Downers Grove South High School

Downers Grove South High School
Address
1436 Norfolk St.
Downers Grove, Illinois 60516
United States
Coordinates 41°46′15″N 88°01′15″W / 41.7708°N 88.0207°W / 41.7708; -88.0207Coordinates: 41°46′15″N 88°01′15″W / 41.7708°N 88.0207°W / 41.7708; -88.0207
Information
School type Public
Opened 1964[1]
School district Community HS Dist. 99
Superintendent Mark McDonald[2]
Principal Edward H. Schwartz[3]
Staff 301[4]
Grades 9–12
Gender Co-Ed
Enrollment 3,183[5]
Average class size 21.0[5]
Campus Suburban
School colour(s)      navy blue
     columbia blue[6]
Athletics conference West Suburban Conference
Nickname Mustangs[6]
Average ACT scores 22.0[5]
Publication Calliope[7]
Newspaper Blueprint
Pony Express[8]
Yearbook Caracole[8]
Radio station WDGC (88.3 FM)[9]
Cable TV Station Channel 29[7]
Website http://www.csd99.org/south/

Downers Grove South High School, or DGS, and locally referred to as "South," is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Dunham Road and 63rd Street in Downers Grove, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community High School District 99, which also includes Downers Grove North High School. The South campus draws students from Downers Grove (south of 55th St.), the majority of Woodridge, half of Darien (west of Cass Ave.), and small sections of Bolingbrook and Westmont.

History

The school opened its doors in 1964 and the student population at Downers Grove High School was split in two, half going to the original structure now named Downers Grove North, and half going to the new building. It has since undergone significant renovations to bring it up to date, including a $49.5 million voter referendum for the district in 2001. In the summer of 2008 the school embarked on a parking space expansion on campus, which had been plagued by delays. Despite several causes for postponement, parking lot adjustments were prepared in time to effectively start the 2008—09 school year.[10] On Friday, 22 June 2011 at around 8:30 pm, South High School received extensive damage to its outdoor sports areas during a two-minute EF1 tornado: fences around the tennis courts were flattened, portable toilets and rows of bleachers were flipped upside-down as well as some fallen branches across the school's football/soccer field.[11]

Academics

In 2008, Downers Grove South had an average composite ACT score of 22.0, 0.5 points above the state average.[5] DGS graduated 96.7% of its senior class.[5] Downers Grove South has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which with the ACT, are the assessment tools used to fulfill mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. While the school as a whole did make AYP, two of the six student subgroups failed to meet expectations in reading.

Athletics

South competes in the West Suburban Conference. The school is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state of Illinois. The school teams are stylized as the Mustangs.

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Young men may compete in baseball, football, Co-ed Varsity Cheerleading, and wrestling, while young women may also compete in badminton, bowling, cheerleading, and softball. The DGS Fillies (Varsity) and Pintos (JV) dance and pom teams perform at half time of men's home football and basketball games and compete at the Team Dance Illinois State Competition every year.[12]

The following teams have won in their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet:[13]

Activities

Downers Grove South has won several state championship for its extracurricular activities in its history, including (as of 2008) three in performance in the round, two in chess, and three from the Fillies Pom and Dance Team. The Coed Cheerleading team also won Back to Back State Championships in 2003 and 2004 and Back to Back National Championships in 2004 and 2005. Its speech team has won sixteen state championships, more than any other school.[14] In 1997 it became the only team to win the speech state championship four years in a row, and in 2009 the only school to win that same title 6 years in a row.[15]

Other School Activities Include:

  • AAMLG (African-American Male Leadership Group)
  • Anime Club
  • Argonne Exemplary Student Research Program
  • Art Club
  • A.C.E. (Athletes Committed To Excellence)
  • Blueprint (Student Newspaper)
  • Calliope (Student Literary Magazine)
  • Caribbean Soul Dance Troupe (Latin Dance)
  • Chess Club
  • Class Boards
  • Culture Club (Cultures in Alliance)
  • Go Green Initiative (formerly "Direct Action")
  • Key Club
  • J. Kyle Braid
  • Marching Mustangs (Marching Band)
  • Masque & Gavel (Speech Team/Theater)

Notable alumni

References

External links

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