Maine East High School

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Maine East High School
Address
2601 W. Dempster St. Park Ridge, Illinois, 60068 USA
Coordinates	42°02′17″N 87°51′29″W / 42.038°N 87.858°W / 42.038; -87.858
Information
Type	public secondary
Opened	1929
School district	Maine Twp. H.S. 207
Superintendent	Dr. Joel Morris[1]
Principal	Mr. Steven T. Isoye[2]
Faculty	220[3]
Grades	9-12
Gender	coed
Enrollment	1,893[4]
Average class size	16.8[4]
Campus	suburban
School Colour(s)	royal blue      white[5]
Athletics conference	Central Suburban League
Nickname	Blue Demons[5]
Average ACT scores	21.7[4]
Publication	Edge[6]
Newspaper	Pioneer[7]
Yearbook	Lens[8]
TV/radio station	WMTH
Website	http://east.maine207.org/
The main entrance to Maine East has not changed since it was built in 1929. The tower is perhaps the signature piece of the school's architecture.

Maine East High School, or Maine East, and officially Maine Township High School East, is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Dempster Street and Potter Road in Park Ridge, 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 South High School and Maine West High School.

Aside from its age the oldest part of Maine East, dating back to 1929, makes it among the older school buildings still in use in the Chicago suburbs, Maine East is best known today for the diversity of its student body. Students attending Maine East today hail from several dozen nations on six continents.

[edit] History

Maine East was known as Maine Township High School when it was built in 1929 as a replacement to the original Maine Township High School which itself had been built in 1902. Until 1959 when Maine West High School was built it was the sole school in the district. For a short amount of time, in 1958–1959, there were so many students enrolled in the school, approximately 7,000, that the school day was split into two parts, with half of the population attending in the morning, and half in the afternoon. The largest graduating classes (with about 1,000 students) were the Class of 1959 (just prior to the opening of Maine West and the Class of 1964 (just prior to the opening of Maine South). When Maine North High School closed in 1981, a majority of the students from that school were sent to Maine East, with the remainder being sent to Maine West High School and Glenbrook South High School.^{[citation needed]}

During the Great Depression most of the staff taught without financial compensation, as the district could not afford to meet salaries. As thanks, local merchants provided necessities to the staff free of charge.

In 1936, Maine East's band director, Alexander Harley, along with his wife Frances, founded Maine Music Masters as a way of honoring musicians in the school band. The idea spread, and in 1952, the chapters at individual high schools were incorporated as Modern Music Masters. In 1983, it was renamed Tri-M Music Honor Society. Today, it is the largest international honor society in music education.^[9]

[edit] Architecture

The Powell Library at UCLA. This building's architecture inspired the design of Maine East HS.

The architecture of the original building was inspired by the architecture of the Powell Library Building at UCLA. The original building was "L" shaped, with a long wing running east–west, parallel to Dempster Street. A shorter wing runs north–south, parallel to Potter Road, with both wings meeting at "the tower" where the main entrance is located. Each of the wings is three stories tall.

The tower is six stories tall, though the higher floors are not in use today because of fire hazard (there is only one narrow staircase granting access to these floors). The fourth floor contains the new heating and air-conditioning systems. The "tower" originally housed the art and music rooms, but since 1960 houses the broadcasting transmitter for WMTH 90.5 FM, the student-operated radio station. Following World War II and up into the late 1960s aviation classes were given with the use of a Link Trainer installed in the tower. The sixth floor also has a balcony on the outside from which there is a distant view, on some days, of the Chicago skyline.

The school has two swimming pools. The newer one is used for physical education classes, and by the interscholastic water polo and swimming & diving teams. The original natatorium, located in the basement, has been shut down due to the need for financially unfeasible repairs, but is kept for its irreplaceable decorative mosaics, which could be damaged with further exposure to water and chemicals.

The school also has a firing range in the basement that was in use when the school opened, as training with firearms was considered essential for young men in the wake of World War I. Though today used for storage, it is believed to be one of the few non-military academies to still have a usable firing range still on the premises.

[edit] Diversity

Maine East is known state wide for its diversity. A large percentage of students are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. Maine East students collectively speak over 54 languages. In all, over 40 nations are represented, mostly from Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and Africa. The school's diversity also extends to religious belief. While Roman Catholic may make up the largest representation, the school has a considerable number of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Evangelical Christians, Jews, Protestants, Orthodox and Atheists. Despite the proximity of so many groups that are characterized as having animosity toward each other, Maine East has had virtually no incidents of hate crimes among its students.

This can best be shown in the number of ethnic clubs at the school which promote the cultures of various peoples, as well as giving students of similar background a chance to socialize. Among the clubs currently sponsored are clubs celebrating African-American culture, Assyrian, Chinese, Filipino, Hellenic (Greek), Israeli, Korean, Latino, Mongolian, Polish, Serbian, and Vietnamese. There is a South Asian Club which combines both Indian and Pakistani cultures, among others. There is also an all–encompassing International Club which celebrates all cultures and backgrounds.^[10]

One of the biggest annual events at the school is the Cultural Diversity Celebration. Held on a Saturday in late winter, the clubs representing these and other aspects of culture present food, art, music, and other performances which represent the diversity of the school's students.

In 2008, 56 in Harmony was published by Laura Matzen, one of the school's art teachers. Part of the artist's masters degree, the book depicts the faces of students on a dark background, with projections of the flag of that student's nation of origin on their face. While attempts were made to depict all 57 nations of origin for the students in 2007, permission could not be secured to photograph one flag.^[11]

[edit] Academics

The rear entrance of the original building. The brick pedestal at lower right is topped by a sundial, dedicated to the school's science department.

In 2008, Maine East had an average composite ACT score of 21.7, and graduated 89.4% of its senior class. Maine East has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, which with the ACT is the state assessment used to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Overall, the school failed to meet minimum standards in reading, while one student subgroup also failed to meet minimum standards in reading.^[4]

The school offers 18 Advanced Placement courses: English Language, English Literature, Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Physics (C), Calculus (AB & BC), Statistics, Computer Science (AB), Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, U.S. History, European History, Government and Politics, Economics, Music Theory, and Studio Art.^[12]

Maine East has also been ranked in the top 1500 of America's public schools (based on a formula looking at AP scores as a percent of the graduating class), as reported by Newsweek. In 2009, the school ranked #1192, in 2006, the school ranked #1181.^[13]

[edit] Activities

Maine East High School is active in United States policy debate and hosts a tournament with regional significance to Great Lakes-region high school debaters, as those advancing far enough receive a bid to attend the national Tournament of Champions.^{[citation needed]}

The following teams succeeded in placing in the top four of the IHSA sponsored State Championship Tournament of their respective competitive activity:^[14]

• Debate: State Champions (1971–72, 79–80, 80–81)
• Scholastic Bowl: 4th (1994–95)
• Speech Sweepstakes: 3rd (1971–72)

[edit] Athletics

Maine East competes in the Central Suburban League. The school also competes in state championship tournament series sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. There are mens teams in baseball, football, and wrestling, while women may also compete in badminton, cheerleading, and softball.^[15]

The following teams succeeded in placing in the top four of the IHSA sponsored State Championship Tournament of their respective sport. These also include IHSA recognized finishes by Maine Township High School prior to 1960:^[16]

• Baseball: State Champions (1957–58 58–59); 2nd (1948–49)
• Cross Country (boys): State Champions (1970–71, 79–80); 2nd place (1947–48); 3rd place (1950–51, 69–70, 71–72); 4th place (1955–56)
• Golf (boys): 2nd place (1949–50)
• Gymnastics (boys): State Champions (1978–79); 2nd place (1967–68, 79–80); 3rd place (1966–67)
• Gymnastics (girls): State Champions (1976–77); 2nd place (1979–80); 3rd place (1977–78); 4th place (1978–79 & 80–81)
• Soccer (boys): 2nd place (1975–76)
• Swimming & Diving (boys): State Champions (1931–32, 33–34, 34–35, 35–36, 36–37); 3rd place (1937–38, 51–52, 52–53, 53–54, 54–55, 58–59); 4th place (1932–33, 42–43)
• Track & Field (boys): State Champions (1940–41, 45–46); 2nd place (1930–31, 36–37, 43–44)
• Wrestling: 2nd place (1969–70); 4th place (1972–73)

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Politics and government service

• Melissa Bean (class of 1980) has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2004, representing Illinois' 8th congressional district.^[17]

Melissa Bean, Congresswoman

Hillary Clinton, First Lady & U.S. Senator

• Hillary Rodham Clinton was First Lady of the United States (1993–2001), a United States Senator from New York (2001-09), a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States (2007-08), and is currently U.S. Secretary of State. Clinton attended Maine East from 1961–1964, but was redistricted into and then graduated from Maine South High School after the newer school opened.^[18]
• Gordon Fornell (class of 1954) was a Lt. General in the United States Air Force, and served as senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.^{[citation needed]}
• Carolyn Glassman (class of 1978) is a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State and was a Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University^[19]
• James B. Loken (class of 1958) has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit since 1990, and has been its Chief Judge since 2003.^[20]
• David Stahl (class of 1952) was Deputy Mayor of Chicago under Richard J. Daley.^[21]
• Philip Tone (valedictorian of the class of 1940) was a U.S. District Court judge & from 1974–80 served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He helped investigate Billy Carter's involvement with the government of Libya.^[22]

[edit] Writing and journalism

• Jennifer Benka (class of 1986) is a poet, author of Preamble and A Box of Longing with 50 Drawers.^{[citation needed]}
• Scott Cohn (class of 1978) is a Senior Correspondent for CNBC.^[23][24]
• Marc Hempel (class of 1975) is a cartoonist and author^{[citation needed]}
• Charles Hillinger was a journalist with the Los Angeles Times for 46 years.^[25][26]
• Richard Maxwell (class of 1986) is a playwright who won a Special Citation Obie Award in 1999 for his play House.^{[citation needed]}
• Marshall Seese (class of 1960) is a meteorologist with The Weather Channel.^[27]
• Roz Varon (class of 1975) is a Chicago television news reporter for ABC-7 Chicago News.^[28]

[edit] The arts

Harrison Ford, actor

• Karen Black (class of 1957) is an Oscar–nominated, and 2–time Golden Globe winning actress (5 Easy Pieces, Easy Rider).^{[citation needed]}
• Hugh Brannum (class of 1927) was an actor best known for his portrayal of Mr. Green Jeans on the children's show Captain Kangaroo.^[29]
• Harrison Ford (class of 1960) is an Oscar and Golden Globe–nominated actor best known for playing roles such as Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and Jack Ryan.^[30]
• Jami Gertz (class of 1983) is an Emmy–nominated actress (The Lost Boys, Twister).^[31]
• Steve Goodman (class of 1965) was a two–time Grammy Award–winning folk singer-songwriter best known for writing City of New Orleans and Go, Cubs, Go.^[32]
• Jon Hager & James Hager (class of 1959) were known as The Hager Twins when they performed on the television variety show Hee Haw.^[33]
• Derrick Kosinski (class of 2001) was a contestant on MTV's Real World/Road Rules "The Island" challenges. He also appeared as a contestant on MTV's Road Rules: X-Treme (Season 13) and other various MTV Real World/Road Rules challenges respectively.^[34]
• Rich Koz (class of 1970) is a Chicago radio and television personality best known for playing the Son of Svengoolie.^[35]
• Scott Mutter (class of 1961) is an internationally recognized photographer.^[36]
• Carrie Snodgress (class of 1963) was an Oscar–nominated and Golden Globe–winning actress (Diary of a Mad Housewife).^[37]

[edit] Business

• Stanton Cook (class of 1943) was publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Chairman of the Chicago Cubs.^[38]
• David Hiller was publisher, President, and CEO of the Los Angeles Times^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Athletics

• Steve Smith (class of 1962) was a football player (1966, 68–74) who played in Super Bowl IV for the Minnesota Vikings.^[39]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website.
• Maine East High School Alumni website
• Maine East Class of 1983 website
• WMTH Alumni website