West Leyden High School
| West Leyden High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
|
1000 Wolf Rd. Northlake, Illinois 60164 United States | |
| Coordinates | 41°55′37″N 87°54′23″W / 41.927°N 87.9064°W |
| Information | |
| School type | public |
| Motto | What's best for the kids |
| Opened | 1959 |
| School district | Leyden H.S. Dist. 212 |
| Superintendent | Dr. Nick Polyak[1] |
| Principal | Mr. Wil Wagner[1] |
| Staff | 120[2] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | co-ed |
| Enrollment | 1,661[3] |
| Average class size | 18.4[3] |
| Campus | suburban |
| School colour(s) |
blue gold[4] |
| Fight song | Rocky Balboa Theme song |
| Athletics conference | West Suburban Conference |
| Nickname | Eagles[4] |
| Accreditation | AdvancED[5] |
| Average ACT scores | 19.2[3] |
| Newspaper | Lancer[6] |
| Website | http://www.leyden212.org/ |
West Leyden High School is a high school in Northlake, Illinois. First opened for enrollment in 1959, the athletic mascot of West Leyden High School was originally the Knights until 1981. At this time, the East and West Leyden High School athletic programs merged to create an athletic team currently known as the Eagles.
Together with East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, Illinois, it comprises Leyden High School District 212 of the suburban communities in Franklin Park, Northlake, Rosemont, Schiller Park, River Grove, Melrose Park and unincorporated Leyden Township.
Academics
West Leyden's class of 2008 had a below average composite ACT score of points below the state average.[3] West Leyden did not make Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, which with the ACT comprises the state assessments used to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Overall, the school did not achieve AYP in reading or mathematics, while two of its three student subgroups failed to meet expectations in mathematics.[3]
Student life
Athletics
Since 1981, West Leyden and East Leyden have had a combined athletics program. Prior to the schools unifying into a single program, West Leyden's teams were stylized as the Knights, and the school colors were blue and gold.[7] While East Leyden's team nickname of "Eagles" was retained for the combined program, West Leyden's colors became the colors for the unified program.
As a separate team, the only team to finish in the top four of their respective Illinois High School Association (IHSA) was the 1968—69 wrestling team.[8]
Activities
School Activities Include:
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Fine Arts
The Leyden Fine Arts program is composed of music, art and theatrical performance. Various music groups, ranging from choral groups to instrumental orchestras, have excelled in multiple regional, state and national competitions. Choral participants have consistently been top performers in the Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) competitions, both in the Jazz and Classical divisions. The Leyden Chamber Singers annually perform in the Madrigal Dinner, singing pieces from the . The Marching Band has also travelled to various locations throughout the United States, including Pennsylvania, Florida, among other locations. Student performers have also been participants of the Illinois High School Theater Association's (IHSTA's), annual TheaterFest. Students throughout the state compete for roles in the annual performance of a classical musical or drama production. The Speech and Performance Team is also a competitive group which has continued to develop and fine-tune their Forensics Speaking abilities throughout the years, with various events in Dramatic and Humorous Interpretation, Radio Speaking, Poetry Reading, and Oratorical Declamation.
Notable people
- Tom Dore is a play-by-play announcer known for his long association with the Chicago Bulls (Dore attended West Leyden before transferring to and graduating from East Leyden).[9]
- Manny Flores, Chicago City Council member from the 1st ward. He graduated from West Leyden.[10]
- Tom Rooney, Republican member of the Illinois Senate. He has taught U.S. history at West Leyden for over twenty years.[11]
- Frankie Sullivan is the lead guitarist in the band Survivor. Together with fellow Leyden alumni Rick Weigand they formed the band in 1978. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982, in the category Best Original Song for co-writing the song Eye of the Tiger from the film Rocky III.[12]
References
- 1 2 http://www.leyden212.org/admin/admin.htm Leyden HS District 212 Administration directory; accessed 12 May 2014
- ↑ Leyden HS District 212 faculty directory; accessed 16 July 2009
- 1 2 3 4 5 Class of 2008 school report card; accessed 16 July 2009
- 1 2 School information for Leyden HS; ihsa.org; accessed 16 July 2009
- ↑ Institution Summary, AdvancED, Retrieved 2012-07-11
- ↑ Lancer homepage; accessed 17 July 2009
- ↑ (Northlake) West Leyden High School "Knights"; illinoishsgolorydays.com; accessed 17 July 2009
- ↑ Season summaries for Leyden, East Leyden, and West Leyden; ihsa.org; accessed 17 July 2009
- ↑ Maciaszek, Marty; Goodman's floored by Leyden's court decision; 5 February 2009; Daily Herald; But Goodman had some special basketball players such as Dore, who transferred from West Leyden after his sophomore year...; accessed 17 July 2009
- ↑ Miller, Sabrina L. (March 13, 2003). "Granato facing a tough runoff, Flores outpolled him in primary". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- ↑ "Split schedule to allow new state senator to continue teaching at West Leyden". Pioneer Press. Chicago, Illinois. November 11, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ↑ Fieldman, Chuck; Survivor member takes the stage; 2 July 2008; Franklin Park Herald-Journal; As the only remaining original member of the rock band Survivor, Frankie Sullivan truly is the real survivor. The former Northlake resident and West Leyden High School student founded the band in late 1977...; accessed 17 July 2009