Thomas Jefferson High School is an American public

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

that is located in

Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania Jefferson Hills is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 12,424. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Part of the West Je ...

. It is part of the West Jefferson Hills School District which includes West Elizabeth, Jefferson Hills, and Pleasant Hills. These communities have a combined population of 15,000.

History

Before additions, Thomas Jefferson Junior High was dedicated during an opening ceremony that was officiated bt Superintendent Alfred W. Beattie. Architect Joseph Hoover designed the building. It then became a high school in 1957 with the additions of an auditorium, gymnasium, and thirty-seven new classrooms. During this time, students in grades eight through twelve were educated inside this building; this changed when a new middle school was built in 1965. The high school building subsequently underwent multiple renovations, including an addition in 1990 and a new stadium in 2000. In 2015, school district officials authorized the design of a new building; the new facility was slated to be a red brick building modeled in the style of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

. Construction costs were initially estimated at $100 million. It opened in 2019. A mural with a large portrait of Thomas Jefferson was commissioned by TJ Arts for the building's atrium. It was created by Dennis Stocke, a local artist and art teacher at Boyce Middle School in the Upper St. Clair School District. As of 2024, the original high school building has been demolished and in its place is more parking for the stadium.

Extracurricular activities

The high school offers a variety of clubs and activities. The Thomas Jefferson

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team won the

WPIAL The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL, pronounced ) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western ...

Class AAA Championships in 1980 at

Pitt Stadium Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925 Pittsburgh Panthers fo ...

, in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 at

Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...

and Class AAAA Champions in 2024 at

Norwin High School Norwin High School is a public high school located in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, with a current enrollment of approximately 1,600 students in grades 9-12. It enrolls students from North Huntingdon, Irwin, and North Irwin and is part of th ...

. In addition, in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2019, and 2020 the team won the

PIAA PIAA may refer to: * Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) is one of the governing bodies of Secondary school, high school and middle school athletics for Pennsylvan ...

State Championship in

Hershey Hershey may refer to: People * Hershey (name), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname Places * Hershey, Nebraska, a village * Hershey, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community, home to the chocolate company * Hershey, Cuba ...

. The school newspaper is called the ''Statesman''. The yearbook is titled the ''Monticello'' and the literary magazine is named the ''Spectrum'' and features fictional submissions written and submitted by actual students and teachers. "The Pride of Jefferson Hills, Pleasant Hills, and West Elizabeth", The Thomas Jefferson band consists of approximately 150 members from Band, Cologuard and Majorettes. Directed by James Mirabella of Steubenville, Ohio, originally from West Virginia, the band is a staple of Football Halftime Shows and Band Festivals in the Pittsburgh area. The band was featured as the WPXI Band of the week in 1998 and at the half time show of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens AFC divisional playoff in 2011. The band also goes on a Disney trip every other year. The theater program has also won Gene Kelly Awards in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Notable alumni

* Rich Costanzo, former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player,

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, and

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and

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, former professional

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player from

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* Tyler Reed, former professional football player,

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Gallery

File:TJHS 1.0 Addition 1960 Sketch.png, March 20, 1956 - Thomas Jefferson High School Addition File:TJHS 1.0 1953 - 2019.png, TJHS 1.0

References

External links

Thomas Jefferson Band Patrons WebsiteWest Jefferson Hills School District WebsiteThomas Jefferson HS Football Website

The Statesman Website

WJHSD History Passion Project
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1957 Schools in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Public high schools in Pennsylvania Education in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area 1957 establishments in Pennsylvania