Glenbard Township High School District 87

Glenbard Township High School District 87 is based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and consists of Glenbard South, Glenbard North, Glenbard East, and Glenbard West. It is the third largest school district in Illinois.Fact|date=February 2007 The term "Glenbard" is a portmanteau of Glen Ellyn and Lombard, the two predominant towns of the district.

History

The district has been attempting to eliminate a sizable accumulated deficit, and two referendums for tax increases during the 2004-05 school year failed. As of the 2005-2006 school year, students were forced to take no more than 6 classes in a day, as opposed to 7 in previous years. On March 21, 2006, a referendum which asked for less of a tax increase and simply aimed to restore students' ability to take a full slate of 7 courses passed during the primary elections. The owner of a $300,000 house pays less than $50 extra per year in property taxes as a result of the successful referendum.

On December 12, 2005, Dr. Michael Meissen from LaFollette High School in Madison, WI was officially appointed as the superintendent of the district.

Member Schools

District 87 consists of four high schools. The four schools all share the name Glenbard, with each school named after a different cardinal direction.

Glenbard East High School

Glenbard East is located in Lombard, Illinois. The school's mascot is the Ram. Its feeder schools include Westlake Middle School (Lombard) and Marquardt Middle School (Glendale Heights). Established in 1959, Glenbard East has a long tradition of prominence in the areas of arts and music. Under the leadership of Department chair Ross Kellan, with the submission from Orchestra Director Joanne May, the G.E. music program won a Grammy award in 2000.

Glenbard North High School

Glenbard North is located in Carol Stream, Illinois. The school's current principal is John Mensik. Its feeder schools are Jay Stream Middle School and Stratford Middle School (both from District 93) as well as Glenside Middle School (which is in District 16). It has about 3000 students. Its school newspaper is The North Current, which is a member of the High School National Ad Network. The school is usually solid in several sports, including Wrestling, Girls Softball, Girls Track and Field, and Football.

Glenbard South High School

Glenbard South is located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Its feeder schools are Glen Crest Middle School (located in district 89) and small number of students who come from West Lake Middle School. It has a student population of about 1453. It is not particularly known for athletics, but its Cross Country team placed first in state in 2001. Most prominent at South are the Math and Chess teams. The Math team won state in 2006.

Also referred to as "Club South" due to its country-club like atmosphere.

Glenbard West High School

Glenbard West is located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The 1991 television documentary "Yearbook" was filmed there. It was also featured in the book The Girl Who Owned A City by O.T. Nelson. Large portions of the 1986 film Lucas (film) were shot in and around the school. The school is known for their main building resembling a castle, and the fact that the school is atop a hill, hence their school's sports team name, the Hilltoppers.

The main junior high to feed into West is Hadley Junior High, with students from other schools in the area.

Girls and Boys Gymnastics have been very successful recently. In addition, the Forensics (Speech) team, led by Tony Crowley, is generally regarded as one of the best in the state. The Baseball team, led by Coach James Fornaciari made consecutive visits to the Illinois elite eight in 2002 and 2003.

Notable Graduates

Billy Corgan, leader of the Smashing Pumpkins and former member of Zwan, attended high school at Glenbard North in Carol Stream.

Dan Tani, a NASA Astronaut graduated from Glenbard East High School in Lombard [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/tani.html] .

Sean Hayes, the actor who plays Jack McFarland on the NBC comedy Will & Grace graduated from Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn.

Laurie Anderson, a musician and performance/visual artist who has made groundbreaking contributions using technology in the arts, graduated from Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn.

Ryan Diem, an offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts from Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream

Bill Pullman, star of such films as Lake Placid, Spaceballs, and Independence Day, graduated Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn.

Most members of Spitalfield, a rock band, attended Glenbard South.

External links

* [http://www.glenbard.net/ Official School District Website]
* [http://www.glenbard.net/Glenbard_East Glenbard East Homepage]
* [http://www.glenbard.net/Glenbard_North Glenbard North Homepage]
* [http://www.glenbard.net/Glenbard_South Glenbard South Homepage]
* [http://www.glenbard.net/Glenbard_West Glenbard West Homepage]