Mt. Lebanon School District

School district in Pennsylvania

Mt. Lebanon School District


Location
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania United States
District information
Type	Public School District
Motto	To Provide the Best Education Possible for Each and Every Student
Grades	K–12
Established	July 1912
Superintendent	Dr. Melissa Friez
Budget	$122.2 Million (24-25)
Students and staff
Students	5,500
Teachers	450
Staff	250
Athletic conference	WPIAL
Colors	Blue and Gold
Other information
Website	http://www.mtlsd.org

The Mt. Lebanon School District is an American public school system that is located in Allegheny County. It serves residents of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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.^[1]^[2]^[3]

In 1913, a two-year agriculture course of studies was added to the Mt. Lebanon High School curriculum.^[4] 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."^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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 (district average), 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.^[10]

Schools

High School: Mt. Lebanon High School
Middle Schools: Jefferson Middle School, Mellon Middle School
Elementary Schools: Foster Elementary School, Hoover Elementary School, Howe Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Markham Elementary School, Washington Elementary School

Notable alumni

Eric Angle (class of 1986) – Professional wrestler
Kurt Angle (class of 1987) – Professional wrestler and Olympic gold medalist^[11]
Troy Apke (class of 2014) — NFL player
Matt Bartkowski (class of 2006) – Professional hockey player
Carl Betz (class of 1939) – Actor
Mark Cuban (class of 1976) – Owner of NBA's Dallas Mavericks, panelist on Shark Tank, entrepreneur^[12]
Daya (class of 2016) – Recording artist
Ave Daniell (class of 1933) – NFL player
Scott Ferrall – Sports radio broadcaster
Lex Staley – National morning show radio host
Dave Filoni (class of 1992) – Animation director, voice actor, and writer
John Frank (born 1962) – professional NFL football player—Pittsburgh
Ian Happ (class of 2012) – Professional baseball player
Terry Hart (class of 1964) – Astronaut^[13]
Bob Hoag – Record Producer
Gillian Jacobs (class of 2001) – Actress
Paige Kassalen (class of 2011) – American electrical engineer who was the only American, female engineer, and youngest member of the ground crew for the Solar Impulse 2 project.
Don Kelly (class of 1998) – Major League Baseball player
Rich Lackner (class of 1975)– College football head coach^[14]
Richard Lamm (class of 1953) – Three-term Governor of Colorado
Vince Lascheid (class of 1942) - Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins organist
Dan London (class of 1991) – Actor
Joe Manganiello (class of 1995) – Actor
Andrew Mason (class of 1999) – Founder and CEO of Groupon
Matt McConnell (class of 1981) – NHL play-by-play announcer
William D. Morgan (class of 1966) – Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Corporal, United States Marine Corps – Republic of Vietnam, 1969
Judith O'Dea (class of 1963) – Actress
Dave Polsky – (class of 1982) writer, producer and creator of The Buzz On Maggie
Bill Roth (class of 1984) – College sports play-by-play announcer
George Savarese (class of 1985) – Educator and radio personality
Rich Skrenta (class of 1985) – Computer programmer^[15]
Ming-Na Wen (class of 1981) – Actress
Josh Wilson (class of 1999) – Major League Baseball player

References

^ "History." Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania: Mt. Lebanon School District, retrieved online June 21, 2023.
^ "Educational Reform Started." Ligonier, Pennsylvania: The Ligonier Echo, August 21, 1912, p. 8 (subscription required).
^ "Consider Radical Changes." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, August 15, 1912, p. 12 (subscription required).
^ "High School Pupils Learn Agriculture." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 16, 1913, p. 6 (subscription required).
^ "School Board Is Upholding New System." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, October 15, 1914, p. 2 (subscription required).
^ "Township Solves Problem While Aiding Instructors." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, September 16, 1936, p. 4 (subscription required).
^ Eskey, Kenneth. "How Mt. Lebanon Made 44 Best List: Top Level Faculty Sparkplugged By Community Spirit of Parents." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, September 29, 1959, Section Two, p. 23 (subscription required).
^ "Court Suit Asks Bank on Prayers at Mt. Lebanon." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 26, 1973, pp. 1-2 (subscription required).
^ Niederberger, Mary. "Two teachers taking Blue-Ribbon talents to New York stage." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 30, 1999, p. S12 (subscription required).
^ "Snapshot," in "Ed Kubit, Mt. Lebanon school board president." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 8, 2010, p. S2 (subscription required).
^ "Kurt Angle". The Washington Post.
^ Time Magazine: A Bigger Screen for Mark Cuban, April 22, 2002
^ Astronaut – NASA
^ Head Coach – Carnegie Mellon University
^ "Prank starts 25 years of computer security woes". CTV. Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 7, 2008.