Rockford Auburn High School

Auburn High School is a public high school located in Rockford, Illinois, USA. In addition to serving the west side of Rockford for grades 9-12, it also houses the high school portions of the Gifted Program (Academy), the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) Program, and the only Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program left in Rockford.

pecial Programs

The Academy program is the high school component of the Rockford Public Schools' enriched program for bright students. This "special education" program continually ranks high in the state with respect to test scores. In fact, with Academy and Non-Academy test scores separated, the Academy ranked number one in the nation. The Academy-dominated quiz bowl team has placed in the Final Four in the Illinois High School Association state finals for the past six years, including a 3rd place finish in 2007 and a 1st place finish in 2008. The Academy program is selective, and along with Washington School (grades 1-8), forms the Gifted Program in Rockford, with admittance based on testing.

The CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) program is also a K-12 program, and the high-school portion is housed at Auburn, where CAPA students can take academic subjects in regular, honors, or Academy courses while continuing training in art, dance, or drama.

The only Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at a Rockford school is housed at Auburn. While many people assume such a program is in place simply to provide military opportunities to students throughout the district, the JROTC program at Auburn offers much more than this. Many, if not most of the students involved are there due to the high moral standards set by the organization. Students are taught values and leadership skills and some of the best, most well balanced kids at Auburn participate in this program with pride. Many of the top students in the program are a part of the Rifle Team, which is among the top teams in the state, the Drill Team, which has placed at Purdue University in the past few years, the Color Guard, or the program's new Drum and Bugle Corps.

Auburn also had a technical focus within the four Rockford high schools. They offer many unique courses that no other high school offers.

Location

Auburn's school complex is located across Pierpont Avenue from McIntosh Elementary school and between School and Auburn Streets. A recent school board decision combined the Auburn and Wilson Junior High campuses into "North Campus" and "South Campus," with the freshmen housed at the South Campus and the rest of the student body remaining at the North Campus. On the north side of Auburn, across the street, is a small airport called "Cottonwood," which uses a grass strip for a landing field and has a small bar all housed in a geodesic dome. The general environs were for many years considered to be the far west reaches of Rockford, and generally at the beginning of rural farm land. However, the areas Auburn High School serves are still considered to be some of the worst areas of Rockford, Illinois, with several federal housing projects within a mile of the school, and several homicides in the vicinity of the school each year. Though there have been recent housing developments in the area, they are primarily middle-low income housing with housing priced around $100,000. To immediate west of Auburn, farm land still dominates, with the neighboring Winnebago High School District serving much of that farm land.

With the new zoning set by the school district, Auburn will draw students primarily from the west of Rockford, including some areas that are blue-collar, high-crime, and low-income. The Academy draws students from the entire school district, with many of the Academy students coming from more affluent and gentrified neighborhoods to the east of the Rock River, in Guilford High School's zoning, as well as in the upper class neighborhoods of Churchill's Grove and Edgewater near Rockford Country Club on the west side.

Facilities

Around 1970 a football stadium was built next to Auburn High school. Large for a high school, the stadium was dubbed "Westburn", because it was intended for use by not only Auburn, but by West High school as well [West High school was closed after the 1988-1989 school year and subsequently reopened as a middle school] . Currently it shares the field with nearby Jefferson High School, as Jefferson has no home field of its own. The football field is surrounded by a new track. In 2007, the boys track team placed 2nd in the NIC-9 conference tournament held at Guilford High School. This is the first time Auburn grabbed a top three spot in decades. The next week, Auburn captured 1st place at the IHSA sectional competition at Guilford. With a varsity star or two having graduated after the 2007 season, Auburn remains a top contender for the 2008 season with some Juniors who are more than ready to fill their shoes.

Basic information

* Boy's nickname: Knights
* Girl's nickname: Lady Knights
* Conference: NIC-10
* Colors: Red and Black
* Class: AA
* Enrollment: 2,002
* Principal: Dr. Richard Jancek
* Founded: 1960
* Programs: Academy, CAPA, JROTC
* Average ACT: 24
* Average ACT (Academy): 31
* Average ACT (Traditional):21
* Attendance: 92%
* Graduation: 78%
* Graduation (Academy):95%
* Graduation (Without Academy):75%

Notable alumni

* Michael Elston, Chief of Staff & Counselor, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, United States Department of Justice
* Michelle Williams, former member of Destiny's Child
* Rick Venturi
* Dr. Thomas Gillespie, Director, Earth and Society Initiative, U of Illinois, www.cvm.uiuc.edu/ecohealth
* Robert Nardelli, CEO of Chrysler, former CEO of Home Depot
* Charles Box, first black mayor of Rockford
* Robert Lewis, member of X-Treme Dance Force in "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew, Season Two"
* Scott Heisel, writer for the magazine "Alternative Press"
* Shawn Wade, Bass player of 12 stones