Overbrook High School is a public, four-year

secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

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 ...

, 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 sover ...

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, ...

School

Overbrook High School is designated by the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

as Location #402, in the West Region. The building was built in 1924 and designed by

Irwin T. Catharine Irwin Thornton Catharine (October 22, 1883 – March 3, 1944) was the chief architect of Philadelphia Public school (government funded), public schools from 1920 until his retirement in 1937. Buildings built during Catharine's tenure ranged from ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986. Enrollment for 2020-2021 was 411 students in grades 9 through 12.

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s make up 94% of the student population. As of 2015, the

school principal A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...

of Overbrook is Dr. Kahlila Johnson-Lee; Johnson-Lee graduated from Overbrook in 1989.

Shooting

On Nov. 23, 2022, four students were shot and wounded in a

driveby shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

adjacent to the campus.

Notable alumni

250px, Overbook HS sign Overbrook is perhaps best known for its famous alumni, who include

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

. At least 11 Overbrook alumni have played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and the school is ranked sixth in that respect.

References

External links

* * at American School Directory
Demographic & Climate Profile
{{authority control School District of Philadelphia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia High schools in Philadelphia Public high schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1924 1924 establishments in Pennsylvania Overbrook, Philadelphia Mass shootings in Pennsylvania School shootings in the United States