Avon Grove High School

Public school in West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States

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Avon Grove High School is a public high school located in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Avon Grove School District.

Avon Grove High School enrolls about ~1,826 students in grades 9-12.^[3]

The school was established in 1928 with Pierre S. du Pont being involved in designing its first building. A newer building was built in 1957, and renovated in the 90's. The old building is being renovated again with plans to become the new Avon Grove School District Middle School.^[4]

New building

In June 2020, construction started on a brand new campus for Avon Grove High School as class occupancy exceeded fifty percent over its maximum.^[5]^[6] By September 2022, the campus located in Jennersville, Pennsylvania was functional enough to allow for the 2022-23 school year.^[7] The estimated cost of the new campus is projected to be $211,849,264.^[8]

Notable alumni

Mike Cessario, founder of Liquid Death^[9]
Charles B. Lewis, athlete, Winston-Salem State University.^[10]
Joey Wendle, professional baseball player, New York Mets^[11]

Swatting incident

On October 10, 2023, just before 10:00 a.m., the main office of the Avon Grove High School received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be near the school with a gun and that they were going to enter the high school's gym. Immediately, Dr. Christie Snead, the school principal, announced on the PA system that the school was going into lockdown. The Pennsylvania State Police arrived shortly after and began searching the campus. The call was traced to a number in Nebraska that had been used in several other swatting incidents across the country. Due to the cafeteria having many windows, there was a lack of space to provide cover during a lockdown. As such, some students from the cafeteria decided to leave the building and run to the shops at Jennersville as they felt that it would be the safest place. Others found hiding spots in the serving area of the cafeteria. The gym was the most vulnerable area as that was where the intruder claimed to be entering. Throughout the incident, Dr. Snead and Mrs. Penn gave out further instructions and police whereabouts in the building over the intercom and via email. At 10:45 a.m., it was announced that the high school was still in restricted movement to help the police manage the flow of students throughout the building. An announcement was made around this time that they would have an early dismissal and students would be able to use the restroom. At 11:20 a.m., students were dismissed from school, and all after-school activities were canceled.^[12]

References

^ "Administrative restructuring announced at Avon Grove School District". Daily Local. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Avon Grove HS". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
^ Avon Grove School District. "AGHS Profile". www.avongrove.org. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.^{[dead YouTube link]}
^ Paterno, Danielle (June 24, 2020). "New AGHS Groundbreaking - 6.24.2020". Vimeo.
^ "Avon Grove getting a state-of-the-art high school". Daily Local. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
^ "Penn Township officials discuss the opening of new Avon Grove High School | Chester County Press". www.chestercounty.com. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
^ "Avon Grove School District debt service $19 million below estimates on new high school". Daily Local. 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
^ Mikulich, Leah (2023-11-11). "Avon Grove Graduate, the Creator of Liquid Death, Shares Entrepreneurial Secrets". VISTA.Today. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
^ "Chester County Sports Hall of Fame - Charles B. Lewis". chestercountysportshalloffame.com. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
^ "WCU's Wendle One of Area's Best". cbslocal.com. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
^ Gorman, Will (2023-11-17). "SWATTING INCIDENT SHOCKS AGHS" (PDF). Avon Grove School District. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-18.

External links

Official website

Chester County, Pennsylvania schools

Main school districts
Avon Grove	Avon Grove High School
Coatesville Area	Coatesville Area High School
Downingtown Area	Downingtown High School Downingtown STEM Academy
Great Valley	Great Valley High School
Kennett Consolidated	Kennett High School
Owen J. Roberts	Owen J. Roberts High School
Oxford Area	Oxford Area High School
Phoenixville Area	Phoenixville Area High School
Tredyffrin/Easttown	Conestoga High School

Other schools
Charter schools	Achievement House Charter School Avon Grove Charter School Collegium Charter School Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School Renaissance Academy Charter School
Octorara Area	Octorara Junior-Senior High School Other schools are in Lancaster County
Private schools	Center for Arts and Technology Church Farm School Devon Preparatory School Kimberton Waldorf School Malvern Preparatory School The Concept School Upattinas School and Resource Center Westtown School
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia	Bishop Shanahan High School Vanguard School Villa Maria Academy
Spring-Ford Area	Spring-Ford Senior High School Other schools are in Montgomery County
Twin Valley	Twin Valley High School Other schools are in Berks County
Unionville-Chadds Ford	Unionville High School Other schools are in Delaware County
West Chester Area	West Chester East High School West Chester Henderson High School West Chester Rustin High School Other schools are in Delaware County
Sections of the Octorara Area, Spring-Ford, Twin Valley, Unionville-Chadds Ford, and West Chester school districts extend into other counties; only schools in Chester County should be listed in this template