Geneva High School (Illinois)

Geneva Community High School, or GHS, is a public high school located in Geneva, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Geneva Community Unit School District 304.

History

The history of academics dates back to 1876 when the first Geneva High School graduating class consisted of two students. The first building in which classes were held was located at 22 South Third Street in Geneva's downtown district at the site of the current post office. The school was moved to a newly constructed, then state-of-the-art building on Peyton Street in 1923, where it remained until the late 1950s. The current GHS building was opened in 1958. The Peyton Street facility was converted into a middle school named after Harry Coultrap, the first superintendent of the Geneva School District. It housed the middle school until 1994 and an elementary school until 2009. It was demolished in 2013.

Geneva High School was expanded in the 1970s. In 2002, a major expansion was completed, bringing the school to its present condition, and much of the existing building was remodeled as well. The Geneva School District proposed making large additions and renovations to GHS as part of its Facilities Master Plan in 2006, which would have been the final build out of the school, bringing its capacity to 2,500. However, those expansion plans are on hold indefinitely because of the economic downturn and slowdown in housing development in the Geneva area.^[1]

Academics

In 2010, Geneva had an average composite ACT score of 24.2, and graduated over 99% of its senior class. Geneva has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.^[2]

In addition, in 2010, Geneva had 106 Illinois State Scholars, which constituted 23% of the senior class.

Of the 206 students taking 302 AP tests in 2010, 85% received scores of 3, 4, or 5.

Athletics

Geneva currently competes in the Upstate Eight Conference and Illinois High School Association. School colors are blue and white, and teams are stylized as the Vikings, a nickname that appeared in newspapers as early as 1942, and was first used in the Gecohi, Geneva's yearbook, in 1944 (for the 1943-1944 school year). The title, Gecohi (derived from GEneva COmmunity High School), was renamed the Viking in 1948. Students referred to the school as "Gecohi" as late as 1980.

Geneva's traditional rival is Batavia High School. Batavia High School is located in Batavia, the neighboring town to the south. From 1913 through 2014, the Vikings and the Bulldogs of Batavia High School have faced off on the football field 96 times. The current record is 51-41-5, favoring Geneva. The Batavia-Geneva game is among the top twenty oldest football rivalries in the state of Illinois.^[3]

The Geneva Girls Cross Country squad became the first team in school history to win a team state championship, winning the 3A crown in 2007 under coach Bob Thomson. The team repeated the feat in 2008.

The Geneva Dance Team followed suit with its first state championship taking home the AA crown for Lyrical Dance in 2009. In 2010, the Viking dancers repeated the feat in Lyrical Dance and added a state championship in Open Dance. In 2013, 2014, and 2015 the Viking dancers won both in conference and sectionals and went on to become IHSA Class 2A champs.

The Geneva Football Team has a history of success making the playoffs in 11 of the last 12 seasons (2004-2015). In 2008, the Geneva Vikings were state runner-ups after an undefeated season and are frequently seen making deep runs into the IHSA State Playoffs. Head Coach Rob Wicinski was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016 after leading the Vikings to success for more than a decade.^[4][5]

Two girls pole vault IHSA state champions have competed as members of Geneva's Girls Track and Field Team: Sarah Landau in Class AA (2004) and Allie Pace in Class AAA (2010).^[6]

Rebecca Mitchell was a two time IHSA AA Cross Country Champion (1996, 1997). She set a new AA state record with her 1997 win that remains intact. She was a two time IHSA AA State Champion in the 1600 meters (1997. 2000). She was also the Illinois girls' state winner of the Wendy's High School Heisman and a National Top 5 Finalist.

Other notable team athletic accomplishments include Boys Cross Country (2001 - 2nd, 2008 - 3rd), Boys Track and Field (1986 - 2nd, 1989 - 3rd), Girls Basketball (2010 and 2013 - 4th), Girls Soccer (2002 - 3rd, 2005 - 3rd), and Girls Tennis (1992 - 4th, 1993 - 3rd, 1994 - 4th).

Notable alumni

• John W. Scherer (1968) is the founder of Video Professor.

References

External links

• Official Website
• GHS School Profile 2010-2011

Coordinates: 41°53′37″N 88°19′03″W / 41.89361°N 88.31750°W / 41.89361; -88.31750