Cheltenham High School is a public high school in the Wyncote neighborhood of Cheltenham Township, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, located 0.5 miles (800 m) from the border of the city of Philadelphia and 12 miles (19 km) from Center City. Serving grades 9 through 12, Cheltenham is the only high school in the School District of Cheltenham Township. It is fed by Cedarbrook Middle School, the only school in the school district for grades 7 and 8.
In 2017–18 the student ethnicity was distributed as follows: 54% Black, 31% White, 8% Asian, and 5% Hispanic. The school has approximately 1400 students in grades 9 through 12, with a student-teacher ratio of about 12:1.
Cheltenham's athletic teams are known as the Cheltenham Panthers and are members of the PIAA District 1 in the American Conference of the Suburban One League. They have a long-standing tradition of holding a Thanksgiving Day football game against their cross-town rival, Abington Senior High School. The rivalry celebrated its 100th year in 2015.
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History
19th century
Cheltenham High School was established in 1884 and is one of the oldest public high schools in Pennsylvania.
20th century
The first location was on Ashbourne Road, and at the time of its closing in 1953, it was considered the oldest public school site in continuous use. The next building was at High School Road and Montgomery Avenue in Elkins Park.
Present-day Cheltenham High School, located at 500 Rices Mill Road in Wyncote, was built in 1959. It sits on a land area of approximately 47 acres, and is bound by Route 309, Route 152, Panther Road, Rices Mill Road, Carlton Avenue, and Old Mill Road.
21st century
In 2004, the school adopted a stricter dress code because the administration felt that clothing that was too loose could hide identity badges and make identifying occupants more difficult.
Extracurriculars
Cheltenham Township School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive sports program.
Athletics
CHS is a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) and in the Suburban One American Conference (SOL). It was one of the founding members of the SOL in 1922, and is one of 4 of the remaining original schools. Cheltenham Athletics promote sportsmanship above self, and therefore, consistently receive the SOL Sportsmanship Award. Cheltenham has teams in the following sports: Asterisk designates available to both boys and girls.
Cross country running*
Boys football
Soccer*
Color Guard*
Girls tennis
Girls volleyball
Coed cheerleading
Girls field hockey
Coed unified cheer
Basketball *
Color Guard*
Indoor Track*
Swimming/Diving *
Boys wrestling
Boys baseball
Boys tennis
Track & field
Cross country
Color Guard*
Boys volleyball
Coed unified track
Lacrosse
Girls softball
The Cheltenham Girls basketball team won the PIAA AAAA state championship in 2000, and again in 2007. They have won PIAA District 1 titles, and the Suburban One American Conference 23 times. Coach Bob Schaefer won his 700th game on February 5, 2010, and has coached the Panthers for 30 years. He has coached the WBCA All-American Forward, Laura Harper, who played in the WNBA and is the current head coach at Coppin State. Harper scored 2007 points during her Cheltenham Career. In 2007 (their 2nd championship year), the Panthers were honored by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame with the "Pride of Philadelphia Award." The award is given to individuals or teams who have "represented the Philadelphia area with dignity, determination, and class through athletic achievement. " On Tuesday March 27, 2012, Schafer resigned from his 31-year post as the Lady Panthers head coach. He finished with a 757-163 record, 2 PIAA AAAA state titles, 2 state runner-up, 4 District I Championships, and the Suburban One League champions 24 out of the last 26 years. Schaefer, a West Hazleton native, was inducted into the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame in September, 2012.
Notable alumni
The Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame was established to "acknowledge the achievements of our alma mater's most remarkable graduates". The first class was in 1981, and have had inductions in 1984, 1987, 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2002. Hall of Fame inductees have a HoF next to their name.
Michael Baylson, '57, Federal judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania HoF
Brandon Bing, '07, former college football player, Rutgers
Michael Brecker, '67, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician HoF
Randy Brecker, '63, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician HoF
Michael Stuart Brown '58, 1985 Nobel Prize in Medicine recipient HoF
Ilene Chaiken, TV director, producer, and writer
Laurie Colwin, '62, author and columnist HoF
Wesley E. Craig, '64, US Army major general
Rebecca Creskoff, '88, actress
Tom Feeney, Member of Congress, R-FL
Stuart F. Feldman, '54, co-founder of Vietnam Veterans of America
Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice HoF
Wilmot E. Fleming, '35, State Senator HoF
Jon D. Fox, '65, U.S. Congressman HoF
Patricia Greenspan, '62, philosopher
Notable faculty
Paul Westhead Former Cheltenham Boys Basketball Coach, Oregon Ducks women's basketball coach; also coached the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, and La Salle Explorers, among others.