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Wilkes-Barre Area High School | |
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Address | |
2021 Wolfpack Way , 18705 United States | |
Coordinates | 41°16′0″N75°51′32″W / 41.26667°N 75.85889°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 2021 |
School district | Wilkes-Barre Area School District |
Grades | 9–12 |
Athletics conference | PIAA District 2 [1] |
Nickname | Wolfpack |
Website | Official website |
Wilkes-Barre Area High School is a high school in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, located in Plains, Pennsylvania. The student body mascot is the Wolfpack. The school opened in August 2021, replacing James M. Coughlin High School, G. A. R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School, and Elmer L. Meyers Junior/Senior High School.
Wilkes-Barre Area High School [2] [3] [4] is the Wilkes-Barre Area School District high school in Plains, Pennsylvania. It is a replacement for James M. Coughlin High School, G. A. R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School, and Elmer L. Meyers Junior/Senior High School. [5] [6] [7] [8]
In the 2010s, the Wilkes-Barre school district entertained various plans to reduce its schools by consolidation. [9] [10] The current schools were deemed inadequate or unsafe, with high costs to repair. [11] [12] By 2018, the school board had solidified plans for construction of a new high school to server the entire district at a cost of $121 million. [13] [14] [15] Construction of a stadium was later added to the plans. [16] [17]
Several locations were entertained for a site of the new high school, including existing school sites, the Murray Complex, and a former coal mining site known as the Pagnotti Site. [18] [19] After the zoning board denied the district's request to build a combined school at the site of Coughlin High School, [20] [21] the school board decided to purchase the Pagnotti Site in Plains, Pennsylvania. Preparation of the site began by the start of Spring 2021, [22] [23] with ground-breaking for construction in April 2019. [24] Changes were needed to the roads and sidewalks leading to the site. [25] [26] [27] The school was ready for the 2021–2022 school year. [28]
Groups were against a merger for a number of reasons, and early criticism was aimed at consolidation efforts in general. [29] [30] [10] Opponents disagreed with estimates to repair the existing schools and the costs of a new school, [31] and noted negative effects of moving to a single high school, including increased reliance on bussing and decreased community engagement. After the selection of the high school's location, criticism also included concerns about the health and safety of building a high school on coal ash over a former coal mine. [24] [32] The 2018 elections for school board members saw candidates expressing whether they supported or wanted to halt the merger. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] The board expressed that the new school would be safe and worth the costs. [38] [39]
The high school opened for the 2021–2022 school year [2] [3] [4] with four principals and two thousand students. [5]
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Due to declining participation in sports, the district merged the sports programs for the 2019 school year, prior to the construction of the new high school. [40] [41] Based on input from students and employees, the district voted for Wolfpack to be mascot of the consolidated sports programs. [42] [43] The Wolfpack's first game as a team was football in August 2019. [44] [45] [46]
The basketball team won their PIAA District 2 championship in 2020. [47] [48]
Wilkes-Barre is a city in and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city, after Scranton, in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 567,559 as of the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after the Delaware Valley, Greater Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley, and Greater Harrisburg.
Luzerne County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 890 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 325,594, making it the most populous county in the northeastern part of the state. The county seat and largest city is Wilkes-Barre. Other populous communities include Hazleton, Kingston, Nanticoke, and Pittston. Luzerne County is included in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a total population of 555,426 as of 2017.
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Wyoming Valley metropolitan area, which has a population of 562,037 as of 2020. It is the sixth-largest city in Pennsylvania.
Wilkes University is a private university in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students. Wilkes was founded in 1933 as a satellite campus of Bucknell University, and became an independent institution in 1947, naming itself Wilkes College, after English radical politician John Wilkes after whom Wilkes-Barre is named. The school was granted university status in January 1990. It is classified among "Doctoral/Professional Universities" (D/PU) and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza is an 8,050-seat multi-purpose arena located in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania just northeast of Wilkes-Barre.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is mostly in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, and spans the border between Luzerne County and Lackawanna County. It is owned and operated by the two counties; it is about 7 miles from Scranton and 8 miles from Wilkes-Barre. It is the fifth-largest airport in Pennsylvania by passenger count and calls itself "your gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains".
Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Carbondale. A portion of this region is located in the New York City metropolitan area.
The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868.
Hotel Sterling was a hotel in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at the intersection of River Street and Market Street. It was opened in 1898 by local businesspeople, who then owned a music hall located at the site, and was named after Emma E. Sterling, whose late husband, Walter G. Sterling, a local banker and businessman, owned a share of the music hall. Emma was a driving force behind the building of the hotel. The hotel was later expanded by Andrew Sordoni by connecting it to the Plaza Hotel in 1936. After lying abandoned for years, the non-profit organization CityVest purchased the hotel and demolished the 14-story Plaza tower portion and four-story connecting building in 2007 in an attempt to make the property more marketable to developers. Demolition of the original 1897-built building began on July 25, 2013 and finished on July 30, 2013.
Thomas M. Tigue was a United States Marine Corps Officer and combat veteran, an American politician, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Wyoming Valley Mall is a shopping mall located in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania. It is anchored by JCPenney and Macy's.
The Eastern Hockey League (EHL) is an American junior ice hockey league with teams in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The EHL was officially announced on June 6, 2013, after the Atlantic Junior Hockey League welcomed six new members from the old Eastern Junior Hockey League and the AJHL re-branded itself under the EHL banner
G.A.R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School was a high school located on 250 South Grant Street, in Wilkes-Barre, located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Holy Redeemer High School is a high school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton. It is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States. It is currently the only Catholic high school in Luzerne County.
Wilkes–Barre Area School District is an urban public school district located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The district encompasses approximately 123 square miles. The district includes the city of Wilkes-Barre as well as smaller surrounding municipalities. It serves: Bear Creek Township, Borough of Bear Creek Village, Borough of Laflin, Buck Township, City of Wilkes-Barre, Laurel Run Borough, Plains Township and Wilkes-Barre Township. According to 2000 federal census data, the district serves a resident population of 62,749. In 2009, the residents' per capita income was $16,751, while the median family income was $40,336.
Elmer L. Meyers Junior/Senior High School was an urban, public school located on 341 Carey Avenue, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was one of three public high schools in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. Meyers was both a junior and senior public high school, offering education to approximately 898 students in grades 7–12. The student to teacher ratio was approximately 12.6 students per teacher. Meyers' sports teams were called "Mohawks".
James M. Coughlin High School was an urban school located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It served grades 9-12 in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District.
The Luzerne County Council is the governing body of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The council meets at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. There are eleven members on the assembly. The chair is both the highest-ranking officer on the council and the head of county government for ceremonial purposes. When the group is not in session, the officer's duties often include acting as its representative to the outside world and its spokesperson. The current chair is John Lombardo.
The Luzerne County Library System (LCLS) is an organization that administers ten libraries in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1984, it is headquartered at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Along with hosting various permanent and temporary collections of books and media, the member libraries provide various services and activities.
Wilkes-Barre Academy was a private school in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, established in 1807. The school had numerous prominent alumni including several politicians.