Conestoga High School

History

On March 5, 2016, news website philly.com reported an alleged incident at the school involving four male students who were members of the football team. In the incident, three seniors, one of whom was a team captain, allegedly sexually assaulted a younger freshman as part of a hazing ritual dubbed "No Gay Thursday". However, the potential mishandling of the incident has drawn criticism against District Attorney Tom Hogan, and there is speculation that the incident never occurred but was instead an attempt by the alleged victim's father to get back at the school. Regardless, the Conestoga administration has taken appropriate steps to address the issue.

College and university matriculation

97% of Conestoga graduates advance to colleges and universities, 92% of them to four-year colleges and universities. Graduating classes from 2009 to 2014 sent one or more students to each of the Ivy League colleges, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, The California Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University. The most popular university choice for Conestoga students is Pennsylvania State University. The second most popular choice is the University of Pittsburgh. Fifty-two percent of Conestoga students leave Pennsylvania to attend colleges and universities, and more than 52% attend private institutions after graduation.

Departments

Conestoga has eight academic departments: Business/Technology, English, World Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, and Wellness/Fitness/Family & Consumer Science. Students must earn 24 credits in order to graduate. 1 credit is equivalent to a year-long class, which meets every day for 43 minutes. Thus, the seven periods at Conestoga are 43 minutes in length, but the 8th period meets for 44 minutes, so that Conestoga's school day can be precisely 7 hours long (7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.). Students must earn 4 credits in English, 2 in languages, 3 in mathematics and 3 in science. The classes of 2013 and 2014 must also get 3.5 credits in Social Studies and 1 in 2 of the special areas (Wellness/Fitness, Visual/Performing Arts, or Business/Technology), and the classes of 2015 and beyond must get 3 credits in Social Studies and 2 in all 3 of the special areas. In each department there is a wide variety of classes that a student can take.

Distinctions and honors

In 2012 Conestoga was ranked the 180th best high school in the country and 1st in Pennsylvania. Conestoga was ranked 312th (3rd in Pennsylvania) in 2008, 301st (3rd in Pennsylvania) in 2007, 170th (1st in Pennsylvania) in 2006, 195th in 2005, and 197th in 2003.

U.S. News and World Report consistently includes Conestoga High School in their annual list of America's "Best High Schools." U.S. News & World Report ranked Conestoga as a Gold Medal High School, the 313th of America's for 2010–2011.

SAT

The Conestoga Class of 2014 performed at least 94 points above the national average in every section of the SAT:

National Merit/College Board Recognition

The Conestoga Class of 2009 includes 21 National Merit Semifinalists, 35 National Merit Commended Students, 1 National Achievement Scholar, and 1 National Hispanic Scholar award recipients.

Advanced Placement Program

In May 2008, 573 Conestoga students, or 30% of the student body, took 1,103 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. A score of 3 or higher was earned on 95% of the tests.

The Siemens Foundation for Advanced Placement honored Conestoga thrice, with the 2009 Student Award, 2006–07 High School Award, and 2005–06 Student Award. This program highlights exceptional achievement in science, mathematics, and technology.

Pennsylvania System of School Assessment

Conestoga students consistently perform well on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), which is administered in Reading, Mathematics and Writing to every eleventh grader in public schools throughout the state. The average scaled scores for Conestoga students were among the highest in the state in 2008.

Spoke.news

Conestoga is home to one of the only student-produced daily updated news Web sites on the Main Line, Spoke.news (formerly Stoganews.com). It is produced by the staff of The Spoke and TETV. Spoke.news has been the recipient of several national awards that have recognized it as one of the best high school news websites in the nation: the Columbia Scholastic Press Association awarded it a Gold Crown in 2009 and a Silver Crown in 2012, and the National Scholastic Press Association named it one of its 2011 Online Pacemaker Finalists.

STEM Programs

Conestoga has a renowned science department, featuring numerous STEM clubs and activities. The school's Science Olympiad team is a local powerhouse, with consistently high rankings at state and local competitions. Conestoga also boasts clubs for specific fields, including chemistry, biology, computer science, and robotics. In 2016, four students won first place in the Governor's PA STEM Competition.

Dominance in lacrosse

Conestoga has become a national powerhouse in lacrosse. Conestoga has played in every PIAA State Championship, dating back to its start in the spring of 2009. The Pioneers lost to LaSalle High School in the first-ever state title game in 2009. Since then, Conestoga won three straight state championships, including a 10–6 win against LaSalle in the 2010 PIAA State Championship and a 13-4 win over St. Joes Prep in 2011. After graduating nine Division I players in 2012, the Pioneers lost to LaSalle College High School 13–4 in the 2013 State Championship game.

In March 2011, #2 ranked Conestoga faced off against #1 ranked Haverford School, the first time in the history of Pennsylvania High School lacrosse the #1 and #2 Nationally ranked teams met on field. On March 22, 2012, #3 Conestoga defeated #1 Calvert Hall High School (MD) 11–10 at Calvert Hall The Pioneers then became the top-ranked team in the nation after that game, which they held until losing 12–11 to Garden City. Conestoga currently has former players playing for college powerhouses such as Duke, Loyola, Maryland, Cornell, University of Notre Dame, Georgetown, Ohio State, Delaware and Drexel.

Athletic teams

Conestoga competes in 17 different sporting events generally within the Central League.

Fall

Winter

Spring

In 2011, Conestoga became the first school in Pennsylvania history to win three boys' state championships in the same season when the boys' lacrosse, tennis, and baseball teams all won their respective state titles. Later on that year, the boys' soccer team also won states, bringing Conestoga's yearly total to four titles. The boys' lacrosse team and boys' tennis team continued this into 2012, when the lacrosse team won the championship for the third straight year, and the tennis team won for the second consecutive year.

Notable alumni