The first six official graduates of Altoona Area High School graduated in 1877. A riot occurred at the school in 1907 after boys in the senior class attempted to disrupt a junior class social. A large fight ensued and several students were injured after students threw stones and fired revolvers. Another riot occurred at the school in 1910 after 25 senior students—on their last day of school—marched into the school's chapel service with their faces smeared. A large fight resulted, leading to the arrest of two students and suspension of 25 others. In 1943, Altoona High became the only high school in the United States to have a World War II veteran as its class president. Robert G. Pennington, 18, had enlisted in 1942, and served four months in the Marine Corps before obtaining a medical discharge. He then returned to school. Country music star and gay rights activist
Chely Wright attended the school's 1998 prom, after accepting a request from student Dave Showalter that she be his date. In 2002, school officials permitted an undercover female police officer to pose as a student for three months in order to identify drug transactions at the school. Five students were charged with drug violations.
Facility The school was first located at the Webster Building, then became established in a separate building until 1895. In 1905, it moved to its present location on sixth avenue. This building cost $250,000. After the First World War, the building was not large enough to house the number of students it had enrolled. In 1927, a $1 million annex was added to accompany the facilities. A $14 million project during the 1970s allowed the school to be completely renovated and a 1200-seat auditorium was built. A new
gym, called the fieldhouse, was also constructed. In 1995, the
Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School All-America game was telecast live from the fieldhouse by
ESPN2.
Building features The school itself consists of two buildings (A and B) which contain a
planetarium, full size gym,
television studio, auxiliary gym, electronic learning laboratory, and regulation size
swimming pool. An $88 million renovation of building A and a new B building was constructed across sixth avenue on the site of a former intramural playing field and running track. The new Building B is connected to Building A by a pedestrian bridge over Sixth Avenue. The new building opened in fall of 2021. The
Vocational Technology Center is located adjacent to the high school. ==Attendance boundary==