Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire, Illinois)

Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Address
1 Stevenson Drive Lincolnshire, Illinois, Illinois 60069 US
Coordinates	42°11′57″N 87°56′44″W / 42.1993°N 87.9455°W / 42.1993; -87.9455Coordinates: 42°11′57″N 87°56′44″W / 42.1993°N 87.9455°W / 42.1993; -87.9455
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1965
School district	Consolidated High School District 125
Superintendent	Dr. Eric Twadell[1]
Principal	Troy Gobble[1]
Faculty	271.50 (on FTE basis)[2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	3,942 (2015-2016 School Year)[3]
Average class size	22 [4]
Student to teacher ratio	16.02 [2]
Campus	Suburban, 76 acres
Color(s)	Green and Gold
Nickname	Patriots
Newspaper	The Statesman
Yearbook	The Ambassador
Website	http://www.d125.org/

Adlai E. Stevenson High School (AESHS), commonly called Stevenson High School (SHS), is a public four-year high school located in Lincolnshire, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago.

Students Served

The school serves students in the area's District 125 coming from Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Prairie View, portions of Buffalo Grove, Mundelein, Kildeer, Hawthorn Woods and smaller portions of Vernon Hills, Lake Zurich, Lake Forest, Mettawa, Riverwoods, Bannockburn and Deerfield.^[5]

Awards and recognition

In Newsweek's 2009 Top 1500 high schools in the United States, which bases school rankings on a ratio of advanced Placement exams taken compared to the student population, Stevenson was ranked #151 in the nation. The school had been previously ranked #69 (2003), #86 (2005), #121 (2006), #170 (2007), and #154 (2008).^[6]

In 2010, Stevenson High School was awarded the National School of Distinction in Arts Education from the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.^[7]

Stevenson was ranked No. 46 in the nation's best STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs by U.S. News and World Report in 2015 and 2013.

Niche.com ranked Stevenson as the best public high school in Illinois in 2015 and 2016. In addition, Niche gave Stevenson A+ ratings in the following areas in 2016: academics, teachers, educational outcomes, health and safety, resources and facilities, sports and fitness, co-curricular activities, food service, and administration and policies. The school also received a B+ in culture and diversity.

Several national publications have regularly included Stevenson in their lists of America's best public high schools. Stevenson was the top-ranked open-enrollment public high school in Illinois in 2015 and 2014 in U.S. News and World Report, and was the top-ranked open-enrollment school in Illinois in the Washington Post’s rankings in 2014, 2013 and 2012. Stevenson has ranked in the top 200 of all public high schools in every U.S. News and World Report ranking since it first started in 2003.^[8]

Brief History

Adlai E. Stevenson High School opened in September 1965 amid turmoil and adversity. Prior to the opening of Stevenson, the students in the Stevenson area attended Ela-Vernon High School in Lake Zurich. Stevenson was planned to become a second school for the growing district, but the western side (Lake Zurich) of the district decided to go their own way and build their own district. This left Stevenson with an unfinished building, no board or administration and no faculty. When Stevenson opened to 467 students and 34 teachers in 1965, the building was not carpeted, the library was empty, most classrooms were without desks and athletic fields were non-existent, as most of the school furniture had been shipped to Prairie View, Texas instead of Prairie View, Illinois.^[9]

In the 2005-06 school year, Stevenson had its highest enrollment of 4,573 students. Since then, each school year has progressively seen a declining enrollment in the student body. But in the 2014-15 school year, Stevenson had its first enrollment increase since the peak in the 2005-06 school year.^[10]Stevenson is expecting enrollment of over 4000 students once again in the 2017-18 school year, and enrollment is expected to surpass 4500 by 2020.

Stevenson has grown since its opening to become one of the largest high schools in the area. The school has undergone various additions over the years, the first being in 1970 where the school gym, auto shop, and pool were renovated. To accommodate the increasing student population, another round of remodeling occurred in the mid 1990s. With the addition of the tri-level east building in 1995, the physical size of SHS increased more than six times its original size of 113,000 square feet. The new east building included 60 new classrooms, a new Performing Arts Center (PAC), the Patriot Aquatic Center, Field House, and the Technology Center, among other projects as well. Also built was a new indoor walkway (link) between the original west building and the new east building.

In 2004, the main entrance to the school was completely rebuilt and transformed into another commons area now known as "The Point." Other renovations that year included more fine arts areas around the band, choir, and orchestra rooms in the west building as well. Around 2008, many of the athletic fields were expanded and the football field got new turf. In that same year, the original west auditorium was renovated as well.

In 2011, the school library and student resource center in the old/west building were renovated for the first time in Stevenson's history. Now known as the Information and Learning Center (ILC), students can check out books, relax and do schoolwork, or even chat with classmates in this state-of-the-art facility. There are private study rooms that can be reserved in advance, laptops and iPad's that can be checked out, and faculty can host their classes in the ILC as well. On the bottom floor, there are tutors for various departments such as math, science, social studies, foreign languages, and communication arts that are available for students any time they need help. There are also more computers and private study rooms as well. The project was finished off in 2015, when the removal of the two lecture halls were completed to make way for the Quiet Learning Center (QLC). Located directly next to the ILC, the difference here is that the QLC is silent. In the ILC, you can talk at a reasonable volume, but the QLC is for studying only.^[11] In addition to the new ILC/QLC, the photography studio was also renovated in the summer of 2013.

Athletics

The Stevenson Patriots compete in the North Suburban Conference.

Stevenson High School is a member of the IHSA, the athletic teams are stylized as the Patriots.

The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meets:^[12]

Notable alumni

• Megan Bozek - 2014 USA women's Olympic hockey player.^[13]
• Kyle Brandt - actor.^[14]
• Jalen Brunson - basketball player, member of 2016 NCAA champion Villanova Wildcats.
• Tamika Catchings - basketball player, WNBA champion and 2011 MVP.^[15]
• Brad Cieslak - NFL tight end for the Buffalo Bills.^[16]
• Jason Duboe - Major League Lacrosse player for the Boston Cannons.^[17]
• Kevin Frederick - Major League Baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.^[18]
• Ronald Goldman - murder victim, allegedly killed by O.J. Simpson.^[19][20]
• Andrea Jaeger - professional tennis player, Wimbledon and French Open finalist, who became a nun.^[21]
• Joe Lando - actor, known for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.^[14]
• Alison LaPlaca - actress, known for sitcoms Duet and The John Larroquette Show.
• Drew Mormino - NFL football player for the Miami Dolphins.^[22]
• Matt O'Dwyer - NFL offensive guard for the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals.^[23]
• Danny Richmond - professional ice hockey defenseman.^[24][25]
• Rex Ryan - head coach of NFL's New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.^[26][27]
• Rob Ryan - NFL football coach.^[27][28]
• Ilya Sheyman - politician.^[29]
• Lisa Wang - rhythmic gymnast, winner of the 2007 Pan Am Games.^[30]
• Andy Wozniewski - professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[31]

Feeder schools

Public schools

Controversies and Incidents

Newspaper censorship

In November 2009, a dispute erupted between school officials and the student newspaper, The Statesman, regarding censorship of stories. The administration stopped publication of the November 20 issue, objecting to stories regarding drugs, teen pregnancy and shoplifting. When students wanted to leave the front page blank in protest of the censorship, the officials instead required the students to produce other stories approved by the administration.^[34][35] The Stevenson public information officer released a statement November 20 stating the administration did not think anonymous sources discussing alleged illegal activity was fit for print.^[36]

The Chicago Tribune, in a November 26 editorial, said the school was wrong to force students to produce administration-approved stories. "This isn't editing, it's censorship," wrote columnist Zak Stombor.^[37] The Society of Professional Journalists' Freedom of Information chairman called the censorship "immoral, un-American, irresponsible and not fit for education."^[38]

Following the censorship fiasco, 11 of 14 Statesman staffers — and all the paper's top editors — resigned from their positions at the start of the spring 2010 semester.^[39]

Confiscation of student cellphones

In February 2012, school administration initiated an investigation into drug sales at the school, during which the cellphones of students suspected of drug sales were confiscated, and the text messages stored on the phones were read. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois described the incident as a "fishing expedition", while school officials stated they were "perfectly within our rights". In one instance a student was suspended five days and barred from participating in extracurricular activities because he refused to provide the password to his cellphone. The probe resulted in two arrests on misdemeanor drug charges.^[40][41]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire, Illinois).

• Official Website
• Clubs and Activities at Stevenson High School