Schools/North Hills School District

The First Schools

The first public elementary school in West View opened in 1904. It was a one-room schoolhouse located at 131 Ridgewood Avenue and was under the supervision of the Ross Township School Board. West View eventually created its own school board and opened its own school, Oakwood School, in 1905. The Ridgewood School building was added to the Oakwood School in 1918. Due to continued population growth, Highland School was opened in 1909.

Before 1925, students had to pay tuition to go to high school outside of West View. Residents wanted a public high school to be built, so eventually construction began on West View Junior High School. It was built on the site of the Donegal Inn on the corner of Chalfonte Avenue and Perry Highway in 1925. It was one of the first schools in the country to house grades 7, 8, and 9. Additions were made in 1934 and 1938 to make room for grades 10, 11, and 12. In 1938, the school was renamed West View Senior High School. The graduating class of 1939 was just 120 seniors. The Borough is fortunate enough to have in its archives a complete collection of West View Senior High School yearbooks. These books, spanning the years 1939 to 1958 (the time that the building was a high school), have been digitized for all to see. They can be viewed by clicking here or by clicking the link in the sidebar.

Ridgewood School, circa 1950s	Oakwood School, circa 1950s	Highland School, circa 1950s	West View Senior High School, circa 1950s

Martorelli Field

West View High Field began as a Great Depression era project. The Works Progress Administration started work on the field in 1940, but the work was interrupted when World War II began. Construction resumed in 1949, and the field house was completed for the 1950-51 school year. The field name was changed to North Hills Field and changed again in 1968-69 to Martorelli Field to honor North Hills’ football coach Mario Martorelli.

unfinished construction of West View High Field, April 8, 1941	West View High Field, 1942

North Hills School District

Starting in the 1940s and continuing throughout the 50s and 60s, there was a statewide push to consolidate school districts. At the time, Ross and West View had two separate school districts, each with their own school boards. In 1948, they formed the North Hills School Jointure which had a single administration but retained the two separate school boards. As the population continued to increase, the need for a larger high school became apparent. In 1957, construction began on the North Hills Senior High School, which held grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. Construction was completed in January 1959. On July 1, 1965, the jointure ended, and the two entities consolidated into the North Hills School District. In 1972, North Hills Intermediate High School was built next to the existing high school. It held grades 8 and 9. Eventually the Intermediate School would become the High School and the High School would become the Middle School.

The North Hills "Hilltop," before construction on the High School (current Middle School) was finished	The rotunda of the Middle School (current High School) being built, early 1970s

West View Schools End

In 1983, Ridgewood, Oakwood, and Highland Elementary schools were closed. Kids were moved to West View Elementary, which had previously been the junior high school. The old elementary schools became apartment buildings. That same year, the Middle School and High School were moved into their current buildings.