B. Reed Henderson High School is located partially in the borough of
West Chester and partially in
West Goshen Township
West Goshen Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 23,040 at the 2020 census. In 2013, ''Money Magazine'' voted West Goshen as the 10th best place to live in America. West Goshen has also been ra ...
in
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, ...
. B. Reed Henderson is one of the three high schools (Henderson,
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
, and
Rustin) in the
West Chester Area School District.
It serves portions of the following municipalities: West Chester borough, West Goshen Township,
East Bradford Township, and
West Whiteland Township.
[West Chester Area Council of Governments Map]
" On the website of West Goshen Township. Retrieved on September 26, 2018. West Chester Henderson serves about half of the
Exton census-designated place, entirely in West Whiteland Township.
[2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Exton CDP, PA]
" U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
. Retrieved on October 9, 2018.
History
The original school, named West Chester High School, was located at North Church and Biddle Streets in West Chester. The first graduating class was composed of five girls who graduated in 1866. The next graduation did not occur until 1869. Since that year, the school has graduated a class annually. In 1906, a new school was built adjacent to the old one on North Church Street. During this time the ''Garnet and White'', the annual yearbook, was established and continues to this day. In 1923, the Student Council was created to help students and staff work together. With the expansion of athletics, the school needed room for sports fields. In 1923 a stadium was built on Penn Street and stands to this day. The stadium is named J. Oscar Dicks Stadium after the man on the School Board's Athletic Committee who helped lobby for the stadium.
On December 22, 1947, fire destroyed the school. The principal at the time was B. Reed Henderson and the rebuilt school would later be named after him. Onlookers to the fire witnessed catastrophic failure of the roof and flames estimated at 100 feet high. The community was stunned by the destruction of their beloved school. Parents from outside the district had paid extra money to send their students to the school, which was well known for its academic excellence. At the time of the fire, plans were already underway to build a new school on the property next to the athletic stadium. In the interim, students from the high school were placed in the adjacent junior high building until the new school was completed. The school operated on half days for junior high students and the other half for high school students.
In February 1951, the West Chester Joint High School was opened at the school's current location on Montgomery Avenue. The word "joint" was used because surrounding townships who send students here had helped pay for the construction. In 1954, a junior high occupied east side of the building, but became part of the high school after growing enrollment. In 1968, the school was renamed B. Reed Henderson High School after the longest serving principal of any high school in the district. In 1966, the surrounding areas officially became the K-12 West Chester Area School District. Rising enrollment once again outpaced building capacity and
West Chester East High School
West Chester East High School (colloquially referred to simply as East or WC East) is a public four-year high school located in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, near West Chester.[< ...]
was built. The building was renovated in the 1970s, adding a new library and second cafeteria. In later years, the auditorium was refurbished and bathrooms updated. In 2003, renovations and additions took place.
Accomplishments
* Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education
Academics
Henderson is a home to many successful academic teams including the Mathematics Team, which has won numerous state math contests, the Academic Team,
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school team ...
, and Physics Olympiad. The Henderson Academic Team won the 2011 and 2012 Pennsylvania State Championship in a tournament held at the capital building in
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
. Henderson also has a great variety of clubs; one of the most popular, the Astronomy Club, has recently acquired a high powered telescope through a generous donation.
Athletics
In September 2020, Principal Jason Sherlock announced that the school would be distancing its athletic imagery away from discredited associations with Native American culture echoing a
broader movement nationwide.
Notable alumni
*
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...
, classical composer
*
Nick Berg
Nicholas Evan Berg (April 2, 1978 – May 7, 2004) was an American freelance radio-tower repairman who went to Iraq after the United States' invasion of Iraq. He was abducted and beheaded according to a video released in May 2004 by Islamist mi ...
, murdered hostage
*
Al Bruno
Albert P. Bruno (March 28, 1927 – October 5, 2014) was an American gridiron football player, administrator, and coach who served as the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1983 to 1990.
Early life
He was born in 1927 in West Chester ...
,
player, administrator, and coach
*
Stephen Dennis (born 1987), basketball player for
Bnei Herzliya of the
Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...
*
Shante Evans
Shante Evans (born July 8, 1991) is an American-Slovenian basketball player for Basket 25 Bydgoszcz and the Slovenian national team.
Club career
On 7 February 2022, Galatasaray signed an agreement with Evans, who is a Slovenian of American origi ...
, Professional Basketball Player of the
Artego Bydgoszcz
KS Basket 25 Bydgoszcz is a Polish professional women's basketball club that was founded in 1913 in the city of Bydgoszcz. Artego Bydgoszcz plays in the Energa Basket Liga Kobiet, the highest competition in Poland and in the EuroCup Women. ...
and
Slovenian National Team
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
*
Linda and Terry Jamison
Linda and Terry Jamison (born January 12, 1955) are American identical twins based in Los Angeles, California who claim to be psychics. The Jamisons' predictions have been featured in tabloid newspapers, and they have appeared in various media ...
, the "Psychic Twins"
*
Bruce Larkin
Bruce Larkin (born January 23, 1957) is a children's book author, poet, and ESL expert who writes in English and Spanish. Many of his works are published by Wilbooks, an educational publishing company. Larkin's books are primarily used to teac ...
, children's book author
*
Peter Lu
Peter James Lu, PhD (陸述義) is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Physics and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has been recognized
for his discoveries of ...
, physicist
*
Jon Matlack
Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers.
The three-t ...
, former Major League Baseball pitcher
*
Chas McCormick
Chas Kane McCormick (born April 19, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). McCormick attended Millersville University of Pennsylvania and played college baseball for the Mara ...
(born 1995), baseball player, 2022 World Series Champion with the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
*
William M. McSwain,
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
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 ...
*
Kyle Morton, professional soccer player for
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...
* U.S. Army General
David M. Rodriguez
David Mitchell "Rod" Rodriguez (born May 23, 1954) is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as the Commander of the United States Africa Command from April 2013 to July 2016.
Rodriguez previously served as the Commanding Gene ...
, Commander of
United States Africa Command
The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U ...
*
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin (; March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an African American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights.
Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement, ...
, civil rights activist
*
Kerr Smith
Kerr Van Cleve Smith (born March 9, 1972) is an American actor known for playing Jack McPhee on The WB drama series ''Dawson's Creek'', Kyle Brody in The WB supernatural drama ''Charmed'', Robert in Freeform's '' The Fosters'' and Axel Palme ...
, actor
*
Marian Washington
Marian Elizabeth Washington (born August 26, 1946) is a former women's basketball coach, mostly known for her career at the University of Kansas, a post she held for over 30 years. Throughout her career, Washington achieved multiple awards and ac ...
, former Women Basketball Coach at Kansas University
*
Jason Wingard, President Temple University
*
Zach Zandi
Zachary Zandi (born July 18, 1996) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the USL Championship.
Early life
Zandi played youth soccer for West Chester United and Penn Fusion Soccer Academy ...
, professional soccer player
References
External links
Henderson Official Site
{{authority control
Public high schools in Pennsylvania
Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union
Educational institutions established in 1866
Schools in Chester County, Pennsylvania
West Chester, Pennsylvania
1866 establishments in Pennsylvania