History
As a growing city, demands for a larger New Castle High School grew in the early 20th century. The former building, which was built in 1879, had become too small to house classes. Thus, in 1907 the New Castle School District purchased a plot of land along Lincoln Avenue in the city's lower North Hill neighborhood. The district selected local architecture firm W.G. Eckles (now Eckles Construction Services, Inc.) to design the building. Construction commenced in 1910 and the building opened on September 11, 1911. [9]
Later, two additional buildings in other regions of town would be constructed to support the increasing population. Benjamin Franklin Junior High School on the city's east side opened on September 11, 1922. George Washington Junior High School on the city's North Hill (now George Washington Intermediate) opened on September 5, 1928. [10]
The old New Castle High School was closed in 2003 and replaced with a new school, also designed by W.G. Eckles Architects. The first phase of construction of the $40 million building completed on a site next door to the former high school in 2004. The former building was then razed and replaced with what is now the junior high wing and field house of the new high school building, which opened in 2005. This resulted in the closure of Ben Franklin Junior High School, while George Washington was converted to an intermediate school housing grades 4, 5, and 6 in 1988. Eventually, 3rd grade would also be added at George Washington.
Beginning in 2019, the New Castle School District reallocated its 6th grade students to an unused wing of the Junior High School to reduce congestion at George Washington. [11]
Demographics
In the 2021-22 school year, 1,524 students attended New Castle High School with an approximate full-time educational faculty of 89.7. This results in a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.9 to 1. The makeup of the school is 57.8% White, 24.6% Black, 12.2% from two or more races, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. [7] [8]
100% of the 1,524 students qualify for free lunch under the National School Lunch Act of 1946. Additionally, it is a Title I School under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. [7] [8]
Students participate in many activities, including sports and forensics. [14] Football and basketball are the two most popular sports, but other sports are offered including baseball, bowling, cross-country, golf, softball, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling and choir The school also offers a variety of STEM activities including VEX Competitive Robotics and has labs dedicated for STEM curriculum. New Castle High School has won team WPIAL championships in the following sports: [15]
- Baseball (1 win; 2021)
- Boys' Basketball (14 wins; 1927, 1936, 1982, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
- Girls' Basketball (4 wins; 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010.)
- Boys' Cross-Country (4 wins; 1947, 1948, 1954, 2019)
- Football (11 wins; 1924, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1942, 1948, 1949, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1998)
- Boys' Golf (1 win; 1995)
Philip Henry Bridenbaugh and Lindy Lauro coached the football team for a combined 67 years, both with excellent winning records; in 1991 the school recorded its 600th football win, the first in Pennsylvania and the fifth in the US to achieve the milestone. [16] The school's football field is officially named Lauro-Bridenbaugh Field at Taggart Stadium to honor both coaches. [17] New Castle has 11 WPIAL championships in football, which is the third most in league history. [18]
Basketball
Current basketball coach Ralph Blundo has been coaching since 2010 and has led the team to 7 WPIAL championships since then. His team won a PIAA state championship in 2014 after an undefeated season. [19] In total, the New Castle Red Hurricanes boys' basketball team has won 14 championships, the most in WPIAL history. [20]
New Castle's girls' basketball team has won 4 championships.
Unified Bocce 2022–present)
Coached By Ms. Hites and Dr. Masters
2022 - 2023 season: The New Castle Bocce Team had a finishing season score of 1 wins to 3 losses.
2023 - 2024 season: The New Castle Bocce Team had a finishing season score of 2 wins to 2 losses. and got 2nd place in the Ellwood City Playoff game, and advanced to the regional championships on March 7, 2024.
Choir
Originally led by Shannon Rabold, Now led by John Onufrak as of 2022, is a place for every voice to sing and improve their beautiful singing voice
Other activities
New Castle's robotics team has sent teams to both state and world championships. Multiple teams have won awards at state championships and gone to the VEX Robotics Worlds Competition. Since inauguration in 2016, 7 individual teams have advanced to the world competition. One team, 16101Z, advanced in 2018 after winning the Western Pennsylvania Excellence Award at the state championship. [21] Three teams, 16101X, 16101Y, and 16101Z, advanced in 2019 after winning the Excellence Award, Design Award, and Skills Champion Award, respectively. [22] In 2020, two teams qualified, 16101E which won the Design Award, and 16101V which won both the Excellence Award and the Tournament Championship, but the world competition was canceled due to COVID-19.
Central Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic, Lasallian, all-boys college preparatory school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The De La Salle Brothers administer and partially staff the school.
Franklin Regional School District is a midsized, suburban public school district located in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, serving Murrysville and the neighboring communities of Delmont and Export. Franklin Regional School District encompasses approximately 38 square miles (98 km2). According to 2020 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 19,438 people. According to District officials, in school year 2021-22, Franklin Regional School District provided basic educational services to 3,555 pupils through the employment of 249 teachers, 152 full-time and part-time support personnel, and 19 administrators.
Greensburg Central Catholic High School (GCC) is a Catholic high school located in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Diocese of Greensburg.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The Gateway School District is a large, suburban, public school district located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. It also serves residents of Pitcairn. Gateway School District encompasses approximately 19 square miles (49 km2). Per the 2000 federal census data, the Gateway School District serves a resident population of 33,038. By 2010, the district's population was 31,686 people. In 2009, the District residents' per capita income was $22,998, while the median family income was $51,250. In the Commonwealth, the median family income was $49,501 and the United States median family income was $49,445, in 2010. By 2013, the median household income in the United States rose to $52,100.
South Allegheny Middle/High School is part of the South Allegheny School District located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The building houses both middle school students and high school students. The school serves students from Glassport, Port Vue, Liberty, Lincoln, and parts of Elizabeth.
Lexington High School (LHS) is a public high school located in Lexington, Massachusetts, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. It is one of two high schools in Lexington, and is part of the Lexington Public Schools system. Its sports teams compete in division 1 of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)'s 4th district.
Indiana Area School District is a public school district in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. It is composed of White Township and Armstrong Township, along with Indiana and Shelocta boroughs.
The North Hills School District is a public school district in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It serves an area of 14.6 square miles, including Ross Township, and West View. As of the 2018–2019 school year, North Hills School District enrolled 4,508 students.
Moon Area High School is a public high school located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Part of the Moon Area School District, the school serves students from grades 9 - 12.
Upper St. Clair High School (USCHS) is a public secondary school in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania and the sole high school within the township's namesake school district. Serving students in grades 9–12, USCHS is one of three secondary schools in Pennsylvania to be recognized as a Blue Ribbon School three times.
Seton LaSalle Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Woodland Hills School District is a public school district located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, serving twelve municipalities in the Pittsburgh area; Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek and Wilkins Township.
Woodland Hills Junior / Senior High School is a large, suburban public high school providing grades 9–12 for the Woodland Hills School District located in Churchill, Pennsylvania, United States. It serves the communities of Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek and Wilkins Township. Woodland Hills Junior / Senior High School was the result of a 1981 court-ordered desegregation merger. Before the merger, it was named Churchill High School.
Oakland Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic college preparatory school for girls, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. It was established by Bishop Donald Wuerl in 1989 as the merger of former all-girl parish high schools of Sacred Heart and St. Paul Cathedral to serve as a sister school for Central Catholic. Approximately 600 students matriculate at Oakland Catholic and the school draws female students from all over Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Upon graduation, 100% of its students continue to a four-year university.
Jonathan Michael Hayes is an American football coach and former tight end. He previously served as the head coach of St. Louis Battlehawks as well as tight ends coach for Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL), and the co-offensive coordinator for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). Hayes is currently the athletic director for Moeller High School. in Cincinnati, Ohio.
New Castle High School is a public high school in New Castle, Indiana whose name is commonly abbreviated to NCHS. It is part of the New Castle Community School Corporation and has an enrollment of approximately 900 students. NCHS is the largest high school in Henry County.
Philip Henry Bridenbaugh was an American football player and coach. A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, where he earned a degree in teaching and spent four years on several of its sports teams, Bridenbaugh coached football at several places in his home state of Pennsylvania prior to being selected as the head coach of the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes in 1917. He left Geneva in 1922 with a 23–12–5 record and took a job with New Castle Junior/Senior High School as a mathematics teacher and head football, basketball, and track and field coach. He did not lose a football game in his first two years, marking the first of eleven undefeated seasons, and, over the course of 33 years, won seven league titles in the sport, leaving in 1955 with a 265–65–25 record. He continued to work as an assistant football coach at Grove City College until 1964 and was inducted into several regional halls of fame. He died in June 1990 at the age of 100.
Curtis Sidney Bray was an American football coach. He was a coach for Duquesne University, Western Kentucky University, Villanova University, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Iowa State University.
