St. Charles East High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Saint Charles East High School

motto = To Create Caring, Responsible, Life-long Learners
picture =
principal = Robert Miller
established = 1973
type = Public secondary
grades = 9–12
city = 1020 Dunham Road
St. Charles
state = Illinois
country = USA
enrollment = 2,190
faculty =
campus = Suburban
newspaper = XRay
yearbook = Halo
mascot = Sir Charles the Great
colors = Orange, Negro, and White
website = [http://east.d303.org/ http://east.d303.org/]

Saint Charles East High School is a public four-year high school located in St. Charles, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community Unit School District 303 which also includes Saint Charles North High School.

History

St. Charles East High School, founded by Gary Burgener and Caroline Killelea, located at 1020 Dunham Road in St. Charles was originally know as St. Charles High School. Prior to moving to this location in the late 1970s the high school was located on the west side of town in what is now known as Thompson Middle School located at the corners of Seventh and Main Street in Saint Charles. Before the year 2000, one high school served all students within the District 303 boundaries at which time St. Charles North was established to accommodate the rapidly growing student population in St. Charles. The first graduating class in District 303 to be split between two high schools graduated in 2003.

The Saint Charles East High School campus includes the Norris Cultural Arts Center, and the Norris Recreational Center. [http://www.norrisculturalarts.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=history.main] These facilities were established to serve not only the high school but the community as well. The Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center, a 1,000-seat performing arts theater and art gallery, was founded in 1978 with funding from the St. Charles Charities, which was created in 1924 by Lester and Dellora Norris and Edward Baker. During spring break in 2001, a very serious black mold problem was discovered at the campus and was determined to be the source of some student illnesses. The mold had been reported on by student Jeanette Quinn in an article in the school paper back in the 1989. The teacher that she interviewed stated that a few of his students became nauseous in his classroom due to a foul odor. However, no conclusive evidence was found connecting the moldy odor to the students' illnesses. In 2001 the whole building was shut down and the students received an extra two weeks of spring break while officials determined how to take care of the situation. For the rest of the 2001 school year, St. Charles East students shared a split-schedule with St. Charles North High School. East students attended class at the North campus during the morning, while North students went during the afternoon. During the summer of 2001 through the next school year, the school underwent an enormous renovation. For the entire 2001-2002 school year, the current students had to take classes in the adjacent Wredling Middle School building and mobile classrooms surrounding it (brought in specifically to accommodate the larger student body). Meanwhile, the Wredling Middle School students took classes in mobile classrooms parked in a field between Haines and Thompson Middle Schools. Classes resumed their normal locations and schedules the following school year (2002-2003). This event caught the attention and cameras of local and national news organizations on more than one occasion throughout the year."Chicago Daily Herald", "Legacy defined by mold crisis Parents, colleagues split on retired superintendent's performance in St. Charles", by Lisa Smith, July 4, 2004.

Academics

In 2005, Saint Charles East had an average composite ACT score of 21.5 and graduated 100.0% of its senior class. The average class size is 24.5. Saint Charles East has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act. [ [http://www.d303.org/administration/reportcard/2005reportcards/stceastreportcardv2.pdf Illinois School Report Card] ]

Activities

Saint Charles East offers dozens of activities. Within the Arts there are opportunities for students to participate in Theater, Choir, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, and Marching Band. The Theater Department presents three productions a year, one of which is a musical [http://www.d303.org/schools/highsch/departments/humanities/Drama_Club/default.html] Students who are active in the theater often are members of the Drama Club as well.

In St. Charles music classes are taken for credit. Students take choir, jazz band, band and orchestra as elective courses within the school day. These are graded classes. There are multiple performing groups that provide opportunities for students with a variety of musical skills. At this time St. Charles East High School has six performing music groups of varying levels. [http://www.stcharleseastbands.com/concertensembles] The school's progess in the field of music has been substantial, though the program has often been overshadowed by the success of the music department at St. Charles North High School, a neighboring rival school.Most recently the St. Charles East High School Wind Ensemble and Jazz Workshop toured China. This group has also performed in the Midwest Music Clinic in 2007. Other activities include: Peer Leadership, Auto Club and National Honor Society.

Athletics

Saint Charles East has 29 athletic teams, of 14 boys and 15 girls teams, which compete in the Upstate Eight Conference and Illinois High School Association. Saint Charles East's mascot is Sir Charles the Great. In the 1998-1999 school year St. Charles East set a IHSA State Record for most State Championships won by a school with a total of 6 (not including Color guard or Drill team).Fact|date=April 2007. St. Charles East Girl's Soccer was a prevailing and dominant legacy during the 90's, winning eight IHSA soccer state championships in '90,'92,'94,'96,'97,'98,'99,'00.

St. Charles East has also been the recipient of 9 state class AAA colorguard titles and 11 Drill team titles within the past 12 years.Fact|date=April 2007 The colorguard is under the current direction of Johnni Zabka and Brittany Lamanna.

In 1979, the fledgling St. Charles High School Boy's Swim Team won its first state championship, breaking a streak of 12 in a row by Hinsdale Central.Fact|date=April 2007 Throughout the '80s, St. Charles dominated IHSA Swimming, winning in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986. They were runners up in 1987, 1988, and 1990.Fact|date=April 2007

At one time, inferiors were hung at the city limits next to the population sign that stated, "Welcome to St. Charles, State Capital of Illinois High School Swimming for the 80s." " There were also championship wins in swimming in 1993, 1997, and 1999.Fact|date=April 2007

2007 Upstate Eight Conference Football Champions

School Fight Song

"Heres to St. Charles East High School"
"Bring victory back
"Heres to our colors---
"the orange and the Black

"RAH, RAH, RAH,

"Heres to all the Saints
"Who bear our name
"Fighting to defeat the foe
"And win this game

"RAH, RAH, RAH,
"RAH, RAH, RAH,
"RAH, RAH, RAH,
"RAH, RAH, RAH,
"RAH, RAH, RAH,
"RAH, RAH, RAH,
"St. Charles EAST"

The St. Charles East Wrestling program as well as the Track and Field team are the only current sports to be undefeated against the St. Charles North "North Stars."

Notable Alumni

*Randy Wright, Former Green Bay Packers quarterback

*Marci Jobson, US women's international soccer player and coach at Northern Illinois University [ [http://www.ussoccer.com/bio/index.jsp_12733.html The Official Site of U.S. Soccer - Marci Jobson Biography ] ]

*Leslie Hunt - Top ten finalist in American Idol

References

External links

* [http://east.d303.org/ Official website]
* [http://stce-colorguard.org/index.html Color Guard]
* [http://www.runningsaints.org/ Track and Field (Running Saints)]