Harriton High School

Harriton High School
Address
600 N. Ithan Ave. Rosemont in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, 19010
Information
Type	High School
Motto	Corpori Menti Moribus
Established	1957 (old school closed in 2009)
Principal	Mr. Steven R. Kline
Faculty	85
Enrollment	889
Information	+1 610 658 3950
Colors	Red, White, Black
Website	LMSD.org

Harriton High School is a public secondary school located in Rosemont, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.

Harriton is one of two high schools in Lower Merion School District; the other is Lower Merion High School. It is a comparatively small high school, containing 889 students in 9th through 12th grades. The student teacher ratio is 16:1, and the average class size is 25 students. Harriton also offers the IB, or International Baccalaureate, program.

History

In 1697, William Penn sold a 700 acre (2.8 km²) tract of land to Rowland Ellis. Years later, Ellis sold his home to Richard Harrison who had married a local woman named Hannah Norris. Some of the land holdings of her family were known as Norriton. Thus the combination of the names of Harrison and Norriton became known as Harriton. The daughter of Richard and Hannah Harrison married Charles Thomson.

In 1957, a new "campus-style" school was designed by architect Vincent Kling. It situated on a portion of the plantation grounds belonging to Charles Thomson, which gave Harriton High School its name. Harriton High School opened its doors for the first time in 1958.

As of the 2009 school year, a new three story building was completed to be used as the new school while the older "campus-style" school has been mostly taken down and will be used as new sports fields.

Harriton High School has twice been recognized for its excellence as a "Blue Ribbon School" by the state of Pennsylvania and the United States Department of Education. Students have made their mark in the disciplines of science, math, literature, music, and art. The Harriton Science Olympiad Team has placed among the top 10 at the U.S. Science Olympiad for 16 consecutive years, winning three U.S. titles and 13 consecutive state championships in that span.

Clubs and activities

Harriton Theater Company

The Harriton Theater Company is one of Harriton's most prized clubs, most noted for having been a student-run organization. The shows were chosen by a student director, who then, with the guidance of a sponsor, directed the show. All of the set construction and lighting were done by students as well. In the 2007-2008 school year, Kevin Ginsberg, a teacher who had once directed the musicals at Welsh Valley Middle School, came to Harriton High School to direct the shows. The fall show that year was The Who's Tommy, which turned into a huge success, and The Visit, as the drama of the spring season.

Starting in the 2009-10 school year, the Harriton Theater Company shifted its home to the brand new Harriton High School in which was a new theater as well as a small, black box theater. The Harriton Theater Company has utilized the black box theater for productions such as High Fidelity, and Our Town.

Harriton's theater company has since become one of the premier theater companies in the area, known for pursuing edgy and inspiring shows. In the fall of 2009 they performed four sold out performances of High Fidelity the Musical, making them the first school in the country to have performed it.

Past Shows: 2007-09:

• The Who's Tommy
• The Visit (Drama)
• The Bad Seed (drama)
• Bat Boy: The Musical

Current Shows for the 2009-2010 School Year:

• High Fidelity the Musical
  • Assistant Directors: Brian Kluger and Jaime Toplin
• Our Town (drama)
  • Assistant Director: Schuyler Silverman
• Hair

Student Leadership Positions

• Co-Stage Crew Head: Michael Meloni
• Co-Stage Crew Head / Lighting Designer: Dan Bragilevsky
• Costumes / Props Head: Chelsea Katz

Academic Decathlon Team

The Harriton Academic Decathlon Team under renowned coach Howard Kritzer, have dominated the decathlon circuit under his tenure. They have qualified for the state championship event five years running and are currently in the process of putting together a national championship caliber team.

Science Olympiad

The Harriton Science Olympiad team, under head coach Brian Gauvin, is one of the most followed teams at the school. Harriton has placed first in the Pennsylvania state Science Olympiad competition for the last 13 years and has won the national Science Olympiad title in 1995, 2001, and 2005. It is considered one of the best teams in Pennsylvania and the nation. Most recently in 2009 at the National Competition at Augusta State University, the Harriton team placed 4th.

Harriton Music

Harriton features a full symphonic band and orchestra, currently under the direction James M. Joseph, formerly of Conestoga High School, who also teaches IB Music and Music Theory. The freshman chorus and concert choir are directed by Mr. Jason Bizich. Mr. Bizich is also the AP Music Theory teacher. Harriton also features a performance jazz band, led by James Joseph. Every fall and spring Harriton has a music concert featuring all the ensembles as well as the occasional string quartet or percussion ensemble.

Every year Harriton musicians audition for positions in the PMEA district band and/or orchestra. Dozens of Harriton students attend the try-out, competing against hundreds of other students. Some succeed, and a few even go on to perform in the regional band/orchestra and all-state band/orchestra.

The Harriton Banner

Since the opening of Harriton High School in 1957, the school newspaper had been called either the Harriton Forum or the Harriton Free Forum, but in October 2006 it was renamed The Harriton Banner.

Harriton Technology and Engineering Club

Subdivided into two separate clubs, TSA and Robotics, the Harriton Technology and Engineering can be noted for recent successes at regional, state, and national competitions.

Athletics

Tennis

Harriton's girls tennis team has held the PIAA State Class AA Tennis Title for the past six years, a championship streak believed to be the longest among any high school athletic program in District history. The team is also noted for winning the District 1 title since 1999, a nine year streak. The Harriton girls tennis team won its fifth straight PIAA Class AA State Championship in 2008.

Trivia

• The old Harriton was built in a unique way for a Philadelphia-area public school because it is built with a California-style campus, with its buildings surrounding a main quad known as the Tombs. The new Harriton High School does not feature this style.
• Harriton is also one of only 426 high schools in the United States to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.
• Notable Harriton graduates include former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and former President of Harvard University Lawrence Summers, Hollywood television producer David Crane, Indy film producer Barry Shils (Vampire's Kiss), Macintosh computer design team members Andy Hertzfeld and Susan Kare, and Susan Kare's younger brother Jordin Kare.
• Harriton is consistently ranked among the best public schools in the nation. It is a two-time recipient of the Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School Award and consistently ranks high in Newsweek's lists of the top 1000 high schools in the country. In a 2005 Newsweek list of the top high schools in the United States, Harriton ranked 427. On a similar Newsweek list from 2003, it ranked 384.
• Philadelphia Magazine ranked Harriton the 33rd best school in Pennsylvania, 6th best public school in Pennsylvania, and second best school in Montgomery County.
• In 2009, Philadelphia Magazine ranked Harriton High school number one in their ranking of the region's top 50 best performers.

Notable alumni

• Lynda Resnick (1960) - President/CEO Roll International Corporation (POM Wonderful, Fiji Water, Teleflora).
• Andy Hertzfeld (1971) - Personal computing pioneer, member of the original Apple Macintosh design team.
• Susan Kare (1971) - Graphic designer and originator of icons and typefaces for Apple Computer.
• Lawrence Summers (1972) - Former President of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Harvard Harvard University, Former Secretary of the Treasury, current Director of the National Economic Council.
• Arn Tellem (1972) - Sports agent named "One of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business".
• David Crane (1975) - Emmy-award winning TV writer/producer/director, creator of "Friends".
• Cherie Greer (1990) - Member of the US National Lacrosse Team, U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
• Bonnie Rosen (1988) - Gold-medal lacrosse star for US National Team; Temple women's lacrosse coach.

External links

• Lower Merion School District
• Harriton High School
• Harriton Technology and Engineering Club
• Harriton Banner Online
• Harriton Student Council
• Harriton Theater Company
• Harriton High School Alumni Site
• Harriton High School, Class of 1989
• An Aerial View of the School
• High School Modernization Page