies. Sonnenfeld is best known as the founder and CEO of Chief Executive ...

Senior Associate Dean for Executive Programs and

Lester Crown Lester Crown (born June 7, 1925) is an American businessman and is the son of Chicago financier Henry Crown (died 1990), who created the Material Service Corporation with two brothers in 1919, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. Crown h ...

Professor in the Practice of Management at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Dan Trachtenberg Dan Trachtenberg (born May 11, 1981) is an American filmmaker and podcast host.Rachel Kurland, Scare Tactics Pay off for Cheltenham’s Dan Trachtenberg'. The Jewish Exponent. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2017. He is best known for direct ...

, '99 Filmmaker * Wallace Triplett, '45 Professional Football Player HoF * Kate Vrijmoet, '84 Artist * Chris Williams, '02 Professional Soccer Player for

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

Notable faculty

Paul Westhead Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American Retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athl ...

Former Cheltenham Boys Basketball Coach,

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

women's basketball coach; also coached the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, and

La Salle Explorers The La Salle Explorers are the varsity sports teams from La Salle University in Philadelphia. The Explorers compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams are also participate in the Ph ...

, among others.

References

External links

Cheltenham High School websiteCheltenham High School Profile
{{authority control Public high schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1884 Schools in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1884 establishments in Pennsylvania Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania