Joliet West High School
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| Joliet West High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
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401 North Larkin Avenue , 60435 | |
| Coordinates | 41°31′45″N 88°7′33″W / 41.52917°N 88.12583°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Established | 1964 |
| Principal | Teresa Gibson |
| Faculty | 322 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 3005[1] (June 2014) |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Black Gold |
| Mascot | Tiger |
| Newspaper | Tiger Tales |
| Yearbook | Alpha Omega |
| Website | School website |
Joliet West High School, along with Joliet Central, makes up district 204 Joliet Township High School district in Joliet, Illinois. West's mascot is the Tiger.
Building
The school was originally constructed in 1964, one year after its identical sister school Joliet East, and has since been added onto 4 times. The first addition, completed in the early 1980s, added a bookstore to the cafeteria, additional space around the maintenance area, a multi-purpose room by the gymnasiums (primarily used for dance and wrestling), six additional classrooms, and a greenhouse. That greenhouse was later torn down.
The second and third additions were completed as two consecutive projects, adding several additional classrooms, a new band room, cafeteria, conference room, dean's offices, and student commons area. The first phase broke ground on November 4, 2001 and was completed the following school year. The second phase began during the 2002–03 year and was open for fall 2003 classes.
A field house was built in late 2007, and an additional building housing science classes was constructed in 2011.
Separation of Schools
During the 2008 - 2009 school year, Central and West began to again divide the schools' athletic programs, allowing the West mascot to become the Tiger once again, leaving Central as the Steelmen. The split began with Joliet's Freshmen football team dividing. As of the 2010 - 2011 school year, Joliet Central and Joliet West have their own, entirely independent sports programs.
Music tradition
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Joliet West has music programs, both instrumental and choral. Many alumni continue on in music as a career, including Charlie Adams, John Barrowman, Jimmy Chamberlin, Andy Dick, Doug Pinnick, Anthony Rapp, and Janina Gavankar. The Marching Tigers, Joliet West's marching band, is one of the few groups that held the Tiger name throughout the adoption and relinquishment of the Steelmen mascot.
Notable alumni
- Charlie Adams, drummer/percussionist (Chameleon, Yanni)
- John Barrowman, Broadway actor (Doctor Who, Torchwood)
- Jimmy Chamberlin, drummer (The Smashing Pumpkins)
- Adrianne Curry - model, TV personality
- Andy Dick - actor-comedian (The Andy Dick Show)
- Janina Gavankar - actress, musician (The L Word, True Blood)
- Randall Kleck - martial artist
- Eric Parker - NFL player for San Diego Chargers
- Steve Parris - pitcher for four MLB teams
- Doug Pinnick - musician
- Anthony Rapp - actor (Rent)
References
- ^ "School Directory". ihsa.org. Retrieved 27 January 2016.