Maine West High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maine West High School |
|
| Established | 1959 |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Principal | Dr. Audrey Haugan |
| Students | 2,277 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | 1755 South Wolf Road Des Plaines, Illinois USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue, Gold, White |
| Mascot | Warrior |
| Yearbook | Legend |
| Newspaper | "Westerner" |
| Website | west.maine207.org |
Maine West High School, or MWHS, is a public four-year high school located in Des Plaines, Illinois, a north-west suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Maine Township High School District 207, which also includes Maine East High School and Maine South High School.
Contents |
[edit] History
Built in 1959, in part due to the United States's increasing emphasis on the education of hard sciences to compete against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Maine West holds many Cold War-era characteristics. The basement level of the school, currently a fitness center (affectionately called "The Pit" by students), was designed to be used as a fallout shelter capable of protecting 1,000 people in the event of a nuclear incident. It is claimed by the Maine West Alumni Association website that the school was designed to host over 4,500 students. The "pit" was not the only fall out shelter in the building. Under each of the gyms, except Spec (which wasn't built until later), there are crawlspaces that stretch for about the whole length of the floor. These were filled with boxes of crackers, boxes of lemon drops, and also bottles of water that was meant to hold the students if a nuclear strike were to happen. Now, these spaces have been cleared out and have been used for storage.
[edit] Connection to John Wayne Gacy
Maine West has an indirect connection to one of the darkest chapters in modern American history. During the mid-1970s, the area near Des Plaines was the area where serial killer John Wayne Gacy killed some 33 young men. The investigation into Gacy began in 1978 with the disappearance of a Maine West student named Robert Piest. Lt. Joseph Kozenczak of the Des Plaines Police Department was the lead investigator who made the initial connection to Wood and Piest's disappearance. After obtaining a search warrant for Gacy's Norwood Park Township home, a search turned up, among other things, a Maine West High School "Class of '75" ring with the initials "JAS" inscribed. The ring was identified as having belonged to another missing person, 19 year old John Szyc. This was one of the critical pieces of evidence that led police to believe that they were dealing with a potential multiple murderer, and not just a single "missing persons" case. As a result, resources for investigating Gacy increased leading to his arrest and likely saving many lives.
[edit] Campus grounds
The floor plan is based around a central common area, with the cafeteria on the first floor and a 1,000 occupant auditorium on the second. Academic wings branch off a central rotunda; Upper A-wing is devoted to foreign languages and the English as a Second Language program. Upper B-wing houses the mathematics department, the English department workroom, and some English classes. Upper C-wing contains the majority of the English class rooms, and houses the social science department. D-wing has technology classrooms. Upper E-wing houses performing arts, while lower E houses visual arts. Lower A and B-wings contain the science classrooms; Lower C-wing contain vocational classrooms and driver's education. At the end of E-wing is the spectator gym. The library (known as the Learning Resource Center, or LRC) has its own wing, L-wing. The 1st floor of L-wing has a small theatre and assorted classrooms, one with a small stage. The 1st floor also houses the Technology Center, which used to be the Rotary Reading Room until it was remodeled in the 90s to accommodate a new computer lab. The 2nd floor of L-wing houses the library stacks proper. Each academic wing (A, B and C) has a gymnasium at the end.
There are five computer labs for student use. Two are in The Think Tank (formerly called The Write Place) and Learning Resource Center each, the another is in the Tech Center.
There are offices for Student Council, the Westerner and the Legend (the yearbook). There are two small courtyards between H and L-wings, one is used as an outdoor eating area.
The original building has been expanded over the years. E-wing, the fine arts center of the school, and the spectator gym were built after the school opened to accommodate home athletics events and West's increasing interest in the fine arts. In 2003, H-wing was completed, adding additional science labs, traditional classrooms, a new food lab and a large general purpose room. In 2005, construction of an outdoor eating area was completed.
The D-wing building is not attached to the building but it is accessible from the bus concourse doors. Classes including health, business, Computer Repair, Automotive, Graphic Arts, and consumer science related classes take place in D-wing. H-wing is a wing that connects lower B-wing to lower C-wing. The wing hosts science classes, foods classes, and a few English classes.
[edit] Academics
In 2005, Maine West had an average composite ACT score of 21.4, and graduated 94.0% of its senior class. The average class size is 19.0. Maine West has not made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.[1]
The staff is comprised of 175 teachers, of which 75% hold an advanced degree.[2] In 2002, Maine West was the only school in District 207 and one of only 50 nationwide to receive U.S. News and World Report's Award as an "Outstanding High School." The school was recognized in the local media and with a plaque. This award recognizes school where performance of students exiting compared to entering high schools exceeds expectations. Dr. Paul Leathem was principal at the time.
Maine West prides itself in its devotion to educating low income, ESL/minority students, and middle-class areas of Des Plaines and Rosemont.
Maine West has among the highest per-student expenditures in the state, at over $14,000 spent by the township for each student.
[edit] Athletics
Maine West competes in the Central Suburban North Conference. Its mascot is the Warriors.
Maine West has been IHSA champions in girls basketball (1988), baseball (1963) and badminton (1983). Maine West is one of several schools in the state of Illinois to compete in varsity fencing (the others include New Trier, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Homewood-Flossmoor, Marian Central Catholic High School, Deerfield High School, and Highland Park High School).
[edit] Activities
|
|
[edit] Notable alumni
- Threadless founder Jacob DeHart graduated from Maine West High School in 2000. [1]
- The band October Fall is made up of Maine West alumni. Nick Scalise (drummer) was in the marching band, and was drum captian his senior year.
- Former Major League baseball player, Jim Lindeman is a 1980 graduate of Maine West.
- Andrew Weder, MW Class '82, was the set designer for "Pirates of the Caribean: Dead Man's Chest". He also did the special effects for "Constantine" and was a special effects technician for "Van Helsing".
- Dr. James Kahn, MW Class '65, is a book author and screen writer. Among his TV screen plays is an episode of Star Trek TNG, 4 episodes of Star Trek Voyager, 21 episodes of Melrose Place and 3 episodes of TekWar. He also wrote the screen plays for "Return of the Jedi" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom".
- Ralph Puccinelli, MW class of '76.
[edit] External links
| Central Suburban League |
|---|
| North Division: Highland Park • Deerfield • Glenbrook North • Maine East • Maine West • Niles North
South Division: New Trier • Evanston • Waukegan • Maine South • Niles West • Glenbrook South |
