Willowbrook High School

Willowbrook High School
Address
1250 S. Ardmore Ave.
Villa Park, Illinois, 60181
United States
Coordinates 41°51′53″N 87°58′57″W / 41.8647°N 87.9825°W / 41.8647; -87.9825
Information
School type public secondary
Opened 1959
School district DuPage H.S. District 88
Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton[1]
Principal Dan Krause[2]
Staff 139[3]
Grades 9–12
Gender co-ed
Enrollment 2,145[4]
Average class size 24.5[4]
Campus suburban
School colour(s)      columbia blue
     silver[5]
Fight song Fight Roman Warriors[6]
Athletics conference West Suburban Conference
Nickname Warriors[5]
Average ACT scores 21.6[4]
Publication Mindprints[7]
Newspaper Skyline[7]
Yearbook Centurion[7]
Website www.dupage88.net/site/sub/3

Willowbrook High School (WBHS) is a public four-year high school located approximately half a mile north of Illinois Route 38 on Ardmore Ave in Villa Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of School District 88,[8] which also includes Addison Trail High School. Willowbrook draws its students from Villa Park, Oakbrook Terrace, and portions of Elmhurst, Oak Brook and Lombard.

History

Planning for the school began as early as 1950 when projected growth for the area suggested that a new high school would soon be needed.[9] In January, 1958, the school board not only decided that the new school was to be called Willowbrook (referring to a nearby creek running thru a stand of weeping willow trees), but that the school would be prepared to admit students in all four grades once the school opened in 1959.[9]

When the school opened, the principal drafted a group of upperclassmen to help shape the schools traditions (colors, team nickname, student council constitution, etc.).[9] Until the middle of the 1969-1970 school year, students were required to follow a dress code which prohibited (among other things) jeans for both genders and long hair for young men.[9]

In 1961, a bust of Thomas Jefferson was added to the southeast wall of the school. The bust had been recovered from the demolition of the Louis Sullivan designed Garrick Theater in Chicago by relatives of a (then) current student who were contractors in the theater's demolition.[9]

In 1963, a north wing was added, including district offices located on the first floor portion of the wing.

In the 1980s, improved vocational education areas were added, as was a greenhouse, and expansion of the library.[9]

In 2007, a referendum was passed to make infrastructure improvements and help improve the students' learning environment. Groundbreaking began the week of June 9, 2008 and continued year-round. Some holidays were ignored in order to allow construction to be continue longer during summer recesses. Such improvements included the expansion of music facilities, addition of a fieldhouse and other athletic areas, enhancements to existing science labs, mass improvement to electrical/plumbing, technological enhancements, a more student-centered foyer/commons and guidance areas, renovation to the library/media center, expansion of learning spaces and classrooms, installation of air-conditioning, enhancement to traffic flow and parking, the updating of handicap accessibility, and funds put toward the improvement of the auditorium/drama facilities.[10]

In 2008, the district offices were relocated from the first floor of the north wing to the building previously used by the Addison Public Library.

In 2010, referendum totals came out to be $115.3 million among Willowbrook and sister school Addison Trail High School. After completion of "Building the Future" in the Fall of 2010, dedication ceremonies were held at Willowbrook and Addison Trail on October 17, 2010.[10]

Academics

In 2008, Willowbrook had an average composite ACT score of 21.6 and graduated 94.2% of its senior class.[4] Willowbrook made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, which with the ACT, are used as the assessment tools to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[4]

In June 2009, Newsweek, using the Challenge Index, ranked Willowbrook #1464 on their annual list of top American high schools.[11] The school had been on the list once before; ranked #1343 in 2008.[11]

Student life

Athletics

Willowbrook competes in the West Suburban Conference. The school is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most interscholastic sports and competitive activities. Teams from the school are stylized as the "Warriors" (in the tradition of a mj≠Roman soldier).

The school sponsors interscholastic athletic teams for young men and women in: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Young men may also compete in baseball, football, and wrestling, while young women may compete in badminton, bowling, cheerleading, and softball.[12] While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a poms team, as well as a basketball team which competeBs in the Special Olympics.[12]

The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state tournaments or meets:[13]

Activities

  • Adventure Club
  • Anime Club
  • Art Club
  • Band (Marching Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Monday Morning Combo)
  • Best Buddies
  • The Blue Crew
  • The Blues Clues Club (BCC)
  • Business Professionals of America (BPA)
  • Centurion (Yearbook)
  • Cheerleading (Competitive and Sidelines)
  • Chess Club
  • Choir/Show Choir
  • Civitas
  • Drama Club
  • Econ Challenge
  • Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Club
  • Flag Corp/Color Guard
  • Foreign Language
  • Guitar Ensemble
  • Gay Straight Alliance
  • Hispanic Leadership Club
  • Improv Club
  • Interact Club
  • Jazz Band
  • Jazz Combo
  • Key Club
  • Liberal Student Association (LSA)
  • Math Team
  • Mind Prints
  • Mock Trial
  • Model UN
  • Mu Alpha Theta
  • Multi-Cultural Club
  • Muslim Student Association
  • National Honor Society
  • New Beginnings
  • Neo Phi Steppers
  • Odyssey of the Mind
  • Olympia Science Academy
  • Oprah's Angels
  • Orchesis
  • Orchestra
  • Pep Band
  • Ping Pong Club
  • Pom Pons
  • Philosophy Club
  • Quill & Scroll
  • Sabor Latino
  • Scholastic Bowl
  • Science Club
  • Science Olympiad
  • Skyline (Newspaper)
  • Special Olympics
  • Speech Team
  • Students for a Better Environment
  • Student Council
  • Thespians
  • Tri-M
  • Varsity Club
  • World Language Club
  • Youth and Government

The Rock

The Rock is a tradition in Willowbrook High School. It was dug up when the new auditorium was built in the 1960s. It was then positioned outside the main entrance doors of the high school. Students usually paint it in the night with various slogans or colors of their discretion. People use it to express how they feel and to show what's going on. According to the school's website. Neither the school nor the police have issued an official statement. So if you get caught you are on your own.[14]

In February 2012 the rock was painted red because of freshman Darnell Holt Junior, who was murdered along with his mom, brother and cousin. The rock, painted red because it was Darnells favorite color, had Darnell's name, hundreds on student signatures, and "once a warrior, always a warrior" on the back facing the school. On February 24, 2012, the rock was painted blue (Darnell's second favorite color) to preserve the red paint against the will of some of the students.

On October 5, 2013, the class of 1993 painted the rock after their 20th reunion.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ District 88 Administration; accessed 18 July 2009
  2. ↑ WHS administration; accessed 18 July 2009
  3. ↑ Staff directory for WHS; accessed 18 July 2009
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Class of 2008 school report card; accessed 18 July 2009
  5. 1 2 School information for WHS; ihsa.org; accessed 18 July 2009
  6. ↑ Lyrics to Fight Roman Warriors; accessed 18 July 2009
  7. 1 2 3 Directory of WHS clubs and activities; accessed 18 July 2009
  8. ↑ Staff (8 December 1960). "Crowd Hears Defense of School's Design". Addison Register (clipping). p. 1. Retrieved 2015-07-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 School history; excerpted from DuPage H.S. District 88 History Lessons 1918-2001; Mahoney, Greg; WHS website; accessed 18 July 2009
  10. 1 2 Building the Future; excerpted from DuPage High School District 88: Building the Future; DuPage High School District 88; accessed 11 December 2010
  11. 1 2 The Top of the Class - the complete list of the 1,500 top U.S. high schools; newsweek.com; accessed 18 July 2009
  12. 1 2 WHS Athletic Department; accessed 18 July 2009
  13. ↑ Season summaries for WHS; ihsa.org; accessed 18 July 2009
  14. ↑ The Legend. The Myths. The Rock Willowbrook HS website; accessed 18 July 2009
  15. ↑ Ford, Dana; Young, Ryan; Sanchez, Ray. "Who was Sandra Bland?". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Tapp, Maria; Dramatic Effect; September 2006; Chicago Magazine; "He just asked questions like mad," recalls Ralph Amelio, Falls 's cinema studies teacher at Willowbrook High School.; accessed 17 July 2009
  17. ↑ Mitchell, Fred; Former White Sox fan changes his allegiance'; 20 July 2005; Chicago Tribune; acquired Gerut in a trade with Cleveland for outfielder Jason Dubois after Monday night's game. He starred at Willowbrook High School; accessed 17 July 2009
  18. ↑ Tom Hicks stats & bio; databasefootball.com; accessed 17 July 2009
  19. 1 2 Swade, Alison; Plain White T’s come home to play DuPage County Fair; 24 July 2007; My Suburban Life - Clarendon Hills; Higgenson, the lead singer from Villa Park, attended Willowbrook High School with the band’s guitarist, Dave Tirio.; accessed 18 July 2009
  20. ↑ Hey Punk!; 30 November 2006; Illinois Entertainer; p. 2; "I don’t think we’re that punk," says Plain White T’s founder Tom Higgenson... The first day at Willowbrook [High School], I was wearing a silk shirt... ; accessed 18 July 2009
  21. ↑ Reaven, Steve (for ChicagoSports.com); Keeping up with ... Willowbrook's Matt Roth; 7 January 2008; Chicagotribune.com; "I can't remember losing more than two or three weeks in a row," said Roth of his previous football stops at Willowbrook High School ...; accessed 17 July 2009
  22. ↑ Matt Roth stats & bio; nfl.com; accessed 17 July 2009
  23. ↑ "Rick Santelli". CNBC. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Rick Santelli Gets Credit for Tea Party Movement". U.S. News. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  25. ↑ Bell, Taylor (October 26, 1997). "Schatzeder has great memories". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 22.
  26. ↑ Mike Sheldon stats & bio; databasefootball.com; accessed 17 July 2009

External links

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