Author Archives: lmartin3

“The Only Thing You Could Hear in the Hallway Was Her High Heels”: Remembering Dr. Helen Faison at Westinghouse in the 1960s

  By lmartin3 • 6 Apr 2023 , ,

In the 1960s, Dr. Helen Faison served at Westinghouse High School first as a counselor and then as a vice principal. She was remembered by alumni of the 1960s for setting a tone for behavior in the school.

“She was a very tall woman with a very flat voice, but she was always in control, impeccably dressed,” Richard Morris, class of ’69, remembered. “when the bell rang, she would walk from the third floor to the first floor. And the only thing that you could hear in the hallway was her high heels.”

When she got to the first floor, she would sometimes call out someone’s name if they were, for example, running in the hallway, and they would have to go to her office.

“And when you got to the office,” Richard added, “she would hand you a white sealed envelope, and she would say to you, ‘Bring your mama back.’”

She knew many of the parents in the community and was also the Sunday school superintendent at the Baptist Temple Church. This gave her extra leverage over the students. The student who was in trouble would take the sealed white envelope to their mother to open, which would explain why the parent needed to come to the high school to discuss their child’s behavior.

Dr. Faison earned her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 1975 and was the first woman and first African American high school principal in Pittsburgh.

In 2015, Dr. Faison passed away at the age of 91 after an illustrious 60-year career in education. According to the New Pittsburgh Courier, hundreds filled Baptist Temple Church to pay their respects.

Richard fondly remembered how she gently but forcefully set a high bar for student behavior.

“She was a person that she would listen to you, but at the end of the day, if you were wrong,” he said, “you were going to get a white envelope.”

“To be as Involved in the Community as We Can”: Coach Green and Westinghouse Football

  By lmartin3 • 14 Mar 2023 , , ,

Donta Green graduated from The House in 2005. He remembered growing up in the neighborhood.

“I remember when we were young, we would go outside as soon as the sun rose and we wouldn’t want to come in until our parents made us, going over another kid’s house or playing in front of those kid’s house, roller skating, basketball, all the different activities that we used to do, it’s not the same anymore,” Green said.

When Green was at Westinghouse in the early 2000s, he became part of a family and community tradition.

“To be able to go to schools with my friends the kids that I grew up with, it was pretty cool,” he said. “Another thing too about my school is the teachers that were at Westinghouse at that time were a lot of the same teachers who taught my mom, and my entire family went to Westinghouse, my mom, my uncles, my great uncles, they all went to Westinghouse.”

Green became the head coach of the football team at his alma mater in 2019 and began building what the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the “Green Machine” as the number of players went from 23 to 55 in a few short years. Coach Green has now led the Westinghouse Bulldogs to three City League Championships as well as the state championship game, but it’s not all about winning for him and his players.

“The goal honestly is to be as involved in the community as we can, so we’re always looking for different partnerships and different people to help us provide those opportunities for our young people. That’s everything for us,” Green said. “Winning games is fine. It’s really cool for kids that are walking in their own neighborhood and say, you know what, I did that or I cleaned this lot or I was a part of this program when I was in this part of my neighborhood. I think that creates a pride in people’s community.”

“At the end of the day, there has to be some demonstration of selfless servitude that you have to demonstrate in order to be an effective team player, and that’s something that we pay very close attention to. We like to call it a character-driven program where we focus on the character, we focus on academics and social skills, and we believe the athletic work will come on its own. It’s a tried and it’s a true method, and this year is a result of that.”