North Chicago Community High School

North Chicago Community High School
Address
1717 17th St. North Chicago, Illinois, 60064 USA
Coordinates	42°19′37″N 87°51′14″W / 42.3269°N 87.8539°W / 42.3269; -87.8539Coordinates: 42°19′37″N 87°51′14″W / 42.3269°N 87.8539°W / 42.3269; -87.8539
Information
School type	public, secondary
Opened	1954
School district	North Chicago Community Unit School District 187
NCES District ID	1700110[1]
CEEB Code	143220[2]
NCES School ID	170011005370[1]
Principal	Eric Gallagher
Grades	9-12
Gender	coed
Enrollment	806  (2010-11[3])
Campus type	suburban
Color(s)	red      white[3]
Athletics conference	North Suburban[3]
Team name	(Lady) Warhawks[3]
Newspaper	'The Hawkeye'
Website	http://h.d187.org/home

North Chicago Community High School, also known as North Chicago and NCCHS, is a public four-year high school located in North Chicago, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of --North Chicago School District 187]]. Due to its proximity to the Naval Station Great Lakes, the school serves an extensive amount of military families, resulting in a slightly higher than average mobility rate.^[4]

History

The North Chicago Community High School, commonly called NCCHS the school's attendees, was established in 1954. Before this facility was erected, high school students had to attend the Waukegan High School in the neighboring city of Waukegan, Illinois. The current North Chicago High School is a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m²) facility with a 750-seat auditorium, library, fine arts facilities, 450-seat cafeteria, two gyms, and a chemistry lab built in 1997. The high school serves approximately 900 students in the North Chicago and Great Lakes area.

As of March 2011, North Chicago's basketball team was ranked number four in the state of Illinois after losing to the Centralia Orphans in the IHSA Class 3A state competition. In September, 2009, the school's entire football program was given an one-week suspension by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), in the wake of a fight which took place on the football field during a game against Chicago's Simeon Career Academy.^[5][6]

Academics

North Chicago High School has a rigorous academic setup with a number of Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses available to students. There are vast opportunities for students to gain access to knowledge and skills, while also having access to three guidance counselors as well as a college counselor, or keep them on track for academic success. The school is also a member of the Lake Country High Schools Tech Campus at the College of Lake County (CLC), which offers career-based college level training to aspiring high school students, while also broadening their exposure to other students and internship opportunities in Lake County, Illinois. This program has been praised for its academic viability and because students have the opportunity to earn three credits (toward both high school and college) for one class during a two hour period during their school day; it has also received criticism because of the time commitment, with North Chicago students returning to school 40 minutes after the school day has ended.

Various colleges, such as Northwestern University and Robert Morris University make regular visits to North Chicago to attract college-bound students. The school is also home to the North Chicago branch of the I Have a Dream Foundation, which recruits a special group of high achieving students from from the grade school level and moves on with them through high school, helping them to complete difficult school work, make important college decisions, and plan their future. North Chicago has an average composite ACT score of approximately 16.4. The average class size is 14.6, with the number of enrolled students in 2010 was recorded at 916. North Chicago has not made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.^[7] This has widely been attributed to a fall in student morale and discipline, and many ardent attempts are being made throughout the community to quickly solve the issue at hand, such as the implementation of a new student advisory board and volunteer service requirements for graduation.

North Chicago hosted a series of restructuring meetings, community members working together to implement effective positive changes. Recently there has been a turnover of principals and a tightening of school rules and policies as mandated by the District 187 Board of Education and the state of Illinois.

Athletics

North Chicago competes in the North Suburban Conference and Illinois High School Association. Its mascot is the Warhawk. Various sports are open to participating students during the fall, spring, and winter sports seasons: 1) Fall- Boys football, boys and girls cross country, girls tennis, and boys volleyball and boys soccer; 2) Winter- Boys and girls basketball, girls bowling, and boys and girls wrestling; 3) Spring- Boys and girls track and field, girls soccer, girls volleyball, and boys tennis. During it's 2010-2011 basketball season, the high school finished forth in state in the IHSA state basketball tournament. There is a long-standing friendly rivalry between North Chicago High School and the neighboring city of Zion's high school.

Activities

• National Honor Society: The North Chicago High School NHS sponored a March 2011 program to raise money for the crisis in Japan after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
• Cheerleading
• Individual Events (Speech Team)
• Concert Band / Marching Band: Hosts a few large concerts per year, sometimes with the district grade schools or with the professional Wilmett Community Band. Makes an annual visit to Northwestern University for professional critiquing
• Choir: Involved in several concerts with the Concert Band and makes trips to various locations throughout the year to perform
• Scholastic Bowl
• Student Council: Sponsored a 2010 effort to raise money for the crisis in Haiti after the 2010 Haiti earthquake
• Science Club
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• NJROTC: very active in the community and has won numerous awards for its drill teams in competition
• NJROTC Armed Exhibition and Regulation
• NJROTC Unarmed Exhibition and Regulation
• NJROTC Color Guard
• NJROTC Marksmenship
• Performing Arts

Notable alumni

• Thaddeus Coleman, professional football player.^[8]
• Terry Link, Illinois State Senator.^[9]
• Tyrone Smith - Professional Long Jumper, 2008 Olympian
• Michael Turner, All-Pro NFL running back.^[10][11]

Notable staff

• Glen Kozlowski is the school's head football coach. He is a former NFL wide receiver (1987–92), having played his entire career for the Chicago Bears.^[12]
• Eric Gallagher & Jason Cummins join the NCCHS administrative team, both coming from Round Lake Area Schools District 116 after three successful years at John T. Magee Middle School.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "North Chicago Community High School". Basic information. National Center for Educational Statistics. 2010. http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/sch_info_popup.asp?Type=Public&ID=170011005370. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
2. ^ "High School Code Search". College Board. http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_code/codeSearchHighschool.jsp. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "North Chicago". Illinois High School Association. 4 August 2011. http://www.ihsa.org/Schools/SchoolDirectory.aspx?url=/data/school/n.htm. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
4. ^ District Demographics and Statistics
5. ^ "North Chicago Football Program Suspended From Competition" (Press release). Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 10 September 2009. http://www.ihsa.org/announce/2009-10/2009-09-10.htm. Retrieved 11 September 2009. 
6. ^ Zahorik, Ralph; Helfgot, Mike (11 September 2009). "IHSA suspends North Chicago football program over fight: Brawl during game with Simeon was 'really awful,' IHSA chief says". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-football-brawl-11-sep11,0,7117159.story. Retrieved 11 September 2009. 
7. ^ Illinois School Report Card
8. ^ "Thaddeus Coleman". Biographic sketch. CBS Sports. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/historical/1616631. Retrieved 5 August 2011. "HIGH SCHOOL: Attended North Chicago (Ill.) High School ..." 
9. ^ Link Staff (29 July 2009). "Senator Terry Link Bio". Biographic sketch. Illinois Senate Democrats. http://www.senatedem.ilga.gov/index.php/about-me-link. Retrieved 5 August 2011. "Link attended North Chicago High School and Stout State University." 
10. ^ "Micahel Turner". biographic & statistical sketch. National Football League. http://www.nfl.com/player/michaelturner/2506014/profile. Retrieved 5 August 2011. "High School: North Chicago HS [IL]" 
11. ^ Pompei, Dan (14 October 2009), "Michael Turner thinks he has turned corner: After slow start, Atlanta Falcons back ready for Chicago Bears", Chicago Tribune, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-10-14/sports/0910130499_1_michael-turner-corner-general-manager-thomas-dimitroff, retrieved 5 August 2011, "Turner might have found his mojo Sunday in San Francisco, however, just in time for a visit from his hometown Bears. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry and had a 33-yard run. On Sunday, the North Chicago High School alum will try to maintain that performance level against the team he grew up rooting for." 
12. ^ Zahorik, Ralph; Helfgot, Mike (11 September 2009). "IHSA suspends North Chicago football program over fight: Brawl during game with Simeon was 'really awful,' IHSA chief says". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-football-brawl-11-sep11,0,7117159.story. Retrieved 11 September 2009. "North Chicago varsity football coach Glen Kozlowski said at a news conference Thursday ... "One of our players did it," said Kozlowski, a former Chicago Bears player." 

External links

• Official Website