Pennridge School District is located approximately north 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 ...

The district

Pennridge School District, covers approximately with a total population of 45,000 and encompasses eight municipalities, including the boroughs of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Perkasie,

Sellersville Sellersville is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,249 at the 2010 census. It is in the Pennridge School District. History Sellersville was founded in the early 18th century. It was centered on a major road known as ...

, and Silverdale. Bedminster, East Rockhill, Hilltown, and West Rockhill townships also are included.

Foundations and current schools

Pennridge was founded in 1952 by combining the resources of several small municipal school districts, including Sell-Perk School District. The former Sell-Perk High School had been converted to its present use as South Middle School. Today, the district operates 11 schools: 7 elementary schools (of which four are named for past principals):
BedminsterR. B. DeiblerJ. M. GrasseP. A. GuthSellersvilleM. M. SeylarWest Rockhill
3 middle schools:
Central Middle SchoolSouth Middle School
-the building of the original area high school (Sell-Perk High School)
North Middle School
1 high school:
Pennridge High School
Right now there are approximately 7,200 students enrolled in the entire district. The district employs 478 teachers and over 450 additional staff, including part-time members.

Athletics

All Pennridge School sports compete in 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 ...

- Continental Conference using the ram as a mascot and green, white and occasionally black for colors. The Varsity Football team historically plays all of their home games at Poppy Yoder Field, a stadium on the grounds of South Middle School. South was formerly known as Sell-Perk High (before Pennridge was formed) and still has its roots embedded in the community. Since October 2008, a turf field has been in use on the grounds of the high school. Lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, track and field, and JV and freshmen football use the turf field. However, the Varsity Football team continues to play at muddy Poppy Yoder in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. There have been talks to renovate Poppy Yoder and possibly complete the stadium at the high school. Poppy Yoder field is no longer in use and now the football team and other high school sports play at Helman Field which is located behind the high school. In recent years, many of the sport teams have had great success. The women's soccer team was conference and District 1 champions in 2011. They were also PIAA Class AAA State Runners-up. In 2009 they were District 1 Champions. The boys' volleyball team was also conference champions, District 1 champions, and PIAA Class AAA State Runners-up. In 2022, the boy's ice hockey team was the SHSHL Varsity AA Champions.

Growth and development

Pennridge’s administration has had to be very adaptable in recent years as the Pennridge area population continues to grow as an ongoing effect of

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

from

. In 1996 the new Central Middle School was added to accommodate rising enrollments and since then, most of the district's elementary schools have undergone expansion and renovation projects. Pennridge has recently built a multimillion-dollar expansion to the current building on the high school campus, which includes a new gymnasium, natatorium, and

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

. Construction of a new auditorium, seating approximately 1200, and renovation of the school's older sections, followed, being completed February 2007. Demolition of the oldest building on campus, the Lower House, began on August 15, 2006 due to the futility of renovation. The building that was the Freshman Center became North Middle School after the High School construction was completed. National attention was briefly drawn to Pennridge School District in 2018 as 225 students walked out March, 2018 to honor the dead from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and call for stricter gun laws. The district gave Saturday detentions to these students, who then used the occasion to stage further protests which garnered widespread attention.

Notable alumni

Jake Crouthamel John Jacob Crouthamel (June 27, 1938 November 6, 2022) was an American football player, coach, and college athletic director. Early life and education Crouthamel was born in eastern Pennsylvania to Kathryn Apple and Russell Crouthamel, who r ...

, former

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

athletic director * Paul Clymer, PA House of Representatives * Tom Fulp, Newgrounds creator *

Sam Hollenbach Samuel Hollenbach (; born September 9, 1983) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Maryland. Early years Whil ...

, Former NFL player * Robb Riddick, former NFL player * Louis Riddick, former NFL player and current ESPN Analyst * Tim Lewis, former NFL player and current NFL assistant coach *

Saige Martin Saige Martin is an American artist, fund director, and politician. A Democrat, Martin was one of the first openly gay people, the first Latinx person, and the youngest person ever to sit on the Raleigh City Council. He served from 2019 until 2020, ...

, artist and politician *

Bill Mensch William David Mensch, Jr. (born February 9, 1945) is an American electrical engineer born in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. He was a major contributor to the design of the Motorola 6800 8-bit microprocessor and was part of the team led by Chuck Pedd ...

, founder, chairman and CEO of the Western Design Center *

Dean Sabatino Dean Sabatino (born 21 May 1962) is an American musician, best known as Dean Clean, the drummer of the satirical punk rock group the Dead Milkmen. Sabatino lives with his family in Media, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Having earned a ...

, The Dead Milkmen drummer * Chris Collingwood, Fountains of Wayne lead singer * Will Lewis, former NFL Player and Vice President of Football Operations for the Seattle Seahawks *

Beverly Lynne Beverly Lynne is an American actress who is mainly showcased in erotic film. Life and career After attending Pennridge High School in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, she attended college. She was a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998 to 20 ...

, Hard-core film actress * Ryan Zamroz, former basketball player *

Brittany Furlan Brittany Jayne Furlan Lee (born September 5, 1986) is an American Internet personality, actress and comedian based in Los Angeles. She was the most followed female video star on Vine until November 2015. She was the 5th most followed viner wit ...

, Internet personality

References

External links

*
Map of Pennridge School District
{{Bucks County, Pennsylvania School Districts School districts established in 1952 School districts in Bucks County, Pennsylvania 1952 establishments in Pennsylvania