Warren Township High School

Warren Township High School (WTHS)
Address
Almond Campus: 34090 Almond Road O'Plaine Campus: 500 N. O'Plaine Road Gurnee, Illinois, 60031 United States
Coordinates	42°22′02″N 87°54′55″W / 42.3672440°N 87.9153525°W / 42.3672440; -87.9153525Coordinates: 42°22′02″N 87°54′55″W / 42.3672440°N 87.9153525°W / 42.3672440; -87.9153525[1]
Information
School type	Public high school
Founded	1917
School district	Warren Township High School District 121 (WTHS)
CEEB Code	142175
Principal	O'Plaine Campus: Greg Meyer Almond Campus: Patrick Keeley
Assistant principals	O'Plaine Campus: Chuck Maurer Almond Campus: Rob Parrott
Faculty	296
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	4,500[2] (2013)
Language	English
Campuses	Two
Color(s)	Royal Blue, Old Gold
Mascot	Blue Devil
Team name	Blue Devils
Website	www.wths.net
[3]

Warren Township High School, or Warren, is a public four-year high school located in Gurnee, a northern suburb of Chicago, in Lake County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. Due to the size of the student body, the school is split across two campuses: the O'Plaine Road Campus for freshmen and sophomores, and the Almond Road Campus for juniors and seniors. It is part of Warren Township High School District 121.

History

Since its formation in 1915, Warren Township High School District 121 has grown and evolved with its residents. From a one-story building on O'Plaine Road to two campuses located about 4.5 miles apart, Warren has seen graduating classes grow from about 25 students in the beginning to more than 900 today. There are more than 4,500 students divided between two campuses, representing one comprehensive high school program for more than 61,000 residents from Gurnee, Beach Park, Gages Lake, Grandwood Park, Grayslake, Millburn, Old Mill Creek, Park City, Third Lake, Wadsworth, Waukegan, Wildwood and Lake Villa.

The first high school was erected in 1917. The one-floor school first opened in the fall of 1918 with 57 pupils in attendance. Between the years 1920 and 1924, a Vocational Agriculture Building and Farm Shop (separate from the school) 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.

On December 20, 1984 the high school building was destroyed by a fire. All students and staff moved to the Lake Forest West Campus where Warren Township High School existed from January 1985 to June 1987. Students and staff returned to Gurnee in August 1987 after the high school was rebuilt on the same site.

With enrollment continuing to increase, a second campus for Warren Township High School opened in 1997 for juniors and seniors. Called the Almond Campus, it is dependent on the O'Plaine Campus for amenities such as the football field, indoor pool and auditorium.

Two awards were presented to the high school in the 1999-2000 school year with a “Those Who Excel” recognition for creating a learning community throughout the school organization and the national “Blue Ribbon School” recognition from the U.S. Department of Education.

The last major construction project was partly completed in 2008 which included a renovation of the Almond Campus lunchroom. A 3 million dollar project that converted the black box theater into a larger seating area for students.

According to Warren's 2008 Report Card, the school failed to meet the minimum requirements for adequate yearly progress for the sixth year in a row.^[4] The school's 2008-'09 Federal Improvement Status is Restructuring.^[4] The school's 2008-'09 State Improvement Status is Academic Watch Status Year 3.

Since the 2004-2005 Report Card, Warren has had the status of "Choice".^[4] This was intended to allow parents to transfer their children to a school with passing scores.

Since the 2005-2006 Report Card, Warren has had the status of "Supplemental Educational Services" under the federal law.^[4] This requires Warren to offer free outside tutoring to economically disadvantaged students.

The first NCLB report card was published in the fall of 2003, the first year of Dr. Sobocinski's superintendency. The district failed to meet the minimum standards of NCLB in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The failure was always the result of failures within subgroups. In the All-Student category, Warren met the AYP standard. In each of the six years, the school district was found to have required all 11th graders to take the state assessment.

Statistics

Percentages less than 1% are shown as <1%. Other percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

School overview

The overall view of the school through the Illinois Interactive Report Card.^[5]

Average Teacher Salary	$70,153	Average Teacher Experience	10.9 years
Instructional Expenditure per Pupil (09-10)	$6,480
Operational Expenditure per Pupil (09-10)	$11,495
Low Income	16.4%

Sports

Warren's Blue Devils compete in the North Suburban Conference. The following sports are offered at Warren.

Activities

Band

The Warren Township High School band program involves over 300 students. There are six curricular concert bands (Concert Band III O'Plaine, Concert Band II O'Plaine, Concert Band I O'Paine, Concert Band Almond, Symphonic Band II, and Symphonic Band I), three curricular jazz bands, the largest marching band in the state, chamber ensembles, jazz combos and pep band.

Jazz bands

Throughout the year, three curricular jazz bands are offered: Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Lab Almond, and Jazz Lab O'Plaine. The Jazz Ensemble has performed at the 1995 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the 1996 International Association of Jazz Educators Conference, and the 2000 Monterey Jazz Festival. All four jazz bands received superior ratings at the 2008 Northshore Jazz Festival. In addition, Jazz Lab III O'Plaine received two perfect scores at the 2008 IHSA Organizational Contest. Jazz Ensemble has placed in the top three of their class at Jazz in the Meadows for over ten years, often performing in the Grand Finale Concert. In 2009, the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab O'Plaine both placed first in their class at Jazz in the Meadows. Jazz Ensemble was also named Grand Champion at Jazz in the Meadows.

Athletic bands

Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, the marching band program was consolidated from two marching bands into one. The combined band performs at community parades, football games, and field show competitions throughout the state of Illinois. With over 300 members, it is the largest band in active competition. The Marching Blue Devils have earned top honors at marching festivals throughout Illinois and finished in the top ten at the State of Illinois Marching Band Championships in 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Concert bands

When marching season ends, the students are assigned to one of six curricular concert bands: Symphonic Band I, Symphonic Band II, Concert Band Almond, Concert Band I O'Plaine, Concert Band II O'Plaine, or Concert Band III. The concert band program is the core of the Warren Township High School Bands. In recent years, Symphonic Band II and Concert Band I O'Plaine have performed at the IHSA Organizational Contest and received superior ratings. Symphonic Band I is the premier ensemble at Warren Township High School. Symphonic Band I has given performances at the IMEA All-State Conference in 2000 and 2009, the Bands of America National Concert Band in 1998 and 2003, and has been accepted to the University of Illinois Superstate Festival over fifteen times, most recently in 2010. In 2010, Symphonic Band I was named Superstate AAA Honor Band after a truly inspiring performance of Music for Prague 1968 by Karel Husa. In 2011, Symphonic I performed Paul Hindemith's March from Symphonic Metamorphosis and David Gillingham's Apocalyptic Dreams at their Superstate AAA Honor Band performance.

Winter Guard

The Warren Winter Guard has been successful. The Winter Guard placed first in the 6-minute Flag Show category at the 2007 Team Dance & Flag Illinois state finals in Peoria, earning its seventh State Championship title in a row. The Warren Blue Devil Winter Guard has begun taking their show on a larger road this year, becoming a force in the Midwest Color Guard Circuit, competing against winter guards from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa this season. The team completed their season on March 3, going undefeated in their class.^[9]

Notable alumni

• Kevin Anderson, Class of 1978, actor
• Michael M. Crow, Class of 1973, Arizona State University, President
• Brandon Paul, Class of 2009. Currently, he is a graduate and alumni of The University of Illinois and plays international pro basketball in Russia.

• Dan Ronan, Class of 1977, CNN Correspondent
• William G. Stratton, Class of 1930, Governor

• Will Brooks, Class of 2006, Bellator Lightweight Champion, MMA Athlete

References

Brandon Paul, Basketball player Dennis Nevolo, Pro Tenniz

External links

• Official Website
• Warren Report Card
• Project Lead the Way