McDowell High School
McDowell High School is a public high school located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania a suburb of Erie. It is the only high school in the Millcreek Township School District. The school's mascot is the Trojan.
Students
There are approximately 2,500 students attending McDowell High School. The McDowell campus includes two buildings: McDowell Intermediate accommodating students in grades 9 and 10, and McDowell Senior accommodating grades 11 and 12. Students travel between facilities on the campus when attending classes.Enrollment
As of the 2015-16 school year:Group | Number of students | Percent |
All | 2,319 | 100% |
White | 2,066 | 89.1% |
Black | 77 | 3.3% |
Asian | 27 | 1.2% |
Hispanic | 85 | 3.7% |
Two or More Races | 57 | 2.5% |
American Indian/Alaskan Native | 5 | 0.2% |
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 2 | 0.1% |
Male | 1215 | 52.4% |
Female | 1104 | 47.6% |
Renovations
The Millcreek Township School Board has been in talks since 2009 for renovations to the McDowell property. In December 2011, the school board announced four possible options for renovation, ranging in cost from $80 million to $100 million. The board has decided to create a new practice field for football.On July 31, 2012, by a vote of 8-1, the Millcreek Township School Board voted in favor of consolidating both McDowell Senior High and McDowell Intermediate at cost of $110 million. During the meeting, school board members voted 6-3 in favor of moving Gus Anderson Field to the east side of Caughey Road, despite major student complaints for air condition.
On February 7, 2013, the superintendent of Millcreek, Michael Golde, announced he was taking a medical leave and stepping down from his position. One week later, the school board announced plans for a new McDowell were being scaled back, due to the high cost of the building.
In late February and early March, it was revealed the school district was between $6 million and $9 million in debt. The final announced total was $8.8 million, as of April 12, 2013. Due to the budget shortfall, the Millcreek Township School District announced the closure of two elementary schools, which officially ended the McDowell renovation project.
In March 2014, the Millcreek School Board approved nearly 2.4 million dollars to a renovation to the high school. There were renovations to the field, lockers and windows.
Notable alumni
- Dan Briggs, musician
- Marc Brown, author of Arthur television show
- James Conner, All-American college football player and current NFL running back for Pittsburgh Steelers
- Jim Corbett, NFL player
- David Greenberger, artist
- William Kowalski, American-Canadian novelist and screenwriter
- Katie Linendoll, TV host, speaker and journalist, focused on technology and gadgets
- Connor McDavid, center and team captain for NHL's Edmonton Oilers
- Pat Monahan, lead singer of Train
- Mark Nelson, chemist and inventor of the antibiotic Nuzyra
- Brian Stablein, former NFL receiver
- Jonathan Stark, television writer/producer "Cheers", "Ellen, "Drew Carey", "According to Jim"
- Dylan Strome, professional ice hockey player
- Travis Dermott, professional ice hockey player
- Chris Vrenna, musician