Waukegan High School

Waukegan High School
Address
2325 Brookside Avenue Waukegan, Illinois 60085 United States
Coordinates	42°21′50″N 87°51′48″W / 42.3639°N 87.86321°W / 42.3639; -87.86321 (Brookside) 42°21′31″N 87°50′39″W / 42.35855°N 87.844148°W / 42.35855; -87.844148 (Washington)
Information
School type	Public
Opened	1870
School district	Waukegan Community Unit School District 60
Superintendent	Theresa Plascencia
Principal	Timothy Bryner
Teaching staff	319
Grades	9–12
Gender	coed
Number of students	4,263
Average class size	20.4 [1]
Campus	Suburban
School color(s)	purple      green      gold
Song	The Purple, Green And Gold
Fight song	The Purple, Green And Gold
Athletics conference	North Suburban Conference
Mascot	Bulldog
Nickname	Bulldogs
Team name	Waukegan Bulldogs
Accreditation	AdvancED[2]
Average ACT scores	16.9
Newspaper	The Dog Times
Website	http://schools.wps60.org/

Waukegan High School, or WHS, is a public four-year high school located in Waukegan, Illinois, USA, a city to the North of Chicago, Illinois. WHS first opened its doors in 1870 in the east campus. West campus was built to accommodate the baby boomer generation after WWII and originally held the Freshmen and Sophomore classes, while East Campus at 1011 Washington Street, housed the Junior and Senior classes. West Campus is known today as Brookside Campus. It extends from Berwick Avenue to McAree Road, and from Brookside Avenue to the center line of Monroe Street. The Washington Campus (EAST) is also a 4 year school. Waukegan High School is a four-year comprehensive high school that provides students with opportunities to advance their academic careers and gain an understanding of diverse cultures. Students attend classes at the Washington Campus (EAST Campus), located at 1011 Washington Street, and also at the Brookside Campus (WEST Campus), at 2325 Brookside Avenue. WHS is a closed campus which means students have to stay in the building until their last class. There are several traveling students, who travel from one campus to the other for classes. WHS is part of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60.

Between the 1975–76 school year, and the 1989–90 school year, Waukegan High School split into two completely separate campuses. The East (Washington) campus is considered to be one and the same as the current and previous Waukegan High School. The West (Brookside) Campus was, during those years, a separate high school.

Academics

The College Studies Program allows students who are interested in college related courses to study at a faster pace than normal classes. But this was disbanded by the school board in 2014 because the school board finally realized that the college studies program wasn't enough results with the students compare to AVID.

Athletics

The Waukegan Bulldogs are members of the North Suburban Conference. They also compete as a part of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which sponsors the state tournaments for most of the sports and activities in the state.

During the time when Waukegan High School was split into the East and West schools, East retained the "Bulldog" nickname that had been in use, while the West school took the name "Raiders". When the schools merged again, the traditional Bulldog name was retained, however, a pirate's eye patch was added to depictions of the bulldog to honor the "Raiders" legacy of the West campus.^[3]

Waukegan sponsors the following interscholastic athletic teams for men and women: basketball, cross country, track, swimming, golf, soccer, and volleyball. Men may compete in baseball, football, and wrestling. Women may compete in badminton, softball, cheerleading, and tennis.

While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors teams in pom poms for women, and coed teams in drill team and rifle team.^[4]

The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective state championship tournaments, sponsored by the IHSA:^[5]

• Baseball: 2nd place (1959–60); State Champions (1970–71, 1982–83)
• Basketball (boys): 4th place (1958–59); 2nd place (2008–09); 3rd place (2009–10)
• Cross Country (boys): 3rd place (1993–94)
• Golf (boys): 4th place (1939–40); 3rd place (1957–58); 2nd place (1953–54, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1969–70)
• Golf (girls): 4th place (1976–77, 1977–78, 1983–84); 3rd place (1992–93); 2nd place (1981–82); State Champions (1975–76, 1980–81, 1991–92)
• Track & Field (boys): 4th place (1926–27); 3rd place (1982–83, 1989–90); 2nd place (1953–54); State Champions (1979–80)
• Track & Field (girls): 3rd place (1994–95); 2nd place (1995–96)
• Wrestling: 4th place (1953–54, 1960–61, 1991–92, 1993–94, 2000–01); 3rd place (1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1964–65, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1981–82); 2nd place (1950–51, 1951–52, 1961–62, 1990–91); State Champions (1957–58, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66)

The 1982–83 baseball state title, the 1983–84 4th place finish in girls golf, and the 1989–90 3rd place finish in boys track & field were won by Waukegan West High School. The IHSA recognizes the current Waukegan High School as the caretaker of these victories.^[5]

Notable alumni

• Robert Barnett is a lawyer whose clients have included Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama.^[6]
• Gary Bennett (class of 1990) was a Major League Baseball catcher (1995–2008). He was a member of the 2006 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.^[7]
• Jack Benny (did not graduate) was a vaudevillian, comedian, and star of radio, film, and television from the 1920s through the 1960s.^[8]
• Jim Bittermann has been a news reporter based in Europe since 1980 for NBC, ABC, and most recently CNN.
• Nick Browder was a quarterback in the Arena Football League.^[6]
• Corky Calhoun was a professional basketball player who played in the NBA (1972–80). He was a member of the 1977 NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers.^[9]
• Betty Currie was the personal secretary for President Bill Clinton, best known for her testimony in the Monica Lewinsky affair.
• Johnny Dickshot, Former MLB player (Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Giants, Chicago White Sox)^[10]
• Neil Flynn is an actor best known for his work on the television series Scrubs.
• Otto Graham was a professional football player (1946–55), playing his entire career as quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.^[11][12]
• Jermaine Lewis was a professional football player in the Arena Football League.^[13]
• Joshua Mallett, better known by his stage name “Rip”, is a recording artist, producer, DJ and filmmaker
• Rashaan Melvin is an American football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts.
• Derek Mitchell was a shortstop for Team USA Baseball (1995.) He also played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds organizations.^[14]
• Bob O'Farrell was a Major League Baseball catcher (1915–35).^[6]
• David Ogrin was a professional golfer.^[6]
• Jerry Orbach was an actor noted for roles on stage, television, and film.^[6]
• Rob Paravonian is a comedian and musician, perhaps best known for his spoof song Pachelbel Rant.^[15]
• Adam Pearce (class of 1996) is a professional wrestler.
• Jereme Richmond University of Illinois Division 1 Basketball player, Declared for NBA Draft 2011
• Brian Traxler, Former MLB player (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Jerome Whitehead was a professional basketball player, playing in the NBA (1978–89).^[16]

References

External links

• Official Waukegan High School Site