Elgin High School (Illinois)

Elgin High School
Education for all[1]
Address
1200 Maroon Dr. Elgin, Illinois 60120 United States
Coordinates	42°01′36″N 88°14′43″W / 42.0267°N 88.2453°WCoordinates: 42°01′36″N 88°14′43″W / 42.0267°N 88.2453°W
Information
School type	public secondary
Opened	1869
School district	Elgin Area School District U46
CEEB code	141770[2]
Grades	9–12
Gender	coed
Campus type	suburban
Color(s)	maroon      cream[3]
Song	Alma Mater[1]
Fight song	Elgin High School Loyalty[1]
Athletics conference	Upstate 8
Team name	Maroons[3]
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
Publication	The Mirror
Yearbook	The Maroon
Nobel laureates	Paul Flory (1974, Chemistry)
Website	http://www.edline.net/pages/Elgin_HS/

Elgin High School, or EHS, is a public four-year high school located in Elgin, Illinois, an American city 40 mi. (63.5 km) northwest of Chicago. It is part of Elgin Area School District U46, which also includes Bartlett High School, Larkin High School, South Elgin High School, and Streamwood High School.

History

Elgin High School is one of the oldest public high schools in the state. Its first graduation ceremony was held in 1872 and its accreditation dates back to 1904. It was formerly housed on Gifford Street adjacent to Gifford Park in a building which now serves as the Gifford Street High School. A new campus was constructed on the eastern edge of Elgin adjacent to Poplar Creek, which is its present location.

Academics

In 2014, Elgin graduated 80% of its senior class. The average class size was 23. 36% of students met or exceeded the standards on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.^[5]

Elgin High is the home of the Gifted and Talented Academy, an advanced curriculum to which students must apply. The Academy requires high standardized test scores, superior academic performance, and advanced writing skills for admission. The Academy comprises about 2% of the total student body. Its curriculum is based on a liberal arts education, and students must take advanced Honors/AP courses in English, History, Math, and the Sciences.

Demographics

As of 2014, the EHS student body was 16% White, 7% Black, 70% Hispanic, 1% Native American, and 5% Asian. 77% of students were listed as low income.^[5]

Athletics and activities

Elgin competes in the Upstate Eight Conference. In 2003, Chief Maroon was removed as Elgin's mascot.

The following teams have won their respective Illinois High School Association state championships:^[6]

• Basketball (boys): 1923-24, 24-25
• Debate: 1954-55, 57-58
• Speech: 1945-46

Notable alumni

• Max Adler (1883), vice-president of Sears & Roebuck, benefactor of Adler Planetarium.^[7][8]
• Ray Barnhart, 1945, Texas politician
• Earl Britton (1922), National Football League fullback and punter.^[9]
• Nina Burleigh, 1978, journalist and best-selling author
• Jack Burmaster (1944), professional basketball player, coach, and broadcaster.^[10]
• August W. Farwick (1921) football player and head football coach at the University of Arizona.^[11]
• Paul Flory (1927) polymer chemist and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.^[12]
• Laurence Kaptain, 1970, international performer and recording artist, dean of College of Music and Dramatic Arts at LSU.^[13]
• William LeBaron, 1900, producer of Cimarron, Academy Award winning film
• Jack Meagher, college football coach for Rice and Auburn.^[14]
• Douglas R. Mills (1926), former University of Illinois athletic director and men's basketball coach.^[15]
• Earl "Madman" Muntz, engineer, entrepreneur, marketing pioneer, television personality.^[16][17]
• Lou North (1910), Major League Baseball pitcher.^[18]
• Jane Peterson (1901), painter and artist.^[19]
• Brian Oldfield (1963), Olympic shot putter and pop culture personality.^[20]
• John Qualen, 1920, actor
• Steve Rauschenberger (1974) state senator from 1993 to 2007.^[21]
• Flynn Robinson (1959) player in the NBA.^[22]
• James Roche (1923) president of General Motors.^[23][24]
• Tom Shales (1962), television critic for the Washington Post and 1988 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.^[25]
• Rick Sund (1970), NBA executive.^[26]
• Don Sunderlage (1947), All-Star player in the National Basketball Association.^[27]
• John Walker, 1974, producer of The Incredibles, Academy Award winning film
• Jeff Wilkins (1973), NBA player.^[28][29]

Notable staff

• Larry Nemmers is a former principal (1982–94). He notably served as an NFL official (1985–2007).^[30][31]

References

1. "About EHS". Elgin High School. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
2. "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
3. "Elgin (H.S.)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved 12 June 2011.
4. "Institution Summary for Elgin High School". AdvancED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
5. Illinois Report Card
6. "Elgin (H.S.) Season Summaries". Illinois High School Association. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
7. The Jewish Experience in Elgin: Stories of Immigration, Identity, and Assimilation (PDF). Elgin Area Historical Society. 2006. p. 14. (p. 9) Such contributions fulfilled Judaism’s traditional command of “tzedakah” - not simply a command of charity, but of doing justice by giving. Max Adler, Elgin native, Elgin High graduate and Sears Roebuck executive gave Chicago its Adler Planetarium.
8. Alft, E.C. (2000). "Elgin: An American History". on-line book. ElginHistory.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Mrs. Leopold Adler, the former Rose Sheuerman, was one of the first group of officers of the Elgin Woman's Club and was active in the establishment of Sherman Hospital. Of their seven children, Max was graduated from Elgin High School in 1883. An accomplished violinist, he later played in concert halls here and abroad. Max Adler married Sophie Rosenwald, entered the employ of Sears, Roebuck & Company, retired as vice president and general manager, and donated the Adler Planetarium to the city of Chicago.
9. "Earl Tanner Britton". biographical sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Many consider Earl Tanner Britton, who earned 12 letters in major sports at Elgin High School from 1919-22, to have been the most versatile athlete in Elgin’s history.
10. "Jack Burmaster". biographical sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Jack Burmaster ... played varsity basketball at Elgin High School 1942—43 and 1943—44.
11. "August W. (Gus) Farwick". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. In his three years as a lineman on Elgin High School grid teams (1918—20), Gus Farwick helped those teams compile an impressive 15—6—2 record that included holding opponents to an average of less than 7 points a game.
12. "Paul J. Flory (1910-1985)". biographic sketch. Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center. 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Flory was born in Sterling, Illinois. He graduated from Elgin High School in Elgin, Illinois, in 1927.
13. http://issuu.com/thedailyreveille/docs/jan20
14. "John F. "Jack" Meagher". biographical sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1983. Retrieved 10 June 2011. John F. “Jack” Meagher captained the Elgin High School football team in 1913 and he was the mainstay on the 1914 team that complied a 5-1 record.
15. "Douglas (Gaga) Mills". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Doug was a member of the Elgin High School basketball team that captured consecutive state titles in 1924 and 1925.
16. "Madman's auto is back in town Weekend will celebrate Earl Muntz's ill", Courrier-News (Elgin, IL), 4 June 2000, One stop will be at Elgin High School, which Muntz attended before dropping out ...
17. "Muntz Jet, classic car, to land in Elgin", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), 12 March 2000, ... Muntz only completed three semesters at Elgin High School before dropping out ...
18. "LOUIS (LOU) A. NORTH". biographical sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1981. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Louis (Lou) A. North played baseball for Elgin High School in 1909-10.
19. Alft, E.C. (2000). "Elgin: An American History". on-line book. ElginHistory.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011. (Jane) Peterson was the daughter of a watch factory worker. Not long after graduating from Elgin High School in 1894, she borrowed money to go to New York to study art.
20. "Brian Oldfield". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. While a student at Elgin High School in 1963, Oldfield won the Illinois State Championship in the shot put with a throw of 57 feet, 7—1/4 inches in the rain.
21. Kelderman, Eric (16 August 2005). "Illinois senator to lead NCSL, run for gov". Stateline.org. Retrieved 11 June 2011. Rauschenberger, who turns 49 on Aug. 29, grew up in Elgin, Ill., and is the fifth of six children in his family. He graduated from the public high school in 1974 and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in accounting from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
22. "Flynn Robinson". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. DFlynn was the leading scorer on the Elgin High School conference champion basketball teams in 1957-58 and 1958-59.
23. "Roche, James M.". biographic sketch. General Motors Heritage Center. Retrieved 11 June 2011. Born in Elgin, Illinois, on December 16, 1906, Roche attended elementary school there and graduated from Elgin High School in 1923.
24. Alft, E.C. (2000). "Elgin: An American History". on-line book. ElginHistory.com. Retrieved 11 June 2011. Automobile garages and service stations were springing up all over the city during the '20's. One of the gas pumpers at the Texaco outlet was James M. Roche, a graduate of the Elgin High School Class of 1923, who was continuing his education by correspondence. In 1965 he became president of General Motors.
25. Temkin, Jody (22 October 1995), "Test Your Celebrity Knowledge With This `Who's Who?' Quiz", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 11 June 2011, Even when he was a student at Elgin High School in the 1960s, Tom Shales wasn't likely to be found at any homecoming celebrations ... But former classmates don't need to see Shales at homecoming to play that "whatever happened to so-and-so" game. Shales has been in the national spotlight as the television critic for the Washington Post since 1977, winning a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1988.
26. "Rick Sund". biographical sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1983. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Rick Sund was an Upstate Eight All—Conference and Rockford Morning Star first team All—State selection as an end on Elgin High School’s 1968 varsity football team, which he also captained.
27. "Don Sunderlage". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1980. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Don Sunderlage was one of the greatest basketball players to ever graduate from Elgin High School. Don was the leading scorer on Elgin High School’s conference championship team in 1946-1947.
28. "Jeff Wilkins". biographical & statistical information. Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 11 June 2011. High School: Elgin in Elgin, Illinois
29. "Jeff Wilkins". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2011. Wilkins was the leading scorer on the outstanding Elgin High School basketball team that made the Elite Eight in 1973.
30. Radtke, John (3 July 2002), "Elgin Sports Hall of Fame recognizes local legends.", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL, USA), retrieved 10 September 2010, Larry Nemmers: A former Elgin High principal and longtime high school and college official, Nemmers took his officiating skills to the NFL, where he is now one of the game's senior head officials.
31. "Larry Nemmers". biographic sketch. Elgin Sports Hall of Fame. 1994. Retrieved 10 September 2010. Larry has been a National Football League official the past 10 years including referee and crew chief since 1991 ... As the principal of Elgin High School from 1982 to 1994, and an assistant principal at Elgin and Larkin high schools prior to that, he was recognized as a strong supporter of athletics.

External links

• Official Website