Warren Township High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Warren Township High School |
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| Motto | "Expect Success, Exceed Dreams" |
| Established | 1917 |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Principal | Almond Campus: Dr. Doug Domeracki; O'Plaine Campus: Mr. Steven Isoye |
| Faculty | 260 |
| Students | 3,851 |
| Grades | 9–10 O'Plaine Road 11-12 Almond Road |
| Location | Almond Campus: 34090 Almond Road Gurnee, Illinois USA O'Plaine Campus: 500 N. O'Plaine Road Gurnee, Illinois USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Royal Blue, Old Gold |
| Mascot | Blue Devils |
| Newspaper | Scratch Paper |
| Website | www.wths.net |
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Warren Township High School, or Warren, is a public four-year high school located in Gurnee, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The school is split across two campuses: the O'Plaine Road Campus for freshmen and sophomores and Almond Road Campus for juniors and seniors. It is part of Warren Township High School District 121.
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[edit] History
The first high school in Warren Township was erected in 1917. The school first opened in the fall of 1918 with 57 pupils in attendance. This was a one floor school with a basement. Between the years 1920 and 1924, a Vocational Agriculture Building and Farm Shop (separate from the school and outside) were constructed. In 1926, a second floor and gymnasium were added to the 1917 structure. Additions to this structure were also made in 1951, 1956, 1960, 1968, and 1974.
The original building was destroyed by a major fire on December 20, 1984 just prior to the winter vacation. The fire was set just after a chorus concert by a student. At that point in time, all students and staff moved to the Lake Forest West Campus. From January 1985 until June 1987, the Lake Forest Campus was the educational facility for all the students of Warren Township High School. Construction on a new facility began in May 1986 and was completed in mid-August 1987. At that point in time, the students and staff returned to Gurnee for the first time since December 1984.
A referendum for an additional building was successful in the November 1995 election. Warren Township High School's Almond Road Campus subsequently opened in the Fall of 1997 and is located on Almond Road behind the Township Center. This location houses the juniors and seniors as well as a new music wing and competitive gym. The O'Plaine Road Campus now houses the freshmen and sophomores.
The school district had a subsequent referendum in February of 2003 to raise taxes to bring the school's budget out of the red, but the referendum was voted down and the school had to make some significant cuts in programs the following year.
Warren Township High School hired a new superintendent, Dr. Philip Sobocinski, for the 2003-2004 school year. Dr. Sobocinski had a brief career as an NFL player [1] and then spent most of his working life as a very successful high school football coach. He brought a great deal of football knowledge to the superintendency.
In 2004 and 2005, Dr. Roffman, longtime principal, retired and was later convicted for felony theft of school funds. [2] In December, 2004, a special auditor found that there was virtually no control over administrative spending in the school's activity funds. The auditor recommended twenty-five important changes to the district's accounting procedures. In May of 2005, the school board appointed a new business manager, the fifth in only six years. [3]
[edit] Academics
In 2000, Warren won the coveted Blue Ribbon Award for excellence, presented by the U.S. Department of Education. [4] According to Warren's 2006 Report Card, the school failed to meet the minimum requirements for adequate yearly progress for the fourth year in a row. [5] The school was placed on the Academic Early Warning list. In 2005-'06, Warren was given the status of "Choice" under the federal No Child Left Behind law.[6] This was intended to allow parents to transfer their children to a school with satisfactory scores. No Warren students were actually given the right to transfer.
The school administration said that the most recent failure occurred because the school had twelve too many low-income students. Yet the Report Card says that 7% of Warren's student body are low-income, as compared with the state low-income average of 40%. Nonetheless, Warren is still below the state average for overall test performance.
[edit] Athletics
Warren competes in the North Suburban Conference and Illinois High School Association. Its mascot is the Blue Devils.
[edit] Activities
Warren offers many activities such as: Academic Team, Astronomy Club, Art Club, Band, Choir, FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), German Club, International Club, MECS (Mother Earth's Concerned Students), Ski Club, Spanish Club, Speech Team, Student Council, French Club, Scratch Paper (Student Newspaper), Students of Service (SOS), Yearbook, Winter Guard, Knitting club, and most recently EXCEL club.
[edit] Project Lead the Way
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses began in the 2006-2007 school year with approximately 100 freshman students. This program offers engineering courses to high school students.
[edit] Alumni
- Additional notable staff and alumni of Warren can be found at wths.net
- LaVerne Dixon, Class of 1927, Judge
- William G. Stratton, Class of 1930, Governor
- W. Howard Swanson, Class of 1942, Village attorney
- Barbara E. Richardson-Cannon, Class of 1946, Lake County Coroner
- John R. Clem, Class of 1956, Author, Internatially recognized professor of physics at Iowa State University
- Richard A. Welton, Class of 1960, Chairman of Welton's Food Mart, Mayor of Gurnee
- Fred Foreman, Class of 1966, United States Attorney
- Valerie Boettle-Ceckowski, Class of 1977, Judge
- Kevin Anderson, Class of 1978, actor
- Patrick Read Johnson, Class of 1980, Film director
[edit] References
- ^ Dr. Sobocinski. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
- ^ Metro Briefs. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
- ^ Another Warren High Business Chief Resigns. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
- ^ Ten Illinois Schools Honored as Blue Ribbon Winners. ISBE Press Release (2000-05-31).
- ^ Warren Township District 121. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
- ^ Report Card. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
[edit] External links
| North Suburban Conference |
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| Lake Division: Lake Forest • Lake Zurich • Libertyville • Mundelein • Stevenson • Warren • Zion-Benton
Prairie Division: Antioch • Grant • Lakes • North Chicago • Round Lake • Vernon Hills • Wauconda |
