{{Refimprove|date=November 2007}}
Evanston Township High School, or
ETHS, is a public four-year
high schoolHigh school is the name used in some parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, Northern America and Oceania, to describe an institution that provides all or part of secondary education...
located in
Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, Illinois is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois directly north of the City of Chicago, east of Skokie, and south of Wilmette, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan. Evanston is concurrently a city...
, a city directly north of
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of Evanston Township High School District 202.
History
{{Unreferenced section|April 2009|date=April 2009}}
The first high school in Evanston, the Preparatory School of
Northwestern University{{Infobox university|name = Northwestern University|image_name = NU seal.png|motto = Quaecumque sunt vera |mottoeng =Whatsoever things are true |established = 1851|type = Private|calendar = Quarter...
, established in 1857, was private. In 1873, public school superintendent Otis E. Haven began teaching Evanston's first public high school class in an upper room of the Benson Avenue School. In 1875, Evanston's first Board of Education voted to establish a "high school" in the room, and the first class, consisting of two students, graduated in 1876. Enrollments grew rapidly and, despite multiple relocations to various buildings, by 1882 the school took four prizes in a statewide competition and was ranked third best in Illinois. Shortly thereafter, voters in April, 1882, passed a referendum and bond issue establishing a township school. Construction began promptly in October, 1882, and the first building opened in 1883, at Dempster and Benson.
Enrollment grew rapidly and by 1913, despite multiple additions to the original building, 740 students occupied space meant for only 600. Crowding increased as several attempts to pass bond issues for further addition were defeated at the polls. In 1915, the Board determined to build a new school at a new location, but progress was stalled for years by a bitter fight over the campus location, which included lawsuits that went all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court. Finally, in 1921, the Board and voters approved a {{convert|55|acre|m2|adj=on}} site at the school's current campus in central Evanston. Construction began in 1923, and the school opened in 1924 although still incomplete.
With a campus currently listed as 65 acres (263,000 m²), ETHS provides its students with state-of-the-art facilities. With more than 2 million square feet (180,000 m²) indoors, it is the largest high school facility under one roof in the United States. The school's science facilities include a
planetariumA planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
,
greenhouseA greenhouse is a building where plants are cultivated.A greenhouse is a structure with a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building faster than heat can escape the...
, and a two acre (8,000 m²), on-site nature center/classroom. The Bacon Computer Center (BCC) houses over 200 computers in seven networked labs. Computer software is available for many courses in the curriculum.
Students investigate careers in computer-based SMART Labs. An on-site day-care center serves as a lab for child-study classes. Applied Sciences/Technologies students run an auto-repair lab and learn engineering applications in
computer-aided designComputer-aided design is the use of computer technology for the design of objects, real or virtual. CAD often involves more than just shapes...
,
laserA laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. Laser light is usually spatially coherent, which means that the light either is emitted in a narrow, low-divergence beam, or can be converted into one with the help of optical components such as lenses...
s and
roboticsRobotics is the engineering science and technology of robots, and their design, manufacture, and application. Robotics is related to electronics, mechanics, and software. The word robot was introduced to the public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. , published in 1920...
using state-of-the-art equipment. Electronic music students have their own computerized lab.
The school's library, which is networked to all Illinois libraries, has a 90,000-volume collection and extensive audiovisual resources. Performance facilities include a 1,500-seat auditorium, two additional theaters, and a cable TV broadcasting studio.
There are 15 gyms, a dance studio and fitness/wellness center, two swimming pools, and a field-house with an indoor track and tennis courts. Outdoor facilities include a new track, as well as a
FieldTurfFieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Peachtree City, Georgia. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
stadium, baseball and soccer fields and 18 tennis courts.
Academics
In 2008, Evanston had an average composite
ACTThe ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in fall 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...
score of 23.1. Evanston has not made
Adequate Yearly ProgressAdequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test part of the
No Child Left Behind ActThe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 , often abbreviated in print as NCLB and sometimes shortened in pronunciation to "nicklebee", is a United States Act of Congress that was originally proposed by President George W. Bush immediately after taking office...
causing the school to be in the reconstruction phase of No Child Left Behind.
Since 1985-86, 45 students have become semifinalists in the
Intel Science Talent SearchThe Intel Science Talent Search is a research-based science competition in the United States primarily for high school students. It has been referred to "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition, and the Westinghouse/Intel awards have been referred to as the "Baby Nobels." ...
(until 1998, the Westinghouse Science Talent Search). Six students were in the top 40 and one was in the top 10. {{Fact|date=June 2008}}
In 2003, Evanston placed first nationally in the Junior Engineering Talent Search contest. {{Fact|date=June 2008}}
Evanston Township High School is ranked #662 on
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
's 2006 list of the Best High Schools in America, down from #429 on the 2005 list. {{Fact|date=June 2008}}
The ETHS competitive mathematics team regularly places highly in its division, and has competed at the state math competitions in Champaign-Urbana for many years running, always placing in the top ten schools. {{Fact|date=June 2008}} Evanston's math team also sends many students to Chicago's ARML team.
Athletics
Evanston's mascot is Willie the Wildkit, based on local
Northwestern University{{Infobox university|name = Northwestern University|image_name = NU seal.png|motto = Quaecumque sunt vera |mottoeng =Whatsoever things are true |established = 1851|type = Private|calendar = Quarter...
's "wildcat".
Evanston is a member of the
Central Suburban LeagueThe Central Suburban League is an IHSA-recognized high school extracurricular conference comprising twelve public schools located in the northern suburbs of Chicago...
, and participates in state championship tournaments sponsored by the
Illinois High School AssociationThe Illinois High School Association is one of 52
1 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of...
(IHSA).
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
,
cross countryCross country running is a sport in which runners compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain. The courses used at these events may include grass, mud, woodlands, and water...
,
golfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
,
gymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, balance and grace. Artistic gymnastics is the best known and most popular of the gymnastics sports governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique...
, soccer, swimming &
divingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
,
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
, track & field,
volleyball Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
, and
water poloWater polo is a team water sport. It is the oldest continuous Olympic team sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper with a maximum of six substitutes. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Gameplay involves swimming, players passing the ball...
. Men may compete in
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
,
footballHigh school football, referring to the American code in the United States and the Canadian code in Canada, is one of the most popular interscholastic sports at high schools in both countries...
, and
wrestlingScholastic wrestling is the style of amateur wrestling practiced at the high school and middle school level in the United States. The wrestling style is essentially collegiate wrestling, with some slight modifications...
. Women may compete in
badmintonBadminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
,
cheerleadingCheerleading is a sport that uses organized routines that range from 1 minute to 3 minutes made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games and matches and/or compete at cheerleading competitions. Cheerleaders draw...
, and
softballSoftball is a team sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball. Some key differences between softball and baseball are that softballs are larger than baseballs, and pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. Softball was invented by George Hancock...
.
While not sponsored by the IHSA, ETHS also sponsors teams for men and women in
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
. Women may also compete as a member of the pom pom team (Pomkits).
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament:
| IHSA Top 4 Finishes for ETHS |
| Sport |
Finishes |
| Badminton: |
3rd place (1986–87, 95–96, 96–97); 2nd place (1990–91, 93–94, 94–95); State Champions (1991–92) |
| Basketball (boys): |
4th place (2002–03); 3rd place (2007–08); 2nd place (1983–84); State Champions (1967–68) |
| Cross Country (boys): |
4th place (1999–2000); 3rd place (1952–53, 61–62, 63–64, 70–71); 2nd place (1949–50, 62–63, 68–69); State Champions (1953–54, 66–67) |
| Cross Country (girls): |
4th place (1980–81); 2nd place (1979–80) |
| Gymnastics (boys): |
3rd place (1963–64, 69–70, 70–71, 71–72); State Champions (1962–63, 64–65, 66–67) |
| Soccer (boys): |
3rd place (1983–84); 2nd place (1978–79, 90–91, 92–93, 95–96, 2002–03) |
| Soccer (girls): |
State Champions (2001–02) |
| Swimming & Diving (boys): |
4th place (1931–32,43–44, 45–46, 46–47, 48–49, 1999–2000); 3rd place (1932–33, 44–45, 50–51, 62–63, 63–64, 65–66, 67–68, 68–69, 70–71, 71–72, 80–81, 82–83, 86–87); 2nd place (1949–50, 51–52, 56–57, 57–58, 58–59, 60–61, 61–62, 64–65, 66–67); State Champions (1952–53, 53–54, 54–55, 55–56, 59–60, 2000–01, 04–05) |
| Swimming & Diving (girls): |
4th place (1988–89, 2001–02); 3rd place (1989–90) |
| Tennis (boys): |
4th place (1954–55); 3rd place (1948–49, 50–51, 53–54, 57–58); 2nd place (1942–43, 44–45, 46–47, 47–48, 51–52, 52–53, 58–59, 67–68); State Champions (1943–44, 59–60, 60–61, 61–62, 69–70) |
| Tennis (girls): |
4th place (1975–76) |
| Track & Field (boys): |
4th place (1920–21, 22–23, 40–41, 45–46, 52–53, 57–58, 77–78); 3rd place (1927–28, 42–43, 43–44, 46–47, 63–64, 88–89, 92–93); 2nd place (1949–50, 62–63, 66–67, 90–91, 93–94); State Champions (1921–22, 64–65, 65–66, 69–70, 70–71, 71–72, 73–74, 78–79) |
| Track & Field (girls): |
4th place (1975–76, 77–78, 99–2000); 3rd place (1986–87, 87–88, 95–96); 2nd place (1976–77, 88–89, 89–90, 92–93, 2000–01, 01–02); State Champions (1990–91, 96–97, 97–98, 2002–03, 03–04, 04–05, 05–06) |
| Volleyball (boys): |
3rd place (1999–2000) |
| Volleyball (boys): |
3rd place (1999–2000) |
| Volleyball (girls): |
3rd place (2008) |
| Water Polo (boys): |
3rd place (2004–05) |
| Water Polo (girls): |
3rd place (2003–04) |
| Wrestling: |
4th place (1952–53); 2nd place (1966–67) |
As of 2009, the Evanston boys swimming team has 53 top ten finishes in the state finals; the second highest number of top ten finishes in state history. The boys track & field team, similarly, has 47 top ten finishes, the second highest number of any team in the state. The 25 top ten finishes by the girls track & field team is, however, a state record.
Music
The ETHS music department involves over 280 students in bands, choirs, jazz groups, and orchestras. Resources include a MIDI computer lab, multiple practice rooms, and a dedicated faculty. The department has won three GRAMMY awards, and takes students on semi-annual trips, most recently to Montreal, New York, Orlando, and New Orleans.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
Annual student honors include a highly-selective honors' recital, in which up to four performers from each of grades 9 through 12 in addition to four chamber groups perform. Additionally, there is a senior
concertoThe term Concerto is usually a three-part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra...
competition--four to five seniors annually perform a concerto with the band or orchestra.
ETHS also has an extensive
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
program, including eleven jazz combos and three jazz big-bands. There is an annual Jazz Festival, which has featured past artists including
Maynard FergusonWalter Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz trumpet player and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
,
Peter ErskinePeter Erskine is an American jazz drummer and composer. He has enjoyed a long and successful career as a session drummer, recording and touring with many top jazz and rock artists, including Steely Dan...
,
Phil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
,
Joey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
,
Henry JohnsonHenry Johnson may refer to:*Henry Johnson , Chicago soul jazz musician*Henry Johnson *Henry Johnson , Medal of Honor recipient...
and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
Activities
ETHS sponsors a number of extracurricular clubs ranging from artistic and cultural, civil rights, academic, and hobby oriented groups (
the entire, current list is found here).
The following competitive teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA Sponsored state championships:
- Chess
Chess is a board game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from a similar, much older game of Indian origin...
: 4th place (1989–90, 90–91, 2002–03, 06–07); 3rd place (1995–96, 98–99); 2nd place (1981–82, 83–84, 2005–06); State Champions (1969–70, 70–71, 78–79, 82–83, 97–98, 99–2000, 2000–01, 04–05)
- Debate
Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examine the consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examine what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is technique of...
: 3rd place (1970–71); 2nd place (1971–72); State Champions (1967–68, 70–71, 78–79)
- Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
: 2nd place (1960–61); State Champions (1957–58, 62–63)
- Individual Events: 4th place (1949–50, 60–61); 3rd place (1966–67, 69–70); State Champions (1950–51)
- Speech
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners....
: 4th place (1971–72); 3rd place (1960–61, 67–68); 2nd place (1950–51, 57–58, 70–71)
The 8 state titles and 23 top 10 finishes in chess is the Illinois state record.
Controversies
{{Unreferenced section|April 2009|date=April 2009}}
The school made national news when its students responded to comments made by
Rush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio host and conservative political commentator. Limbaugh rose to prominence during the 1990s as host of a nationally-syndicated talk-radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show...
on his nationally syndicated radio show in May 2005. Limbaugh criticized the school's award winning global perspectives history program, saying the school's students, "don't know anything about
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
," and, "they've probably never heard the name
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
." Evanston students at the time attempted to challenge Mr. Limbaugh to a history debate, but he declined to respond.
Notable Staff
- John T. Riddell was school's football coach. While coach, he invented the removable cleat
A cleat is an American term for a type of shoe designed especially for sports played on grass or dirt, such as soccer or American football. It may also refer to a type of shoe designed especially for, and only worn in, wet weather....
, and later invented the plastic suspension football helmetA football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football, the modern hard plastic version of which was created by Paul Brown. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a facemask made of one or more metal bars, and a chinstrap used...
. He went on to found RiddellRiddell is an American company specializing in sports equipment for American football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field, tennis, volleyball, National Football League, NCAA Football and wrestling. It is headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois.The company was started...
, a sporting goods company best known for its football helmets, and later helmets for the U.S. military.
External links
{{Central Suburban League}}