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Penn Hills High School

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Penn Hills High School
Location
Map
309 Collins Drive

Pittsburgh
,
Pennsylvania
,
15235

United States
Information
School district
Penn Hills School District
Principal
Bernard Taylor Jr.
Teaching staff
56.00 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9th through 12th
Enrollment1,049 (2024–2025)[1]
Student to teacher ratio
18.73[1]
ColorsRed and gold    
Feeder schools
Linton Middle School & Penn Hills Elementary School
Websitephhs.phsd.org

Penn Hills High School is a public secondary school located in Penn Hills, east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the sole high school operated by the Penn Hills School District. In the 2025–26 school year, enrollment was reported as 1,049 students in 9th through 12th grades.[1]

Building

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The new $58 million Penn Hills High School building was opened on January 3, 2013. The school was designed by Architectural Innovations. There are two gymnasiums, with the main one seating 1,900. The auditorium has about 1,000 seats with state-of-the-art lighting and sound-systems. All classrooms include Promethean World interactive whiteboards. The building features large skylights that can be seen from both the top and bottom floors to promote natural lighting. The school's new HVAC system was expected to save 30 percent in energy costs.[2]

Because the enrollment was decreasing at the time, Benjamin Herod, the author of Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs, criticized the decision to build the new school.[3]

In 2012, the Pittsburgh Steelers funded a new $200,000 football field for the school.[4]

Extracurriculars

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The students have access to a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive sports program.[5]

The Penn Hills Marching Band travels to football games and marches in a variety of parades throughout the year. Every year they return to Kennywood to perform, and take another trip out-of-state. Past band trips include Walt Disney World, Chicago, and Six Flags. The school also produces Gene Kelly Awards winning musicals[6] and two plays per year. The school also has a after school program called "Safe Spaces," giving students the opportunity to have a relaxed and secure place to go to after school.

Sports

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The teams are referred to as just Penn Hills no longer going by their previous name "Indians", and the student cheering section is known as the Tribe.[7] The Steelers recently supported and funded the school for new turf at the Yuhas McGinley Stadium.

The district funds:

Varsity

According to PIAA directory January 2016[8]

Notable alumni

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Penn Hills Sports Hall of Fame Official Website: HOME | Penn Hills Sports Hall of Fame

District

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Penn Hills School District entered Pennsylvania's state-mandated Financial Recovery program in 2019 after several years of overspending and a rapidly increasing debt load. After implementing a multi-year recovery plan focused on stabilizing its fund balance, reducing long-term debt, and improving financial oversight, the district made significant progress. On May 23, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education officially announced that Penn Hills had exited Financial Recovery status, noting improvements such as a strengthened fund balance, reduced reliance on short-term borrowing, and more sustainable budgeting practices. The district will continue under a five-year monitoring period to ensure ongoing financial stability.[29]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "Penn Hills SHS". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Penn Hills Opens New High School". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ Forstadt, Jillian (January 23, 2024). "'Disillusioned' examines how Penn Hills and other suburbs undercut Black families' dreams". WESA-FM. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Penn Hills High School getting new football field". WTAE. June 14, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013). "Disclosure of Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities". Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "2013 Gene Kelly Award Winners". Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Penn Hills High School Official Website". Penn Hills High School. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  8. ↑ Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Association (2016). "PIAA School Directory".
  9. ↑ "Penn Hills' Dante Cephas commits to Kent State". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. September 18, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  10. ↑ Barry Church @ pro-football-reference.com
  11. ↑ Aaron Donald @ pro-football-reference.com
  12. ↑ Rizzo, Josh (February 6, 2022). "Penn Hills' Jaden Dugger finds Division I fit at Georgetown". Trib HSSN. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ Tom Flynn @ pro-football-reference.com
  14. ↑ Bill Fralic @ pro-football-reference.com
  15. ↑ Assad, David (May 11, 1997). "Former Penn Hills baseball player finds success off the diamond". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. VE-2. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Kevin Peter Hall, Whose Predator Performance Is, Yes, Towering". People Magazine. July 13, 1987. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  17. ↑ Juliano, Joe (February 6, 2019). "National signing day: Penn State receives two more commitments for incoming class of 2019". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Packers sign DL Treyvon Hester". www.packers.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  19. ↑ John, Andrew (May 5, 2017). "Penn Hills grad Hester realizes NFL dream after being drafted by Raiders". Trib Live. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  20. ↑ Finder, Chuck (June 13, 1996). "They Can't Forget Karl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  21. ↑ Fittipaldo, Ray (December 15, 2006). "Morelli critical of former high school coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  22. ↑ "26 Mar 1987, Page 115 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Penn Hills grad Salima Rockwell to lead Notre Dame women's volleyball program". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  24. ↑ Jake Schifino @ pro-football-reference.com
  25. ↑ Enright, John (June 13, 1996). "Penn Hills' Sendek finds staying power at Providence". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  26. ↑ Rizzo, Josh (December 17, 2023). "Penn Hills grad Raion Strader makes immediate impact for Miami (Ohio) defense". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved April 1, 2025 – via archive.today.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  27. ↑ Tom Tumulty @ pro-football-reference.com
  28. ↑ Byko, Laura (April 29, 2015). "Blogger left basketball behind to chronicle black experience in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Shapiro Administration: Penn Hills School District Exits Financial Recovery". www.pa.gov. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
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40°28′03″N 79°49′02″W / 40.4674°N 79.8173°W / 40.4674; -79.8173

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