Southeastern High School (Illinois)

Southeastern High School is located in Bowen, Illinois. It is a grades 9-12 public high school, with a student population of around 181 students (as of 2006-2007 school year). Its principal is Beau R. Ranson. The school athletic teams are named the Southeastern Suns.

Currently, the Suns are co-oping with local Illini West in Carthage, Illinois. The teams co-oping are:
*Illini-Southeastern football (The Chargers)Illini-Southeastern baseball (The Chargers)- coached by legendary Suns coach Dave Swisegood
*Illini-Southeastern Girls basketball (The Chargers)

The building was constructed in 1920, and was home to the Augusta Bulldogs until the 1970's, when the school consolidated with Bowen High School to become the Southeastern Suns. In the early 1990's, Plymouth High School, located in Plymouth, Illinois completed the consolidation to make Southeastern High School a public facility serving students from the three villages and other outlying areas. [http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=4583993]

On March 3rd, 2006, Southeastern High School was burnt to the ground after a fire that started in the Chemistry lab on the third floor, completely gutted the entire floor, resulting in floor collapse, and extensive water damage to the bottom floors. The fire started at approximately 11:30 AM, during the students lunch time/study hall. As a result, no student or faculty member was injured. Firefighters from six area units assisted in the task of extinguishing the flames. Firefighters persisted in their mission until early morning hours.

After taking the following Monday and Tuesday off school, Southeastern High School classes reconvened at Southeastern Jr. High School in Bowen, Illinois and at the Bowen United Methodist Church, both just six miles away from the original Augusta location. [http://www.khqa.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=3483]

Southeastern and the outstanding assistance of the students and the community caught many peoples attention all over Illinois, and from places as far away as Arizona and Bakersfield, California.

On May 21, 2006, 45 seniors, previously unsure of their future at Southeastern, celebrated their graduation in the gymnasium at the Augusta campus, less than three months after the destructive fire. The graduation was the most attended in recent memory, attracting much attention from around the surrounding area. [http://www.khqa.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=9120]