The Schenley Experiment: A Social History Of Pittsburgh’s First Public High School (keystone Books)
by Jake Oresick /
2017 / English / PDF
55.4 MB Download
The Schenley Experiment
The Schenley Experiment is the story of Pittsburgh’s
first public high school, a social incubator in a largely
segregated city that was highly—even improbably—successful
throughout its 156-year existence.
is the story of Pittsburgh’s
first public high school, a social incubator in a largely
segregated city that was highly—even improbably—successful
throughout its 156-year existence.
Established in 1855 as Central High School and reorganized in
1916, Schenley High School was a model of innovative public
education and an ongoing experiment in diversity. Its graduates
include Andy Warhol, actor Bill Nunn, and jazz virtuoso Earl
Hines, and its prestigious academic program (and pensions) lured
such teachers as future Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather. The
subject of investment as well as destructive neglect, the school
reflects the history of the city of Pittsburgh and provides a
study in both the best and worst of urban public education
practices there and across the Rust Belt. Integrated decades
before
Established in 1855 as Central High School and reorganized in
1916, Schenley High School was a model of innovative public
education and an ongoing experiment in diversity. Its graduates
include Andy Warhol, actor Bill Nunn, and jazz virtuoso Earl
Hines, and its prestigious academic program (and pensions) lured
such teachers as future Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather. The
subject of investment as well as destructive neglect, the school
reflects the history of the city of Pittsburgh and provides a
study in both the best and worst of urban public education
practices there and across the Rust Belt. Integrated decades
beforeBrown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education, Schenley succumbed
to default segregation during the “white flight” of the 1970s; it
rose again to prominence in the late 1980s, when parents camped
out in six-day-long lines to enroll their children in visionary
superintendent Richard C. Wallace’s reinvigorated school.
Although the historic triangular building was a cornerstone of
its North Oakland neighborhood and a showpiece for the city of
Pittsburgh, officials closed the school in 2008, citing over $50
million in necessary renovations—a controversial event that
captured national attention.
, Schenley succumbed
to default segregation during the “white flight” of the 1970s; it
rose again to prominence in the late 1980s, when parents camped
out in six-day-long lines to enroll their children in visionary
superintendent Richard C. Wallace’s reinvigorated school.
Although the historic triangular building was a cornerstone of
its North Oakland neighborhood and a showpiece for the city of
Pittsburgh, officials closed the school in 2008, citing over $50
million in necessary renovations—a controversial event that
captured national attention.
Schenley alumnus Jake Oresick tells this story through
interviews, historical documents, and hundreds of first-person
accounts drawn from a community indelibly tied to the school. A
memorable, important work of local and educational history, his
book is a case study of desegregation, magnet education, and the
changing nature and legacies of America’s oldest public schools.
Schenley alumnus Jake Oresick tells this story through
interviews, historical documents, and hundreds of first-person
accounts drawn from a community indelibly tied to the school. A
memorable, important work of local and educational history, his
book is a case study of desegregation, magnet education, and the
changing nature and legacies of America’s oldest public schools.