Prospect High School (Illinois)

Prospect High School
Address
801 W. Kensington Rd.
Mt. Prospect, Illinois, 60056
United States
Coordinates 42°04′41″N 87°56′56″W / 42.0781°N 87.949°W
Information
School type public secondary
Opened 1957
School district Twp. H.S. District 214
Superintendent Dr. David Schuler[1]
Principal Michelle Dowling[2]
Grades 9–12
Gender coed
Enrollment 2,087[3]
Average class size 24.2[3]
Campus suburban
School color(s)      Navy blue
     Columbia blue[4]
Athletics conference Mid-Suburban League
Mascot knights
Nickname Knights[4]
Newspaper The Prospector
Yearbook Crest
Website http://phs.d214.org

Prospect High School, or Prospect, is a public four-year high school located in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 214, which also includes Buffalo Grove High School, Elk Grove High School, John Hersey High School, Rolling Meadows High School, and Wheeling High School. It serves central Mount Prospect and a large portion of east Arlington Heights close to the Mt. Prospect village limits. Its feeder schools are Lincoln Middle School, South Middle School, Friendship Junior High School, and Holmes Junior High School.

History

Prospect was opened in 1957 as a freshman campus for the now-defunct Arlington High School. By the next school year, the district had grown enough that Prospect was turned into a full four-year school.[5]

In August 1995, on only the second day of the new school year, the school's field house suffered a fire. The cause of the fire was nothing short of a freak accident. Thick mats used by the track team (mostly the mats for high jump) had been out in the blistering sun on the previous day. The mats, with the heat of the sun still within them, were placed above a loft in the field house. One of the mats rested against a frayed electrical cord. The heat of the mat combined with the frayed wiring started the fire. The scoreboard and school record plaques were melted in the fire, though the most damage came from the water damage from the fire hoses. The field house was closed off for most of the 1995-1996 school year. The field house re-opened with a much-needed lighting improvement, better basketball floor and new paint.

Additions

In 2002, a library was added. A new art wing was finished/proposed in 2003. The school was given a new cafeteria in 2004. As of 2007, work is being done to remove asbestos from the older parts of the building. In 2009, the gym was remodeled and a concession stand was added.

Academics

In 2008 Prospect had an average composite ACT score of 24.6, and graduated 94.9% of its senior class. Prospect has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the combined Prairie State Achievement Examination and ACT, the test used to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[3]

Since 2005-06, the foreign language department facilitates an exchange program between students studying French and Italian at Prospect, and students studying English in Sèvres, France and Verona, Italy. In 2010-2011, an exchange program between students studying Spanish and students studying English in Barcelona, Spain was added.

Computer Science Program

In the fall of 2014, Prospect added a new class, Mobile App Development, or the "Mobile Makers Class" after partnering with Chicago-based technology firm Mobile Makers. District 214 is the only district in the country, along with Barrington High School, to offer a course teaching iOS App Development with the new Apple language, Swift.

Athletics

Prospect competes in the Mid-Suburban League (East Division). The school is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in Illinois. Its mascot is the Knight.

Prospect sponsors interscholastic athletic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & wrestling

The girls' golf team finished first in the IHSA state competition in 2011 and 2013. They also had a second place finish in 2012. They finished fourth in 2010.

The football team won the 7A State Championship in 2001, 2002, and 2005.

Activities

Fine and performing arts

The award-winning Fine & Performing Arts Department at Prospect High School provides hundreds of students with a broad exposure to the visual and performing arts. The music curricula consists of many performing ensembles, including the Prospect: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Marching Knights, Jazz Ensemble I & II, Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Pit Orchestra, Concert Choir, Treble Choir, Varsity Choir Honors Choir, Jazz Choir, and two competitive show choirs - Company and Mixed company. The Art, Dance, Theater, and Congressional Debate and Speech Components of the department provide numerous curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students to enhance their high school experience.

In 2009 and 2010, The Prospect Music Department was named a "Signature School" Finalist by the Grammy Foundations. In 2011, the school was awarded Grammy Signature Gold Status, placing it among the top seven high school music departments in the country.[6] Music students at Prospect are consistently selected for District, All-State, and All-State Honors Band, Orchestra, and Choir. in 2007, Prospect Marching Knights, Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Choir were invited to perform in the 2008/2009 London New Year's Day Parade and Gala Concerts. The Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble I, and Chamber Choir were all selected to perform at the 2008 Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Festival as Honors Ensembles. The Prospect Symphonic band has been selected to perform at the prestigious Illinois Superstate Festival thirteen times, and was named an Honor Band in 2005. The Marching Knights, both Jazz Ensembles, Mixed-Company and Company have gained national recognition for their performance at all levels of competition throughout the nation. Students are provided the opportunity to study harmony and arranging in a fully equipped MIDI lab focusing on music history, theory, technology, and recording.

Art studies include beginning and advanced placement in drawing, painting, sculpting, and photography. in 2007, a Prospect senior was named a Scholastic Art "National Portfolio Gold Winner," one of twelve recipients of the annual award. in addition, Prospect provides the opportunity to compete in Congressional Debate and Speech. Both teams are consistently recognized for their high level of performance and been selected to perform at the state festival. The speech team in nationally recognized with numerous accolades from the state and national level organizations. The dance ensemble, Orchesis, performs at district festivals, sporting events and an annual recital. Orchesis has been selected to perform at the state dance festival on several occasions. Annual theater productions include fall and winter plays and spring musical; corresponding courses focusing on drama and theater technology. Prospect's production of "With Their Eyes" was chosen in 2006 to perform at the state theater festival, and Prospect's production of "The Sparrow" was chosen in 2012 to perform.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ District 214 Superintendent's homepage; accessed 15 June 2009
  2. ↑ PHS Staff Directory; accessed 2010-Apr-03
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Class of 2008 school report card; accessed 17 June 2009
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 School info for PHS; ihsa.org; accessed 17 June 2009
  5. ↑ Brief History of District 214
  6. ↑ "The GRAMMY Foundation® Announces 2011 GRAMMY® Signature Schools". The GRAMMY Foundation. April 19, 2-11. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ biography of Dr. John Ankerberg; ankerberg.com; accessed 17 June 2009
  8. ↑ Smithe, Maureen; 'Strong Medicine' for a tough actress; 29 December 2000; Daily Herald; accessed 17 June 2009
  9. ↑ Reilly, Sue (4 September 1978). "Bruce Boxleitner Doesn't Need Suzanne Somers; He Married His Sister in How the West Was Won". People (Los Angeles, CA, USA: Time, Inc.) 10 (10). ISSN 0093-7673. Retrieved 2 June 2010. Then when the family moved to the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, Bruce found "I was really a country bumpkin. I didn't fit in." By the time he reached Mount Prospect High, though, his '52 Hudson Hornet ("very much in demand with my friends because it had a huge back seat") had improved his social status.
  10. ↑ “Golden nugget - After 32 years, Prospect graduate Jeff Bzdelik found the job of a lifetime”, Chicago Sun-Times, February 4, 2003.
  11. ↑ McGraw, Mike; From Prospect to pros How Jeff Bzdelik, Denver's new head coach, made his way from suburban playgrounds to the NBA; 6 October 2002; Daily Herald; accessed 17 June 2009
  12. ↑ "Wake Forest Names Jeff Bzdelik Head Basketball Coach"
  13. ↑ Randy Clark bio & stats; databasefootball.com; accessed 17 June 2009
  14. ↑ Ahern, Sheila (25 February 2010), "Suburban 'Idol' hopeful gets Simon's vote: Mt. Prospect native with everything on the line impresses stingy one", Daily Herald, retrieved 2 June 2010, Silverman and DeWyze met when he was a Forest View Alternative School student and signed up for an Upward Bound summer camp trip in 2002. DeWyze also attended Prospect High School.
  15. ↑ Saxenmeyer, Mark (25 May 2010). "Lee DeWyze - Tracking His Path From Mount Prospect To American Idol Stardom". Fox Chicago News. Retrieved 2 June 2010. For a little over three years, Lee attended Prospect High School. When asked if he was an "A", "B", or perhaps a "D" student, three of his former teachers and deans at the school say, "Depends. All of the above."
  16. ↑ Spak, Kara; Slezak, Carol (15 May 2010), "'Idol' finalist DeWyze returns home to thousands of fans", Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved 2 June 2010, “Lunch ladies are proud of you!’’ screamed Pat Schwager, 62, a cafeteria worker at his alma mater, Prospect High School, as DeWyze passed in the motorcade. “I have tears in my eyes. I’m so happy for him.”
  17. ↑ Dave Kingman bio & stats; baseballcube.com; accessed 17 June 2009
  18. ↑ On Feb. 25, Owner Henry Adaniya will close Trio Atelier...; 1 February 2006; Daily Herald; accessed 17 June 2009
  19. ↑ Spak, Kara; Apartment fire damages famed Evanston eatery; 26 March 2005; Daily Herald; accessed 17 June 2009
  20. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lundsto01.shtml
  21. ↑ Cubs mainstay Mike Quade named interim manager; Chicago Sun-Times; accessed 28 August 2010
  22. ↑ Salowitz, Stew (27 February 1994), "Reinhold Weege: Fired For An Expose, A Reporter Turns To Show Business", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 2 June 2010, When I was 9, my family moved to Arlington Heights. I attended Prospect High School, where the theater department had quite a good reputation.
  23. ↑ “First lady of Ukraine comes home 'Ukraine now must make hopes real'- Chicago native talks about troubles of past, risks of future”, Chicago Sun-Times, April 6, 2005
  24. ↑ Murphy, Jean; Prospect graduate makes headlines in Ukrainian election crisis; 17 December 2004; Daily Herald; accessed 17 June 2009

External links