The Kiski School

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The Kiski School
Kiski School Logo.svg
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
1888 Brett Lane

Saltsburg
,
PA
15681-8951

United States
Coordinates40°29′12″N 79°27′26″W / 40.4868°N 79.4571°W / 40.4868; -79.4571Coordinates: 40°29′12″N 79°27′26″W / 40.4868°N 79.4571°W / 40.4868; -79.4571
Information
Former nameKiskiminetas Springs School
TypeIndependent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school
MottoLatin: Dirige Nos Domine
(Guide Us Lord)
Religious affiliation(s)Nonsectarian[1]
Established1888; 133 years ago (1888)
FounderAndrew W. Wilson
StatusCurrently operational[1]
CEEB code394365
NCES School ID01197887[1]
ChairJohn Jacob
Head of schoolChristopher A. Brueningsen[2]
Faculty24.9 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12, PG
GenderAll-male[1]
Age range14–18
Enrollment180[1] (2017–2018)
 • Grade 925[1]
 • Grade 1052[1]
 • Grade 1150[1]
 • Grade 1253[1]
Average class size10[3]
Student to teacher ratio7:1[3]
LanguageEnglish
Hours in school day6[1]
Campus size350 acres (140 ha)
Area300,000 square feet (28,000 m2)
Campus typeRural[1]
Color(s)Black & White   
SloganPreparing young men to succeed in college and in life
SongKiski Then Forever[4]
Fight songFight for Old Kiski[4]
Athletics12 varsity teams[5]
Athletics conferencePAISAA[6]
NicknameCougars
AccreditationMSA
PublicationThe Kiski School Bulletin[7]
The Springs[8]
NewspaperKiski News
Kiski Minutes
The Kiskiminetan
YearbookKiskiminetan
Endowment$11.44 million[9]
Annual tuition$48,500 (boarding)[10]
$38,500 (day)[10]
Revenue$15.18 million[9]
Graduates (2020)75[11]
AffiliationsNAIS,[1] PAIS, & TABS[1]
Websitewww.kiski.edu

The Kiski School (formerly the Kiskiminetas Springs School and often known simply as Kiski or Kiski Prep) is an independent, all-male college-preparatory boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school, named after the nearby Kiskiminetas River, is located about 30 miles (48 km) east by north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1888, Kiski is the oldest remaining non-military all-male boarding school in the United States.

Kiski educates students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate (PG) year. Kiski has an enrollment of approximately 180, with international students from 23 different countries.[3] In 2021, Niche ranked Kiski 87th best among 201 American all-boy high schools, 208th best among 399 American boarding high schools, 663rd best among 4,148 independent American college-preparatory high schools, and 935th best among 4,260 American private high schools.[12]

History[]

Postcard shows the school buildings and grounds of Kiskiminetas Spring School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.
The school buildings and grounds circa 1908

In 1888, Andrew W. Wilson founded the school on a wooded hill overlooking the Kiskiminetas River separating Westmoreland County from Indiana County. The site had once been a summer resort and mineral spa. In the school’s first catalog, printed in 1888, Wilson stated that his goal was to establish “a boys’ school of high order that would prepare graduates to enter any American college or scientific school.” There were two other elements of the founding mission. First, “to train and develop the moral faculties which at this period of life are so susceptible to culture.” Second, “to afford all the comforts and as many as possible of the pleasures and advantages of home, during this period of training.”

Forty-two students had graduated from the school by 1894; 26 of them went to Princeton University. The original faculty consisted of just Wilson (who had graduated from Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania Law School), and school co-founder R. William Fair, who taught mathematics. Wilson led the school through its first four decades with the assistance of his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and his closest friends.

Notably, Alexander James Inglis's first professional job was as a Latin teacher at the school during the 1902–1903 school year.[13] On May 6, 1905, the Psi chapter of the Gamma Delta Psi fraternity, a high school fraternity, was founded at the school.[14]

Kiski's athletics program was of some renown in the early 1900s. In 1929, amid the Great Depression, collegiate football scholarships were banned nationally. The effects of this ban led to Fred Lewis Pattee, a Penn State professor, to compare the university's team to Kiski's. Pattee remarked that the Penn State football team's schedule that year should not include any team "harder than Kiski."[15]

William H. MacColl succeeded Wilson as president in 1930. James L. Marks, Sr., who served as dean, and Colonel John J. Daub, who worked as the school's registrar, were also influential early faculty and adminsitrators.[4] By 1937, the school had four administrators and ten faculty, teaching mathematics, history, Latin, English language, Spanish language, German language, geometry, French language, science, and instrumental music.[4] At this time, the school used a preceptoiral system, in which the school's students were divided into four groups.[4] Each group was assigned to one of the school's four principals and officers for personalized academic counseling.[4]

L. Montgomery Clark was elected president of Kiski's board of trustees in 1941 and was appointed Head of School in 1942. Kiski carried out many campus additions and improvements under Clark's leadership. In 1946, Wes Fesler, coach of the Pitt football team, conducted a fall training camp for the team on the campus.[16]

John A. Pidgeon, who was then Deerfield Academy's assistant headmaster, succeeded Clark upon his retirement in 1957. Kiski undertook additions and improvements to the facilities and grew its academic reputation and endowment under Pidgeon's 45-year leadership. Under Pidgeon, Kiski built four new dormitories and renovated others. Kiski also constructed a new classroom building, dining hall, library, fine arts center, and administrative complex. Since 1998, Kiski adopted a policy of providing every student with a laptop.

In 2002, the school appointed Christopher A. Brueningsen as Head of School. In 2005, Kiski reinstated a day student program that allows students to attend the school without residing on campus. Since 2005, five of the six dormitories have undergone significant renovations to improve their sustainability measures and amenities while maintaining student capacity.

In 2009, the school constructed a student center to serve as the social hub of campus, house the college counseling office, and host events throughout the year. In 2014, the school resurfaced the running track surrounding a multi-purpose turf field.

In 2015, the school renovated the Ross Athletic Center, expanding it to include a new fitness center and multi-use gymnasium. The school also expanded academic facilities in 2015 by adding a Makerspace, a do-it-yourself (DIY) workshop and fabrication studio, and completing the Zeigler Science Center in 2019.

Governance[]

A board of trustees governs Kiski. John Jacob currently chairs the board; Ellen Swank serves as the board's vice-chair. Additional board members include:[17]

Admissions[]

Kiski is a selective school, which chooses its student body from a pool of applicants. Kiski utilizes the Standard Application Online (SAO) to evaluate prospective students.[18]

Application Timeline
Parents and students may begin the application process for the following year's admission in September. The school requires each applicant to visit the campus and interview. In February of each year, Kiski's Admission Committee begins meeting to review applications for the next school year. The school generally notifies candidates of admission decisions by March 10 every year. The school typically requires parents to submit enrollment contracts and deposits by April 10 each year.[18]

Day Students
While Kiski is predominately a boarding institution, it does have a small population of day students. The school accepts day students that live within a short driving distance to the school's campus.[18]

Post-Graduates
Kiski accepts post-graduate students that have already achieved their high school diploma and pursue an additional year of secondary education before moving onto college. PG students can be eligible to compete in the school's athletics program and otherwise participate in school activities.[18]

Naval Academy Foundation
Kiski partners with the United States Naval Academy to prepare candidates for the Naval Academy. The school's USNA candidates enroll in Kiski's post-graduate program, complete five to six core classes, and participate in athletic programs and other extracurricular activities. The school has been enrolling Naval Academy Foundation candidates since the late 1960s.[18]

Curriculum[]

Kiski provides a college preparatory curriculum in mathematics, science, world languages, the arts, English language, history, electives, and programs in health and wellness, ethics, and personal development. Kiski offers a range of honors, advanced, and independent study courses. Kiski's STEAM, the school's ninth-grade science course, focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.[19]

Kiski's Leadership and Character Development Program provides experiences that range from Maker workshops to explorations of sustainability and community service work. The school also organizes trips to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C.[19]

The school is affiliated with the Cum Laude Society and National Honor Society, which recognize academic achievement.

Grades[]

The school's teachers grade students each quarter. The head of school individually meets with students to report their academic progress after each grading period. Quarterly grade reports available to both students and parents online. Students receive percentage grades each marking period based on academic performance. The school also assigns each student an "effort grade" on a scale of A (outstanding effort) through F (deplorable effort) to grade a given student's efforts within a course, in additional to academic grades.[20]

Students who distinguish themselves scholastically, through ability and effort, may be eligible for special recognition:[20]

Honor Roll. Average of 85% or above, with no grade lower than 70% and not more than one effort grade below "C."

High Honor Roll. Average of 95% or above, with no grade lower than 80% and not more than one effort grade below "C."

Effort Honor Roll. At least four "A" effort grades, with no effort grade below "B."

The school publishes these three lists at the end of each academic quarter. The school accords students who have earned a place on one of these lists special privileges.

The school confers the academic title of "valedictorian" upon the member of the graduating class with the highest cumulative weighted grade point average based on coursework completed at Kiski during the junior and senior years. The valedictorian has the opportunity to deliver an address at Commencement.[20]

Graduation requirements[]

Every candidate for graduation must successfully complete twenty credits, including:[20]

Evening study hall[]

Each evening from 19:15–20:45, Monday through Thursday, the school requires all students on campus to engage in academic pursuits. The evening study time offers opportunities for students to visit their teachers' homes for extra help and general coursework assistance. Kiski encourages students to seek out teachers, most of whom live on the school's campus.[20]

Extracurricular activities[]

Athletics[]

Kiski places an emphasis on athletics, requiring students to participate in one sport every season. Kiski has established 23 athletic teams, including:[5]

Fall

Winter

Spring

Kiski athletics largely occur in the school's 75,000 square foot (7,000 m²) Ross Athletic Center, on the high school track, the school nine-hole golf course, campus cross-country trails, or baseball and soccer facilities.[5]

Activities[]

Prefects
Kiski's student governance relies upon prefects. Prefects act as resident assistants as well as the school's student leadership. Prefects are assigned to live in the dormitories of first- and second-year students. Among other responsibilities, prefects counsel younger students and help dorm masters with evening study hall and lights-out. During the fourth academic quarter, the faculty and current prefects elect boys who have exhibited good judgment and maturity to serve as prefects for the next school year. Kiski prefects answer to a senior prefect known as the Head Prefect, the student body leader.[20]

The Cougar Cup
Each school year, the entire school participates in a "Cougar Cup" competition. Each student is assigned to be either a member of a Loyalhanna team or a Conemaugh team. The year-long competition includes both athletic and academic challenges.[20]

Clubs
Clubs at Kiski are largely student-organized and vary from year to year. The school has historically seen students organize the following clubs, among others:[21]

Traditions[]

School dress code[]

During the academic day, meals, and school assemblies, all students must wear a coat and tie following a school dress code. Students must wear a sport or suit coat, dress shirt, tie, belted trousers, leather dress shoes, and dress socks. Students must wear a white dress shirt for formal evening meals.[20]

Students must wear gray dress pants with a belt, white shirt, tie, a blue blazer, and dress shoes for special school events.[20]

Upon graduation, students are awarded a black and white striped tie.

Campus[]

Kiski's 350-acre campus overlooks the small town of Saltsburg, PA, 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, PA.[22]

Buildings[]

Athletic Complex
The Carroll “Beano” Cook Outdoor Athletic Center is the school's outdoor athletic complex. The Orr Track and Field consists of an outdoor track and turf field lined for football, soccer, and lacrosse.[22]

Ross Athletic Center
The Ross Athletic Center (RAC) is the school's indoor 75,000 square-ft athletic center. The RAC includes the Jacob Multi-Purpose Gymnasium used as a training area for sports like soccer, lacrosse, tennis, and baseball, and an indoor walking track. The RAC also includes weight and cardio training rooms, athletic training and health suite, Basketball court, wrestling and baseball room, and the McCutcheon Natatorium. The Ross Athletic Center also houses athletic department offices and film/meeting rooms and features upgraded locker and equipment rooms and storage areas. The athletic center’s façade keeps with the traditional Kiski campus-wide appearance, but the inside is modern.[22]

Turley Dining Hall
Turley Dining Hall is the school's dining facility. Kiski students and faculty gather in Turley for meals. Students and faculty eat together in a family-style setup. This long-standing school tradition reflects the school's early preceptorial structure.[22]

Zeigler Science Center
Zeigler Science Center (ZSC) houses the school's physics and STEAM courses as well as biology and life sciences. The building provides a transitional space for teachers to move from lecture to experiment, with movable furniture inside the classrooms.[22]

Makerspace
The Makerspace is located in the Heath Classroom Building and provides a suite of hand tools and consumable materials, including a CNC router, laser cutter, and 3D printers. The Makerspace plays host to the school's Inventionland curriculum, where students build, market, and pitch ideas for inventions, emphasizing graphic design, engineering, public speaking, and patent researching.[22]

Yukevich Quadrangle
The Yukevich Quad is the center of the school's campus. It is bordered by Old Main, Zeigler Science Center, Heath Classroom Building, MacColl Dorm, Swank Student Center, Pidgeon Library, and Rogers Fine Arts Center. It features an ample green space where Kiski students play Disc golf or view outdoor movies.[22]

Swank Student Center
The Swank Student Center (SSC) is centrally located on the school's campus near the main classroom building, the library, and residence halls. The student center is the hub of campus life and a place for students' social interactions, personal interests, and leisure activities outside of classroom hours. The SSC contains the school's college counseling office, campus bookstore, a snack bar, a radio station, TV gaming rooms, and a large fire pit on the back patio.[22]

John A. Pidgeon Library
The John A. Pidgeon Library is the “learning commons” of The Kiski School. The library, constructed and opened in 1993, provides a wide variety of print and non-print resources for students and faculty members. The Bradley Reading Room offers a comfortable area for casual reading or study and houses current periodicals. Access to the online catalog and various subscription databases and reference resources is available through the campus network. In addition to Kiski's shelf collection of more than 20,000 titles, the Library is a member of ACCESS PA, a statewide online database of nearly 3,000 libraries. This database makes 44 million items available for borrowing from these libraries to Kiski students. Additionally, the library subscribes to several research databases covering history, literature, science, photo archives, biographical information, and other digital tools for research and study.

The school named the building for former Head of School Pidgeon, who served the school for 45 years.[22]

Dormitories[]

Kiski boys live in double occupancy student rooms in six dormitories:

  • Hoag Hall
  • Vlahos Hall
  • Fosnaugh Hall
  • Daub Hall
  • MacColl Hall
  • McClinktok Hall

Typically, there are two or more faculty members—including their families and pets—living in apartments within each dormitory. All dormitories have a common social room, called the Day Room, with a television, DVD player, recreational furniture, and at least one table game such as pool, table tennis, or air hockey. The school furnishes each student with a bed, mattress, closet, or hanging space for clothes, desk, desk chair, and a chest of drawers in the dorm rooms. All dormitory rooms have wireless access to Kiski's campus network.[20]

Notable alumni[]

References[]

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  2. ^ Brueningsen, Christopher. "A Letter From Our Head of School". Welcome. The Kiski School. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Kiski by the Numbers 2020–2021" (PDF). The Kiski School. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Students Hand Book. Kiski School Archives at the John A. Pidgeon Library: Kiskiminetas Springs School. 1937–1938. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Athletics". The Kiski School. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Members". Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Read the Latest Kiski Bulletin". Alumni. The Kiski School. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  8. ^ "The Springs". Arts & Culture. The Kiski School. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Form 990" (PDF). Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. 2018.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Affording Kiski". The Kiski School. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  11. ^ "The Kiski School Class of 2020 Matriculation List". The Kiski Bulletin. The Kiski School. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  12. ^ "2021 The Kiski School Rankings". Niche. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  13. ^ Wraga, William G. (2003). "The Progressive Classicism of Alexander James Inglis". The Classical Journal. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc. 99 (1): 61. JSTOR 3298081. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  14. ^ "First national catalog of the fraternity of Gamma Delta Psi". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  15. ^ Fred Lewis Pattee to W. L. Werner. Fred Lewis Pattee Papers, Box 2, Folder 128: Penn State University Archives. 17 November 1929.CS1 maint: location (link)
  16. ^ Alberts, Robert C. (1986). "16". Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh, 1787–1987. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 221. JSTOR j.ctt5hjnhq.20. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Meet Our Board". Directories. The Kiski School. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Join the Kiski Brotherhood". How to Apply. The Kiski School. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Course Catalog" (PDF). The Kiski School. 2020–2021. p. 6. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j K-Book (PDF) (2014-15 ed.). The Kiski School. Retrieved 30 April 2021.[dead link]
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  22. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Virtual Campus Tour". Retrieved 26 April 2021.
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  24. ^ "James Clark". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  25. ^ Niederberger, Mary (26 October 2014). "Kiski student play gets some star power from David Conrad". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  26. ^ Gundelfinger, Jr., Paul (1 November 1936). "Kiski Again Studded With Budding College Stars". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 8. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  27. ^ https://www.whitecapsfc.com/post/2021/02/01/vwfc-sign-egbo
  28. ^ "John Greene". Find A Grave. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  29. ^ Hood, Sam (January 23, 1956). "'Spoon-Fed' Ideas Hit at Kiski Parley; Professional Leaders Emphasize Need for Self-Disciplined Study Habits". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 4. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  30. ^ "About — Jack Hanna". Jack Hanna. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Kiski Football Team Registers 21–0 Victory Over Mercersburg; Cromer Goes Across in First Period, Mahafee in Second and Lee in the Fourth – Intercepted Passes Halt Losers in Their Attempts to Put Over a Touchdown". The New York Times. 8 November 1936.
  32. ^ "Kiski Wins Over Lion Frosh, 7 to 0". The Pittsburgh Press. 11 October 1936.
  33. ^ "Bill Moore". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Bio". Hon. Timothy K. Lewis. Schnader. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  35. ^ Sell, Jack (30 August 1950). "Milligan Accepts Coaching Job with Coast School". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  36. ^ United States Congress. "John Murtha (id: M001120)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  37. ^ "Pitt has Three Hard Games on its Card Still: University of Nebraska is Expected to Put Up Stiff Battle Next Saturday". The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. 30 October 1921. p. 29. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  38. ^ Call, Andy (19 January 2002). "Massillon's Stuhldreher went on to become one of the 'Four Horsemen'". Canton Repository Website. Retrieved 25 February 2007.

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