Dundee-Crown High School
Encyclopedia
Dundee-Crown High School is a high school located in Carpentersville
, Illinois
, United States
, a suburb of Chicago.
Dundee-Crown High School was made from Dundee Community High School and Irving Crown High school consolidation in 1983. It is a AAA school for IHSA sports. Dundee-Crown boasts a 2,529 population and is one of three High Schools in Community District 300.
The school serves people from Carpentersville
, the east half of Algonquin
, East Dundee
, West Dundee
, Sleepy Hollow
, southwest Cary
, southwest Fox River Grove
and western Barrington Hills
.
. The building is now called the Union School Apartments. In the 1920s a separate high school building was built on Western Ave. (Illinois Route 31
) and Hillside Street, on the northern edge of West Dundee. This school would hold the only State Champion team in the combined school history in 1938 with its boys basketball team under Coach Eugene de Lacey. In 1953, the school district obtained federal funds to build a new building at 300 Cleveland Avenue in Carpentersville, and the old building became Dundee Junior High School/Dundee Middle School. However, Spain Field located immediately to the north of the old school was retained for varsity sports. The school would remain at that location from 1953 until 1983. The school served all of District 300 except for Hampshire.
Irving Crown High school was built in 1965 when the communities being served grew too large for one school to hold. Crown opened with just sophomores and juniors, with seniors being allowed to graduate from Dundee. The Irving Crown Vikings were housed at the building that is now Dundee-Crown. At this time, both schools served grades 10-12. Later, District 300 shifted to a middle school system, where both schools served grades 9-12.
Subsequently, District 300 experienced dramatic population growth west of the Fox River, and Jacobs High School was opened. The remaining population did not justify two high schools on the east side of the Fox River, and in 1983, the once rival Cardunals and Vikings became the Chargers beginning in 1984. The combined program is housed in the former Crown High School building, and the Dundee Community High School building became a middle school. The old Dundee Middle School and Spain Field were sold for development and are now the Spring Hill Marketplace Shopping Center.
system as opposed to a traditional class scheduling system. Students surpass most traditional high school credit totals because students can earn up to 32 high school credits upon graduation. Students attending Dundee-Crown have three to four classes per day, each of a ninety minute duration, with a forty minute 'Flex Block' designed for students to eat lunch in addition to acting as an interim resource class. 'Flex-Block' allows students to participate in a plethora of clubs and activities during the school day and participate in sports and extracurricular activities after school. Financial problems with the school district nearly caused a termination of this program, but a 2006 referendum averted this. However in January 2008 Flex Block was canceled and replaced with a much different scheduling system.
The passing periods will be reduced to seven minutes, rather than the ten minutes that students had grown accustomed to.
High school students wishing to further progress their studies on a higher level attend classes at Elgin Community College during school hours. Some feel that they will have a much more perilous journey rushing to arrive from Dundee-Crown to Elgin Community College. The schedule will allow for a shorter driving time to arrive safely at their designated college class due to the fact that they will not be able to leave as early. A great deal of students in the program have expressed concern about the issues that this will bring about.
(FVC), and is a member of the Illinois High School Association
(IHSA). Teams are stylized as the Chargers
.
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments:
Dundee-After Hours has also become popular. It has made school technology available to older students who may not have access at home while also providing entertainment and a place to do group projects.
On December 7, 2009 Dundee Crown Students and Faculty wore costumes in an attempt to break the current Guinness world record of 1000 superheroes. The unofficial count was over 1400. The event, however, was not just to get the school in the record books, but to raise awareness of two local charitable organizations: Friend I Shall Help (FISH) Food Pantry and Elgin Community Crisis Center. When registering to enter the fieldhouse, everyone needed to either donate $1 or a nonperishable food item for the pantry. Organizers said they collected 932 food items and $1,851 in cash donations.
Partial
Intermediate schools and Middle schools that feed into Dundee-Crown include:
Carpentersville, Illinois
Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 30,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Carpentersville is located at ....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a suburb of Chicago.
Dundee-Crown High School was made from Dundee Community High School and Irving Crown High school consolidation in 1983. It is a AAA school for IHSA sports. Dundee-Crown boasts a 2,529 population and is one of three High Schools in Community District 300.
The school serves people from Carpentersville
Carpentersville, Illinois
Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 30,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Carpentersville is located at ....
, the east half of Algonquin
Algonquin, Illinois
Algonquin is a village in Illinois located in both McHenry and Kane counties. It is a northwest suburb of Chicago, located approximately 40 miles from the Loop...
, East Dundee
East Dundee, Illinois
East Dundee is a village in Kane County with a small section in Cook County. The population was 2,955 at the 2000 census.-Geography:East Dundee is located at ....
, West Dundee
West Dundee, Illinois
West Dundee is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,975 as of July 2008.West Dundee lies across the Fox River from East Dundee and Carpentersville.-Geography:West Dundee is located at ....
, Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow, Illinois
Sleepy Hollow is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,553 at the 2000 census.Various streets in the village are named after characters in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy HollowOther streets are named after trees. Still other streets, particularly in the...
, southwest Cary
Cary, Illinois
Cary is a village located in Algonquin Township, McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,531 at the 2000 census. A 2003 special census put the village's population at 17,827.-Geography:Cary is located at ....
, southwest Fox River Grove
Fox River Grove, Illinois
Fox River Grove is a village in the Cuba Township of Lake County and the Algonquin Township of McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,862 at the 2000 census.-History:...
and western Barrington Hills
Barrington Hills, Illinois
Barrington Hills is a village located about northwest of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It straddles approximately over four counties, Cook, Kane, Lake, and McHenry. The population was 4,209 at the 2010 census...
.
History
Dundee Community High School was opened in the late 1874 to serve members of the Dundee community settlement in Northwest Illinois. The school was located at the corner of 6th Street and Kane Street on a hill overlooking the Fox RiverFox River (Illinois River tributary)
The Fox River is a tributary of the Illinois River in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois in the United States. There are two other "Fox Rivers" in southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.-Wisconsin:The Fox River rises near...
. The building is now called the Union School Apartments. In the 1920s a separate high school building was built on Western Ave. (Illinois Route 31
Illinois Route 31
Illinois Route 31 is a north–south state road in northeastern Illinois, United States. It runs from U.S. Highway 34 in Oswego north to U.S. Highway 12, near the Wisconsin border, just south of Richmond. Illinois 31 is long.- Route description :...
) and Hillside Street, on the northern edge of West Dundee. This school would hold the only State Champion team in the combined school history in 1938 with its boys basketball team under Coach Eugene de Lacey. In 1953, the school district obtained federal funds to build a new building at 300 Cleveland Avenue in Carpentersville, and the old building became Dundee Junior High School/Dundee Middle School. However, Spain Field located immediately to the north of the old school was retained for varsity sports. The school would remain at that location from 1953 until 1983. The school served all of District 300 except for Hampshire.
Irving Crown High school was built in 1965 when the communities being served grew too large for one school to hold. Crown opened with just sophomores and juniors, with seniors being allowed to graduate from Dundee. The Irving Crown Vikings were housed at the building that is now Dundee-Crown. At this time, both schools served grades 10-12. Later, District 300 shifted to a middle school system, where both schools served grades 9-12.
Subsequently, District 300 experienced dramatic population growth west of the Fox River, and Jacobs High School was opened. The remaining population did not justify two high schools on the east side of the Fox River, and in 1983, the once rival Cardunals and Vikings became the Chargers beginning in 1984. The combined program is housed in the former Crown High School building, and the Dundee Community High School building became a middle school. The old Dundee Middle School and Spain Field were sold for development and are now the Spring Hill Marketplace Shopping Center.
Dundee-Crown Today
Dundee-Crown is currently located at 1500 Kings Road, Carpentersville, Illinois. The pseudo address of 1 Charger Country is more commonly used, however. The school accommodates the majority of Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, the east half of Algonquin and also small parts of Cary, Fox River Grove, and Barrington Hills. Demographically there is a large diversity of students.Block Scheduling
Dundee Crown was known for its block schedulingBlock scheduling
Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day but each class is scheduled for a longer period of time . A student might be taking 7 different classes, but only 4 per day, and the specific daily classes would rotate through a changing daily cycle...
system as opposed to a traditional class scheduling system. Students surpass most traditional high school credit totals because students can earn up to 32 high school credits upon graduation. Students attending Dundee-Crown have three to four classes per day, each of a ninety minute duration, with a forty minute 'Flex Block' designed for students to eat lunch in addition to acting as an interim resource class. 'Flex-Block' allows students to participate in a plethora of clubs and activities during the school day and participate in sports and extracurricular activities after school. Financial problems with the school district nearly caused a termination of this program, but a 2006 referendum averted this. However in January 2008 Flex Block was canceled and replaced with a much different scheduling system.
Controversy Over Removal of Flex Block
Dundee-Crown did not met the average yearly progress quota. As a result, the administration has decided to experiment with a new schedule. The new schedule consists of block one, followed by "Charge It Up", or C.U.P.(displays characteristics of a study hall), and immediately followed by second block, an ABC lunch system, and fourth block.The passing periods will be reduced to seven minutes, rather than the ten minutes that students had grown accustomed to.
High school students wishing to further progress their studies on a higher level attend classes at Elgin Community College during school hours. Some feel that they will have a much more perilous journey rushing to arrive from Dundee-Crown to Elgin Community College. The schedule will allow for a shorter driving time to arrive safely at their designated college class due to the fact that they will not be able to leave as early. A great deal of students in the program have expressed concern about the issues that this will bring about.
Current Scheduling
The new schedule consists of first block, second block, "Charge It Up!", or C.U.P., which is similar to a study hall, Third block (intermingling with an ABC lunch system), and fourth block. The passing periods are seven minutes, rather than the previous ten minutes with block scheduling.Charge it Up!
Charge It Up! also known as C.U.P. is a system implemented by the Dundee-Crown administration to serve as a remedy for the removal of Flex Block. Similar to a study hall, students are required to complete "Academic Activities". Students can leave their Charge it Up! rooms in order to attend club meetings, take missed tests, use the media center for projects or papers, or ask teachers for help with schoolwork. However to leave their Charge it Up! rooms, students must get their passes signed by their destination teacher, coach, or supervisors and then have it signed by their Charge it Up! teachers. Mondays are "No Movement" days, in which no students are allowed to use their passes. Every other Monday, the students get a small "Charger Lesson" that usually talks about DCHS events. However, as compared to the former flex block, C.U.P. is only 30 minutes long, and there are five minutes taken out of this for announcements.Athletics
Dundee-Crown competes in the Fox Valley ConferenceFox Valley Conference
The Fox Valley Conference is an IHSA recognized high school extracurricular conference including the following schools, generally located in the northern part of the Fox River basin in Illinois.-Valley Division:-Fox Division:-Changes:...
(FVC), and is a member of the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 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 State High...
(IHSA). Teams are stylized as the Chargers
Destrier
The destrier is the best-known war horse of the medieval era. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was described by contemporary sources as the Great Horse, due to its size and reputation....
.
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments:
- Basketball (boys): 4th place (2008–09)
- Wrestling: 4th place (1984–85, 2003–04)
Programs at Dundee Crown
Dundee Crown has gained attention for many programs it supports. The environmental department has won various awards from the EPA and National Water Works for their recycling programs. They also network with Friends of the Fox River and work to restore places like Raceway Woods.Dundee-After Hours has also become popular. It has made school technology available to older students who may not have access at home while also providing entertainment and a place to do group projects.
On December 7, 2009 Dundee Crown Students and Faculty wore costumes in an attempt to break the current Guinness world record of 1000 superheroes. The unofficial count was over 1400. The event, however, was not just to get the school in the record books, but to raise awareness of two local charitable organizations: Friend I Shall Help (FISH) Food Pantry and Elgin Community Crisis Center. When registering to enter the fieldhouse, everyone needed to either donate $1 or a nonperishable food item for the pantry. Organizers said they collected 932 food items and $1,851 in cash donations.
Notable alumni
- Juan Acevedo- Major League Baseball pitcher, at one time owned franchise record for saves in a season for the Detroit Tigers
- Douglas J. MinkDouglas J. MinkDouglas J. Mink is an American software developer and a data archivist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Mink was part of the team that discovered the rings around the planet Uranus....
(1969) co-discoverer of the rings around the planet UranusUranusUranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus... - Nathan Prom- Member of Big Ten Champion Men's track team at the University of Iowa. Also ran on the school record 4x800 relay team at Iowa. Co-founder of the MLPS
Feeder patterns
Elementary schools that feed into Dundee-Crown include:- Algonquin Lakes
- Eastview
- Golfview
- Meadowdale
- Parkview
- Perry
Partial
- Dundee Highlands
- Sleepy Hollow
Intermediate schools and Middle schools that feed into Dundee-Crown include:
- Lakewood School (5-6) and Carpentersville (7-8)
- Dundee (partial)
- Algonquin (partial)