Woodland Hills School District is a public school district located in

Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...

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, ...

, serving twelve municipalities in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

area; Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant,

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

East Pittsburgh East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2020 census, t ...

Edgewood Edgewood may refer to: Places Canada *Edgewood, British Columbia South Africa *Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa United States Cities and towns *Edgewood, California *Edgewood, Florida *Edgewood, Illinois, a ...

, Forest Hills,

North Braddock North Braddock is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. North Braddock was organized from a part of Braddock Township in 1897. The borough prides itself in being the "Birth Place of Steel" as the home of Andrew Carnegie's ...

, Rankin,

Swissvale Swissvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, east of downtown Pittsburgh. Named for a farmstead owned by James Swisshelm, during the industrial age it was the site of the Union Switch and Signal Company of George Westinghouse. T ...

, Turtle Creek and

Wilkins Township Wilkins Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,357 at the 2010 census. It is served by Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, the 43rd District of the Pennsylvania State Senate, and the ...

(except for a small portion). Woodland Hills School District encompasses approximately . According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 52,876. Woodland Hills School District was formed in July 1981 by a mandated merger of

, General Braddock, Swissvale, Churchill and Turtle Creek school districts. The Woodland Hills School District is unique in that it was formed by a court order (one of only three such districts so formed in Pennsylvania) in 1982 as a result of a Civil Rights Act lawsuit filed by various residents of the prior school districts. It was formed from an amalgamation of seven separate districts in the eastern region of Allegheny County in suburban Pittsburgh. The suit was filed to address the fact that the seven districts were all composed almost exclusively of all white or all black student enrollments. This resulted in African American students being transported long distances past all White schools and vice versa. The resultant court order created a single large school district of over 7,000 students comprised almost equally of white and black students. Woodland Hills School District is bordered by eight other school districts: Pittsburgh S.D., Penn Hills S.D., Gateway S.D., East Allegheny S.D., Wilkinsburg Borough S.D. Also bordering (but across the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

from) Woodland Hills School District, is: West Mifflin S.D., Steel Valley S.D., and Duquesne City S.D. Woodland Hills School District's sports size classification is "AAAAA" (5A), which is the second largest of the PIAA's six classifications (single A through 6A).

Schools

As of the fall of 2018, Woodland Hills School district serves approximately 3,500 students, and has five facilities: * Woodland Hills Junior / Senior High School (7–12) *Woodland Hills Intermediate School (4-6) *Edgewood Elementary School (preK-5) *Wilkins Elementary School (preK-5) * Woodland Hills Academy (K-8)

Demographics

*61.9% – African American/Non Hispanic *27.5% – White/Non-Hispanic *0.8% – Asian/Pacific Islander *2.6% – Hispanic *0.3% – American Indian/Alaska Native

Extracurricular activities

Sports

Woodland Hills High School's athletics department sponsors almost thirty varsity sports. Woodland Hills competes in the AAAA division of the

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

. Varsity sports include Baseball, Boys/Girls Basketball, Boys/Girls

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

, Boys/Girls Cross Country,

Field Hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, Boys Golf,

Rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

, Boys/Girls Soccer,

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, Boys/Girls Swimming, Boys/Girls Tennis, Boys/Girls Track, Boys/Girls Volleyball,

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, Rugby, and

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...

. The Wolvarena is the

football stadium Football stadium may refer to: * A stadium used in gridiron football, association football or Australian rules football * A soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sp ...

for the Woodland Hills Wolverines. It has been named one of the top 10 places to watch high school football in the country. The Wolverines very rarely lose a home game, losing only 2 out of 40 since 1993.USAToday.com
/ref> Its most successful varsity team is its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team led by

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

George Novak, which won the

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

AAAA championship in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2009. Since 1987, Woodland Hills has sent 50 players to Division I schools The Woodland Hills Rifle Team has won state championships for the last 4 years. It has also won multiple WPIAL championships. It is coached by Matt Rodrigues, Chuck Pantalone and Maria Brucker. The Woodland Hills boys track and field team tied for first place for the WPIAL section 4A championships in 2001. The team was coached by former Olympian Lindel Hodge.

Performing arts

Woodland Hills High School prides itself in its yearly staging of popular musicals each spring and has won several

Gene Kelly Awards The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater, named after the actor/director Gene Kelly, are given out yearly by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the University of Pittsburgh. The award was founded in 1991 and celebrate ...

for its performances. In April 2007, WHHS students performed in the student version of

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

. Woodland Hills also has a Marching Band for students in the high school. Every year the spring musical receives nominations from the

for outstanding Pittsburgh-area high school performances. *1988 –

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

*1989 – Hello, Dolly! *1990 –

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

*1991 –

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

* *1992 –

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...

* *1993 –

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

* *1994 – Annie Get Your Gun *1995 –

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

*1996 –

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...

*1997 –

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

* *1998 –

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...

* *1999 –

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

* *2000 –

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

*2001 –

On the Twentieth Century ''On the Twentieth Century'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play ''Twentieth Century'' and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce an ...

*2002 –

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

*2003 – Hello, Dolly!* *2004 –

*2005 –

Seussical ''Seussical'' is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on ''Horton Hears a Who!'', '' Gertrude McFuzz'', and ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' while inc ...

*2006 –

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life of Pepin the Hunchback * Pippin T ...

*2007 –

*2008 –

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

*2009 – The Wizard of Oz* *2010 -

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

*2011 -

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

* *2012 -

Curtains A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditorium ...

*2013 -

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...

*2014 -

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...

*2015 -

*2016 -

* *2017 -

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion picture ...

*2018 -

The Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin (comedian), Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater f ...

*2019 - Mamma Mia!* *Denotes Gene Kelly Award for Best Musical Other events include the winter show done by the Performing Arts Class. Recent productions have included "1776," "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Miss Saigon."

Notable alumni

Steve Breaston Steven William Breaston (born August 20, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan. Breaston also played for the K ...

: NFL Wide Receiver for

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. Attended and played for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. *

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

: NFL Tight End for

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. Attended and played for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. *

Terrence Johnson Terrence Johnson (born July 5, 1986) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at California (PA). Johnson graduated from Woodland Hills High School outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is ...

: NFL Cornerback for

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, and

. Attended and played at

California University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, California (commonly known as PennWest California) is a public university campus in California, Pennsylvania and one of three campuses of Pennsylvania Western University, part of the Pennsylvania State System o ...

. * Summer Lee: Democratic representative for the 34th district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives *

Wes Lyons Wes Lyons (born September 12, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at West Virginia. Lyons graduated from Woodland Hills High School and is one of the many successful players from Woodland Hills to reach t ...

: NFL Wide Receiver for

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, and

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

. Attended and played at the

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. *

Lousaka Polite Lousaka Romon Polite (born September 14, 1981) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football ...

: NFL Fullback for

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. Attended and played for the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. *

Miles Sanders Miles Adam Sanders (born May 1, 1997), nicknamed "Boobie Miles", is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft afte ...

: NFL running back for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. Attended and played at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

. *

Shawntae Spencer Shawntae Spencer (born February 22, 1982) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (58th overall) in 2004 NFL Draft. Youth He played college foot ...

: NFL Cornerback for

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, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. Attended and played for the

. * Jason Taylor: NFL Defensive End for

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, and

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

. Attended and played for the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

. *

Joy Taylor Joy Allison Taylor (born January 17, 1987) is an American media personality and television host for Fox Sports 1. She is currently the co-host of Speak with LeSean McCoy and Emmanuel Acho. Taylor was the news update anchor on Fox Sports 1's ''Th ...

: Fox Sports Reporter *

Darrin Walls Darrin Walls, Jr. (born June 20, 1988) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Notre Dame. Early years Walls spen ...

: NFL Cornerback for

, and

. Attended and played at

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campus ...

References

{{Coord, 40.41990, -79.84073, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title School districts established in 1981 Education in Pittsburgh area School districts in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1981 establishments in Pennsylvania