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West Aurora High School

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Coordinates: 41°45′54″N 88°20′44″W / 41.765°N 88.3456°W / 41.765; -88.3456
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For schools of a similar name, see West High School (disambiguation).
West Aurora High School
Logo of WAHS
Address
Map
1201 W. New York Street

Aurora
,
Illinois
60506

United States
Coordinates41°45′54″N 88°20′44″W / 41.765°N 88.3456°W / 41.765; -88.3456
Information
School typePublic high school
MottoA Tradition of Excellence
Opened1868
School districtWest Aurora Public School District 129
SuperintendentJeff Craig
CEEB code140185
NCES School ID170471000174[1]
PrincipalCharles Hiscock
Teaching staff196
Grades9–12
Gendercoed
Enrollment3,470 (2012)
Average class size23.3
Campussuburban
Colour(s)  Red
  Blue
Fight songRoll On, You Blackhawks
Athletics conferenceUpstate Eight Conference
MascotChief Blackhawk
NicknameBlackhawks
AccreditationAdvancED
PublicationMuses
NewspaperRed and Blue
YearbookEOS
WebsiteSchool website
[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][1]

West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-year high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is part of West Aurora Public School District 129. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,".

History

High school classes were first offered in 1867 at Stone School (now defunct). The first graduating class of five students had their commencement in 1870.

From 1905 until the 1950s the high school was located in a building on Blackhawk Avenue (so named after the school's athletics mascot). This same building (demolished in February 2015) was Benjamin Franklin Junior High School until the 1970s, when it was sold to Aurora Christian School, which used it as their school building until 2004. The current WAHS structure was built in the early 1950s, and was dedicated in 1953 as "West Side Senior High." From 1978–1981 the building was briefly known as the "West Aurora South Campus," when two buildings existed on Aurora's west side to house the high school population. The building formerly known as the "West Aurora North Campus" now houses the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

The present building has had multiple additions and renovations, with the major additions occurring over four phases. The first added classrooms to an existing two-story classroom wing in the early 1960s. The largest addition, to the north and east sides of the building, added the auditorium, classroom space and other amenities in 1966–1967. This addition was responsible for the creation of the building's first two courtyard spaces. The 1997–1998 addition was constructed as a two–story wing on the south end of the building, giving it a new facade, and closing a portion of New York Street. This addition included a new library, a technology center, a new cafeteria, and additional classroom space. The most recent addition was completed in time for the 2004–2005 academic year. This included a new fieldhouse, a new single–story classroom wing on the northwest corner of the building, and a new choral rehearsal space.

Today West High is a diverse school, with several academic and athletic programs available.[12]

Academics

In 2008, West Aurora had an average composite ACT score of 19.3, and graduated 79.1% of its senior class. West Aurora has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test, which with the ACT, are the assessment tools used in Illinois to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act. All four of the student subgroups at West Aurora failed to meet minimum expectations in reading and math, as did the school as a whole.[4]

Athletics

West Aurora, from 1997-2014, competed in the DuPage Valley Conference. Prior to this, the school was a member of the Upstate Eight Conference. The school rejoined that conference in 2014. WAHS is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in the state of Illinois.

Officially, Chief Blackhawk serves as the mascot for the school. The red and blue logo of the chief is painted on the back of the school's football stadium, as of 2006, replacing the school's WA logo. Use of the "Chief" character has been controversial for its depiction of a Native American.[citation needed]

The school sponsors interscholastic sports teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Young men may compete in baseball, football, and wrestling, while young women may compete in badminton, bowling, cheerleading, and softball. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the Athletic Department also sponsors a poms team for young women.[13]

The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet:[14]

  • Basketball (boys): State Champions (1999–2000)
  • Tennis (girls): State Champions (1996–97, 97–98)
  • Track & Field: State Champions (1905–06)

The rivalry between West and East Aurora High School is the second oldest in the state of Illinois.[15]

The 1951 Girls' Golf season saw great controversy which nearly resulted in a cancellation of the season. The issue began when a member of the team refused to wear the required uniform, which consisted of a polo shirt with the West Aurora Blackhawks logo and a pleated, knee length skirt. The aforementioned team member arrived for the first tournament at the links wearing a pair of men's golf trousers, stating that if she had worn the required skirt, she would either have to sacrifice a full force swing or her modesty. Wanting to keep his player's femininity as well as their ability strike the ball 200 yards at the same time, the coach came up with the idea of dressing his girls in culottes. These split, pants-like skirts were designed to provide women more freedom to do activities such as gardening, cleaning, bike riding, etc. and still look like one is wearing a skirt.[16][17]

Music program

The West Aurora band program is a member of district nine in the Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA). The Jazz Ensemble performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival on 1 September 2006, becoming only the second high school group ever invited to perform at the Festival.[18] The band participated in festivities and performed at the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl.[19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b "Search for Public Schools - West Aurora High School (170471000174)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved Oct 30, 2014.
  2. ^ http://www.sd129.org/site_res_view_template.aspx?id=50b963a7-a919-44df-a6df-57a33e39de11
  3. ^ http://westhigh.sd129.org/site_res_view_template.aspx?id=a9a479f8-0c00-4a1d-ad7e-f220d457a2e8
  4. ^ a b Class of 2008 school report card; accessed 21 June 2009[dead link‍]
  5. ^ Institution Summary, AdvancED, Retrieved 2012-07-11
  6. ^ School info for WAHS; ihsa.org; accessed 21 June 2009
  7. ^ EOS homepage; accessed 21 June 2009
  8. ^ Muses homepage; accessed 21 June 2009
  9. ^ Red and Blue homepage; accessed 21 June 2009
  10. ^ West Aurora High School about us page; accessed 14 April 2013
  11. ^ District 129 About Us page, with 2010 enrollment numbers; accessed 14 April 2013
  12. ^ West Aurora High School - Aurora, Illinois - IL - School overview
  13. ^ Athletic Department for WAHS; accessed 21 June 2009
  14. ^ Season summaries for WAHS; ihsa.org; accessed 21 June 2009
  15. ^ Oldest Rivalry; IHSA Boys Football All-Time General Records; accessed 21 June 2009
  16. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  17. ^ Culottes
  18. ^ Aurora Beacon News[dead link‍] story on the Jazz Ensemble's performance at the Chicago Jazz Festival.
  19. ^ Moyer, Christine S; West Marching Band will play at Atlanta bowl game; 29 December 2006; The Beacon News - Aurora; accessed 22 June 2009
  20. ^ "Marger Apsit NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  21. ^ Kindt, Bill; Battle jumps at challenge to run ABA Rollers team; 17 September 2006; The Beacon News–Aurora; accessed 21 June 2009
  22. ^ Kenny Battle stats & bio; basketballreference.com; accessed 21 June 2009
  23. ^ a b c d e West Aurora: High School of the Week; 11 September 2007; Chicago Sun-Times; accessed 21 June 2009
  24. ^ Rich Becker stats & bio; thebasebalcube.com; accessed 21 June 2009
  25. ^ a b c Distinguished Alumni Award history for WAHS; accessed 21 June 2009 Archived 2009-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ a b West Aurora Alumni Association; West Aurora Inducts 6 Alumni into Hall of Honor; accessed 21 June 2009 Archived 2009-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Gire, Dann (May 16, 2011). "Aurora's Stana Katic wraps up 'Castle' season, moves on to 'Big Sur'". Chicago Daily Herald. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  28. ^ Scott Merkin / MLB.com. "Larrison honored for experience | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  29. ^ Aurora native dishes about her boyfriend's ex - Britney Spears; 1 November 2007; The Beacon News - Aurora; accessed 21 June 2009
  30. ^ Alvin Ross stats & bio; databasefootball.com; accessed 21 June 2009
  31. ^ Cetera, Mike; Former Enron CEO has Aurora past; 6 February 2002; The Beacon News - Aurora; accessed 21 June 2009
  32. ^ Hymon, Steve (December 30, 1990). "West Aurora Interrupts Peoria Manual Streak". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  33. ^ Young, Linda (March 16, 1990). "West Aurora`s Taylor Has Big Fan In Dad". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
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