Buffalo Grove High School

Buffalo Grove High School
Address
1100 W. Dundee Rd. Buffalo Grove, Illinois, 60089 United States
Coordinates	42°08′26″N 87°58′58″W / 42.1405°N 87.9829°W / 42.1405; -87.9829
Information
School type	public secondary
Opened	1973
School district	Twp. H.S. District 214
Superintendent	Dr. David Schuler[1]
Principal	Carol Burlinski[2]
Faculty	149 certified staff members[3]
Grades	9–12
Gender	coed
Enrollment	2,161[4]
Average class size	22.9[4]
Campus	suburban
School color(s)	navy blue      burnt orange      white[5]
Athletics conference	Mid-Suburban League
Mascot	Bison[5]
Average ACT scores	23.3[4]
Newspaper	The Charger[6]
Yearbook	Stampede[6]
Website	http://bghs.d214.org/
Screenshot from NASA Virtual Earth.

Buffalo Grove High School, or BGHS is a public high school located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. It is one of six four-year comprehensive high schools in Township High School District 214, serving portions of the Villages of Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights and Wheeling.

History

Buffalo Grove opened in 1973, drawing students and staff from Wheeling and John Hersey high schools.

Dr. Clarence M. "Chick" Miller, formerly assistant principal at Wheeling High School, was named the school's first principal.

On March 12, 1976, President Gerald Ford, during his campaign against former California Governor Ronald Reagan, made a March primary appearance in the gymnasium of Buffalo Grove High School.

In 2003, new classrooms, a foyer, and offices opened as part of a six-million dollar new development. The "circle drive" on the west side of the school was greatly reduced in size to make room for the new classrooms and foyer. The new classrooms included new science labs and special-ed facilities. Additionally, room was made in old storage space on the second floor of the south side of the building for new foreign-language classrooms.

On August 27, 2004, the Bison hosted their first Friday night game under new lights at Bison Stadium. They were the final team in the Mid-Suburban League to switch from Saturday afternoons to Friday night games.

In the 2013-14 school year, a brand new eleven-million dollar swimming facility was put in.

^[7]

Academics

Buffalo Grove High School was a 1999–2000 Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence winner presented by the United States Department of Education.^[8]

In 2008, the average ACT score was 23.3, and 95.5% of the class of 2008 graduated on time. BGHS failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) according to the federal No Child Left Behind Act because of scores below the minimum target on the Prairie State Achievement Examination and ACT in two student subgroups.^[4]

Athletics

Competitive teams from Buffalo Grove HS compete in the Mid-Suburban League (MSL). Buffalo Grove is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the governing body for most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in Illinois.

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for boys and girls in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. Boys may compete in baseball, football, and wrestling. Girls may compete in badminton, bowling, and softball. On top of this, in 2011 the school inducted a Co-Ed Competitive Cheerleading team to preform at athletic games and compete in the winter and spring.^[9]

The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state tournaments or meets:^[10]

• Basketball (girls): 4th place (1979–80); 3rd place (2007–08); State Champions (1999–2000)
• Bowling: 3rd place (1984–85)
• Football: 2nd place (1978–79); State Champions (1986–87)
• Gymnastics (girls): 2nd place (1991–92, 1992–93, 93–94)
• Soccer (boys): 2nd place (2004–05); State Champions (1988–89)
• Soccer (girls): 4th place (1992–93, 1994–95); 2nd place (1991–92)
• Volleyball (boys): 4th place (1997–98, 2005–06); 2nd place (2007–08); 3rd place (2008–09 ; 5th place (2009-10)
• Competitive Co-Ed Cheerleading: State Champions (2014)

Activities

Buffalo Grove supports 47 student clubs and activities, an entire and updated list of which can be found at the school's website for activities.^[11] These clubs range from music and the arts to culture and language, to social/political action and student government. Buffalo Grove also has an excellent Speech and Debate team, boasting the 99th best Lincoln Douglas Debate team in the NFL. (National Forensics League)

Among the clubs are chapters of these more nationally notable groups: NJROTC, SADD, Scholastic Bowl, Science Olympiad, and Mathletes.^[12] In March 2012, the Scholastic Bowl Team qualified for the IHSA State Meet in Peoria, IL by beating William Fremd High School in the Sectional Final at North Chicago High School. They were also the Regional Champions and MSL Conference Champions, beating Fremd in dramatic fashion 485-480.

Another prominent group at Buffalo Grove is its show choir, The Expressions. The Expressions is a mixed competition show choir composed of 38 singer-dancers, 12 band members and 4 crew members.^[13] The Expressions are directed by Debora Utley and choreographed by Randy Sage, and the Expressions band is directed by Brian Itzkowitz . Similar to the hit television show, Glee, the group meets as a class as well as competes throughout the country at various show choir competitions. Some competitions which they attend are the Dekalb Indiana Show Choir Invitational Competition, the Chicagoland Showcase Competition, and the Nashville Show Choir Nationals Competition.^[13] Since the show choir was founded at Buffalo Grove, under the direction of Linda McEachran.^[14] The Expressions have a history of sweeping show choir competitions with awards in Best Vocals, Best Choreography, Best Band, and Grand Champions. Much of The Expressions' success can be attributed to the strong direction first implemented by Linda McEachran, known as "Miss Mac."

Several Expressions alumni have gone on into careers in music and dance. Current choreographer, Randy Sage, was an Expressions member himself and now choreographs for many award-winning high school and junior high show choirs around the United States.^[15] The Expressions' current band director, Brian Itzkowitz, was also an Expressions member in high school, playing saxophone in the Expressions band. In addition to directing the Expressions band, Itzkowitz teaches band at Holmes Middle School as well as Frost, Twain, and Whitman Elementary Schools.

Notable alumni

• Tim Bogar — Major League Baseball infielder (1993–2001), playing most of his career for the New York Mets and Houston Astros.^[16]
• Larry Doyle — comic writer who worked on The Simpsons (1997–2001). His first novel, Thurber Prize winning I Love You, Beth Cooper, is set at Buffalo Grove High School.^[17][18]
• Lindsey Durlacher — wrestler
• Josh Golden — screenwriter. He wrote a biopic called Road to Oz on L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz.
• Pat Healy — actor
• Veronika "VAJ" Jedryka - Tech Twinkles, Math Kangaroo
• Brett Lebda — professional ice hockey defenseman, currently playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. He was a member of the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.^[19][20]
• Brian McBride — professional soccer player, who was the first overall selection in the inaugural MLS draft in 1996, has since played in three FIFA World Cups for the US men's national soccer team^[21][22][23]
• Mike Marshall — Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman (1981–91), playing most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a member of the 1988 World Series champions.^[24]
• Tony Martino (Singer) — singer/songwriter from Chicago, Illinois.^[25]
• Josh Paul — Major League Baseball catcher (1999–2007), playing most of his career with the Chicago White Sox.^[26]
• Jessy Schram — actress. Among her most notable roles are Hannah Griffith in Veronica Mars, Rachel Seybolt in Life, Karen in Falling Skies and Cinderella/Ashley Boyd in Once Upon a Time.
• Judd Sirott — radio broadcaster who has national experience broadcasting for the NHL, and more locally with the Chicago Wolves, Chicago Blackhawks, and on WGN (AM), where he works with the Chicago Cubs.^[27][28][29]
• Don Thorp — defensive lineman in the NFL (1984, 87–88).^[30]
• Tom Zbikowski — special teams in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears.^[31]

References

External links

• Official Website
• School profile from the district website
• Windows Live Local satellite photo of school campus with labels