Maine West High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007) |
| Established | 1959 |
|---|---|
| Type | Public secondary |
| Principal | Dr. Haugan |
| Students | 2,277 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | 1755 South Wolf Road Des Plaines, Illinois, USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Columbia Blue, Gold, White |
| Mascot | Warrior |
| Yearbook | 'Legend' |
| Newspaper | "Westerner" |
| Website | west.maine207.org |
Maine West High School, or MWHS, is a public four-year high school located in Des Plaines, Illinois, a north-west suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Maine Township High School District 207, which also includes Maine East High School and Maine South High School.
Contents |
[edit] History
Built in 1959, in part due to the United States's increasing emphasis on the education of hard sciences to compete against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Maine West holds many Cold War-era characteristics. The basement level of the school, currently a fitness center (affectionately called "The Pit" by students), was designed to be used as a fallout shelter capable of protecting 1,000 people in the event of a nuclear incident. It is claimed by the Maine West Alumni Association website that the school was designed to host over 4,500 students. The "pit" was not the only fall out shelter in the building. Under each of the gyms, except Spec (which wasn't built until later), there are crawlspaces that stretch for about the whole length of the floor. These were filled with boxes of crackers, boxes of lemon drops, and also bottles of water that was meant to hold the students if a nuclear strike were to happen. Now, these spaces have been cleared out and have been used for storage.
[edit] Connection to John Wayne Gacy
Maine West has an indirect connection to one of the darkest chapters in modern American history. During the mid-1970s, the area around Des Plaines was where serial killer John Wayne Gacy killed some 33 young men. The investigation into Gacy began in 1978 with the disappearance of a Maine West student named Robert Piest. Lt. Joseph Kozenczak of the Des Plaines Police Department was the lead investigator who made the initial connection to Gacy and Piest's disappearance. After obtaining a search warrant for Gacy's Norwood Park Township home, a search turned up, among other things, a Maine West High School "Class of '75" ring with the initials "JAS" inscribed. The ring was identified as having belonged to another missing person, 19 year old John Szyc. This was one of the critical pieces of evidence that led police to believe that they were dealing with a potential multiple murderer, and not just a single "missing persons" case. As a result, resources for investigating Gacy increased leading to his arrest and likely saving many lives.[1]
[edit] Campus grounds
The floor plan is based around a central common area, with the cafeteria on the first floor and a 1,000 occupant auditorium on the second. Academic wings branch off a central rotunda; Upper A-wing is devoted to foreign languages and the English as a Second Language program. Upper B-wing houses the mathematics department, the English department workroom, and some English classes. Upper C-wing contains the majority of the English class rooms, and houses the social science department. D-wing has technology classrooms. Upper E-wing houses performing arts, while lower E houses visual arts. Lower A and B-wings contain the science classrooms; Lower C-wing contain vocational classrooms and driver's education. At the end of E-wing is the spectator gym. The library (known as the Learning Resource Center, or LRC) has its own wing, L-wing. The 1st floor of L-wing has a small theatre and assorted classrooms, one with a small stage. The 1st floor also houses the Technology Center, which used to be the Rotary Reading Room until it was remodeled in the 90s to accommodate a new computer lab. The 2nd floor of L-wing houses the library stacks proper. Each academic wing (A, B and C) has a gymnasium at the end.
There are five computer labs for student use. Two are in The Think Tank (formerly called The Write Place) and Learning Resource Center each, the another is in the Tech Center.
There are offices for Student Council, the Westerner and the Legend (the yearbook). There are two small courtyards between H and L-wings, one is used as an outdoor eating area.
The original building has been expanded over the years. E-wing, the fine arts center of the school, and the spectator gym were built after the school opened to accommodate home athletics events and West's increasing interest in the fine arts. In 2003, H-wing was completed, adding additional science labs, traditional classrooms, a new food lab and a large general purpose room. H-wing connects lower B-wing to lower C-wing. In 2005, construction of an outdoor eating area was completed.
The D-wing building is not attached to the building but it is accessible from the bus concourse doors. Classes including health, business, computer repair, automotive maintenance and repair, graphic arts, and consumer science-related classes take place in D-wing.
[edit] Academics
In 2005, Maine West had an average composite ACT score of 21.4, and graduated 94.0% of its senior class. The average class size is 19.0. Maine West has not made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.[2]
The staff is comprised of 175 teachers, of which 75% hold an advanced degree.[3] In 2002, Maine West was the only school in District 207 and one of only 50 nationwide to receive U.S. News and World Report's Award as an "Outstanding High School." The school was recognized in the local media and with a plaque. This award recognizes school where performance of students exiting compared to entering high schools exceeds expectations. Dr. Paul Leathem was principal at the time.
Maine West prides itself in its devotion to educating low income, ESL/minority students, and middle-class areas of Des Plaines and Rosemont.
[edit] Athletics
Maine West competes in the Central Suburban League.
The following teams succeeded in placing in the top four of the IHSA sponsored State Championship Tournament of their respective sport:[4]
- Archery (girls): 3rd (1976-77)
- Badminton (girls): State Champions (1982-83); 2nd (1987-88); 3rd (1985-86 & 86-87)
- Baseball: State Champions (1962-63)
- Basketball (boys): 4th (1997-98)
- Basketball (girls): State Champions (1987-88); 2nd (1992-93); 3rd (1986-87 & 91-92); 4th (1984-85)
- Cross Country (boys): 4th (1976-77)
- Volleyball (girls): 3rd (1982-83)
- Wrestling: 3rd (1998-99)
The 65 consecutive wins by the girls basketball team which encompassed the entire 1987 season, and lasted until February 13, 1989 remains the record (including State Series playoff games) for girls teams in Illinois, and second among boys and girls basketball teams in the state.[5][6]
The IHSA also recognizes that Maine West is the caretaker of all records posted by the now closed Maine North High School, though that school did not finish high enough in any sport or activity to warrant mention.[7]
Maine West is one of less than ten schools in Illinois to compete in varsity fencing. Maine West competes in the Great Lakes High School Fencing Conference which also includes teams from Wisconsin and Indiana. The Maine West girls team won the Conference Championship each year from 1981 through 1986. The boys won the Conference Title in 1989.[8]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jacob DeHart - founded the Threadless clothing company; Class of 2000[9]
- Adrian Fulle, MW Class of '90, wrote and directed the feature films "Three Days", "Love 101", "Windfall", "Power Play", "Finding Preet" and "Shiloh Falls". He also wrote and directed the award winning short films "Nines" and "The Longest Nap" as well as produced music videos for Black Sabbath, A Perfect Circle, Tantric, and Rodrigo Y Gabriela.
- Andrew Weder, MW Class '82, was the special effects on set forman for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". He also did the special effects for "Constantine" and was a special effects technician for "Van Helsing".
- Dr. James Kahn, M.D. - author and screen writer whose works include an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 4 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, and 21 episodes of Melrose Place. His books include the novelizations for Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the recent collaboration with George Lucas to write the 25th Anniversary edition of the original Star Wars trilogy; Class of 1965[10][11]
- The band October Fall is made up of Maine West alumni. Nick Scalise (drummer) was in the marching band, and was drum captain his senior year.
[edit] References
- ^ Details of John Wayne Gacy's crimes, referencing the Maine West connection
- ^ Illinois School Report Card
- ^ School profile
- ^ Maine West Athletic Records at IHSA.org
- ^ Girls Basketball Records at IHSA.org
- ^ http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bkb/records/ateam.htm#0X100 Boys Basketball records at IHSA.org]
- ^ Maine West Athletic Records at IHSA.org
- ^ http://www.newtrier.k12.il.us/athletics/sports/fencing/mwhsf/mwhsfhistory.htm Great Lakes High School Fencing Conference History]
- ^ Steve Johnson's Chicago Tribune article on the founding of Threadless
- ^ James Kahn's Random House page
- ^ James Kahn's page at imdb.com
[edit] External links
|
|||||
