Churchyard Poets and Kiski Area School District: Difference between pages
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The Kiski Area School District is one of 501 public school systems in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Encompassing a total of nine municipalities in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, the Kiski Area School District is headquartered in [[Allegheny Township]], [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]].
==History: The Merger of Five Districts==
The creation of the Kiski Area School District arose out of a mandate in the late 1950's requiring hometown schools to join their neighboring municipalities and merge, with the intent of sharing resources with state funds. The municipalities of Allegheny Township, [[Bell Township]]/[[Avonmore]], [[East Vandergrift]], [[Parks Township]], and [[Vandergrift]] all joined their respective buildings to form the district, with the merger being finalized in 1958.
With the merger came the task of finding an appropriate site for building a centrally-located school. The offer presented itself later in the decade, when a plot of 107 acres along what is now known as Melwood-DoBi Road in Allegheny Township became available. Prior to the groundbreaking, the district's high school was on the outskirts of downtown Vandergrift and then known as Vandergrift Junior-Senior High School, which would graduate its last class in 1962.
==1960: The Construction of Kiski Area High School==
By use of a $2,345,000 30-year loan, the purchase of the property was negotiated in 1960, with the building's construction beginning later that same year. The new school was considered by many to be one of the most modern, state-of-the-art educational facilities in Pennsylvania. It would resemble a college campus atmosphere with five single-story buildings and a two-story building. The single story buildings would be three classroom buildings with grade-level homerooms in three of the buildings, which would be known as the sophomore, junior and senior buildings; an administration building, and an auditorium/industrial and performing arts/home economics building. The single two story building would be the cafeteria and balcony spectator area for the gymnasium, with the gym and locker rooms below.
In addition to the campus setting, was the unique architecture of the buildings, which would use a limited amount of brick, augmented with glass and steel framing, with painted aluminum classroom interior walls. It was a concept in architecture that would come to be the accepted standard by the 1970's.
The school opened its doors in September of 1962 to some 1300 students following a ribbon cutting ceremony by two new administrators, principal Harold J. Bush and superintendent Dr. Mearl F. Gerheim.
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