Evanston Township High School
Encyclopedia
Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202, is a four-year, comprehensive high school occupying a 65 acres (263,045.9 m²) campus in Evanston, Illinois
, a Chicago suburb along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS serves the multiracial city of Evanston and a small portion of the neighboring village of Skokie, for a total district population of approximately 78,000. Together the two communities offer an ethnic, economic, racial, and cultural diversity that is reflected in the student body.
Accredited by the North Central Association, ETHS is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice.
, 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 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) 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 many technically-proficient 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 planetarium
, greenhouse
, 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 design
, laser
s and robotics
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 FieldTurf
stadium, baseball and soccer fields and 18 tennis courts.
score of 23.5, up from 23.1 in 2008. Evanston has not made Adequate Yearly Progress
on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act
causing the school to be in the reconstruction phase of No Child Left Behind.
ETHS is listed as a silver medal school under U.S. News and World Report's 2009 list of America's Best High Schools: Largest Enrollment.
Evanston Township High School is ranked #662 on Newsweek
's 2006 list of the Best High Schools in America, down from #429 on the 2005 list.
Since 1985-86, 45 students have become semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search
(until 1998, the Westinghouse Science Talent Search). Six students were in the top 40 and one was in the top 10.
In 2003, Evanston placed first nationally in the Junior Engineering Talent Search contest.
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. Evanston's math team also sends many students to Chicago's ARML team.
ETHS has introduced for the 2009-2010 school year an in school credit recovery program for students who are credit deficient, this program allows students to make up core classes via Apex Learning online.
's "wildcat".
Evanston is a member of the Central Suburban League
, and participates in state championship tournaments sponsored by the Illinois High School Association
(IHSA).
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball
, bowling, cross country
, golf
, gymnastics
, soccer, swimming & diving
, tennis
, track & field, volleyball
, and water polo
. Men may compete in baseball
, football
, and wrestling
. Women may compete in badminton
, cheerleading
, lacrosse
and softball
.
While not sponsored by the IHSA, ETHS also sponsors teams for men and women in lacrosse
. Both men and women may also compete as a member of the pom pom team (Pomkits). As well as on a Varsity Sailing Team, which competes at regattas throughout the country.
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament:
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.
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 concerto
competition—four to five seniors annually perform a concerto with the band or orchestra.
ETHS also has an extensive jazz
program, including eleven jazz combos and three jazz big-bands. There is an annual Jazz Festival, which has featured past artists including Maynard Ferguson
, Peter Erskine
, Phil Woods
, Joey DeFrancesco
, Henry Johnson
and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.
The following competitive teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA Sponsored state championships:
The 8 state titles and 23 top 10 finishes in chess is the Illinois state record.
on his nationally syndicated radio show in May 2005. Limbaugh criticized the school, saying the school's students, "don't know anything about World War II
," and, "they've probably never heard the name Adolf Hitler
." Evanston students at the time attempted to challenge Mr. Limbaugh to a history debate, but he declined to respond.
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, a Chicago suburb along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS serves the multiracial city of Evanston and a small portion of the neighboring village of Skokie, for a total district population of approximately 78,000. Together the two communities offer an ethnic, economic, racial, and cultural diversity that is reflected in the student body.
Accredited by the North Central Association, ETHS is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice.
History
The first high school in Evanston, the Preparatory School of Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, 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 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) 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 many technically-proficient 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 planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
, greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, 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 design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
, laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
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 FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. 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 2009, Evanston had an average composite ACTACT (examination)
The 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 November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...
score of 23.5, up from 23.1 in 2008. Evanston has not made Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate 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 Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
causing the school to be in the reconstruction phase of No Child Left Behind.
ETHS is listed as a silver medal school under U.S. News and World Report's 2009 list of America's Best High Schools: Largest Enrollment.
Evanston Township High School is ranked #662 on Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine 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.
Since 1985-86, 45 students have become semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search
Intel Science Talent Search
The Intel Science Talent Search , known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech...
(until 1998, the Westinghouse Science Talent Search). Six students were in the top 40 and one was in the top 10.
In 2003, Evanston placed first nationally in the Junior Engineering Talent Search contest.
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. Evanston's math team also sends many students to Chicago's ARML team.
ETHS has introduced for the 2009-2010 school year an in school credit recovery program for students who are credit deficient, this program allows students to make up core classes via Apex Learning online.
Administration Structure
Evanston Township High School is one of the largest schools in the country and has multiple levels of administration. The school itself is its own district and thus has a single superintendent, Dr. Eric Witherspoon. There are two Associate Superintendents, Oscar Hawthorne, Principal (in charge of the associate principals) and Diep Nguyen, Curriculum and instruction. There are three associate principals, Vernon Clark (Educational Services), Peter Bavis (Teaching/Learning), and Dr. Paula Miller (Student services). Each grade level has its own disciplinarian known as a grade level dean.Athletics
Evanston's mascot is Willie the Wildkit, based on local Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
's "wildcat".
Evanston is a member of the Central Suburban League
Central Suburban League
The Central Suburban League is an IHSA-recognized high school extracurricular conference comprising 12 public schools located in the northern suburbs of Chicago...
, and participates in state championship tournaments sponsored by 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).
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, bowling, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, soccer, swimming & diving
Diving
Diving 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...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track & field, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six 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.The complete rules are extensive...
, and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
. Men may compete in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim 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 diamond...
, football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, and wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
. Women may compete in badminton
Badminton
Badminton 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...
, cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
.
While not sponsored by the IHSA, ETHS also sponsors teams for men and women in lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. Both men and women may also compete as a member of the pom pom team (Pomkits). As well as on a Varsity Sailing Team, which competes at regattas throughout the country.
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 (2009) 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, San Francisco, and Greece.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 concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
competition—four to five seniors annually perform a concerto with the band or orchestra.
ETHS also has an extensive jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
program, including eleven jazz combos and three jazz big-bands. There is an annual Jazz Festival, which has featured past artists including Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
, Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine
Peter 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 famous jazz and rock artists, including Steely Dan and Weather Report...
, Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey 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 Johnson
Henry Johnson
Henry Johnson may refer to:*Henry Johnson , member of Parliament for Aldeburgh 1689–1719*Henry Johnson , American jazz musician*Henry Johnson...
and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.
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:
- Table TennisTable tennisTable tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
: 1st place 2011 - ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
: 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) - DebateDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
: 3rd place (1970–71); 2nd place (1971–72, 2010-2011 LD and PF Novice); State Champions (1967–68, 70–71, 78–79) - DramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
: 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)
- SpeechPublic speakingPublic 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
The school made national news when its students responded to comments made by Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
on his nationally syndicated radio show in May 2005. Limbaugh criticized the school, saying the school's students, "don't know anything about World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
," and, "they've probably never heard the name Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
." 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 cleatCleat (shoe)Cleats or studs are protrusions on the sole of a shoe, or on an external attachment to a shoe, that provide additional traction on a soft or slippery surface...
, and later invented the plastic suspension football helmetFootball helmetA football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a face mask made of one or more plastic bars, and a chinstrap. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are...
. He went on to found RiddellRiddellRiddell 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
- Official Website
- Profile of Evanston Township High School, 2005-2006 (PDF file, requires Adobe Reader)
- [ftp://ftpirptcard.isbe.net/ReportCard2004/1401620200001_e.pdf 2004 Illinois School Report Card - Evanston Twp High School], Evanston Twp H S Dist 202 (PDF file, requires Adobe Reader)
- A partial list of distinguished alumni