Mt. Lebanon School District


The Mt. Lebanon School District is the public school system in Allegheny County for residents of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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History

First years of operation

The Mt. Lebanon School District was established by decree of the Court of Quarter Sessions in July 1912. With a five-member school board and a population of less than five thousand students, it was designated as a fourth-class district. The district initially encompassed two buildings—a one-room, frame structure that was located on Beadling Road and a six-room, frame structure that was located at the corner of Cedar Boulevard and Washington Road.
In 1913, a two-year agriculture course of studies was added to the Mt. Lebanon High School curriculum. In 1914, controversy arose when a group of parents of twelve children petitioned the Mt. Lebanon School Board to reimburse them for their children's tuition after they removed their children and re-enrolled them in the Pittsburgh city schools, citing their objection to the "Mt. Lebanon system" of education. According to The Pittsburgh Post, "Prominent among the features in the Mt. Lebanon system" was "the elimination of the periodical, stated examination on which promotions ordinary are based; an expressed tendency to permit each pupil to be his own pacemaker in school work; the elimination of night study and the individual observation of each pupil in order that the school may be fitted to his or her needs." In addition, according to that publication, "The present school term saw the organization of a new force of instructors—their predecessors having been relieved for want of adaptibility to the new system."

1930s

During the early 1930s, H. V. Herlinger, the superintendent of the Mt. Lebanon School District, approved a "Cadet Teachers" plan to enable residents of Mt. Lebanon who were college graduates with state teaching certificates to receive two years of additional on-the-job training while working as temporary educators within the school district, with the promise that, if they successfully completed their training period and passed their required professional examinations, they would receive full-time teaching jobs at the end of their respective two-year cadet teacher training periods.

1950s

In 1959, Mt. Lebanon High School was ranked among the top 44 high schools in the United States in a review of American school districts by educators from 120 colleges and universities. The faculty at that time included 3 educators with doctorate degrees, with 62 out of the high school's 75 educators holding master's degrees. Beginning educators were paid $4,200 annually while educators with doctorates earned $8,000 per year. Teachers who resided in Mt. Lebanon and had children of their own were also each awarded an additional $350 per year through the school district's cost of living allowance program for its staff. With a total enrollment of 2,242 students, the high school was home to 11 varsity sports teams and a 165-member band.

1970s

In 1973, civil rights and social justice activists Ellen Berliner and Anne Steytler were part of a group of fifty parents, students and other community members who filed suit in the Common Pleas Court of Pennsylvania "to prohibit Mt. Lebanon School District from including prayers in its commencement exercises." Berliner's husband and daughter were also two of the plaintiffs.

1990s

In 1998, the Mt. Lebanon School District was presented with two Blue Ribbon Awards by the United States Department of Education, as well as special Blue Ribbon Award for being the home of one of the eight best fine arts programs in America.

2000s

In September 2009, the enrollment at Mt. Lebanon High School was 5,302, the per-pupil cost of education was $13,745 per child for that academic year, there was a teacher student ratio of 23.04 to 1, and 96 percent of students planned on pursuing "full-time or Armed Service education." The beginning salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree was $43,989 and for a teacher with a master's degree plus 60 credits was $96,420. Seventy-seven percent of the school's faculty held masters' degrees or higher.

Schools

Facilities

High School

Academic & Instructional Facilities

Source:
  • Library and media center
  • Full production digital media and television studio
  • Multiple computer labs
  • Writing labs
  • Science wing
  • Child development labs
  • Food and nutrition labs
  • Applied engineering and graphics labs
  • Multiple biology and chemistry research labs
  • Outdoor greenhouse
  • Solar Flower
  • Mathematics Lab

Athletic Facilities

Source:
  • Three full-size gymnasiums
  • Indoor swimming pool
  • Athletic weight room
  • Six tennis courts
  • 7,200-seat stadium
  • Three synthetic turf multi purpose fields
  • Synthetic running track
  • Grass baseball field
  • Two synthetic turf baseball fields
  • Outdoor swimming pool
  • Three indoor tennis courts
  • Two ice rinks
  • Pickleball courts
  • Bocce courts
  • Sand volleyball courts
  • Two outdoor basketball courts
  • Platform tennis courts
  • Recreation Center
  • Two wrestling rooms

Fine Arts & Media Facilities

Source:
  • Main auditorium
  • Two theaters
  • Visual arts studios
  • Two professional dance studios
  • Choral rooms
  • Music studios
  • Practice rooms
  • Full production digital media and television studio

Notable alumni

Athletics

Business

Entertainment & Media

Government

Education

Other

Notable staff