Highland Park High School (Highland Park, Illinois)


Highland Park High School is a public four-year high school located in Highland Park, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, Illinois. It is part of Township High School District 113. From 1900 to 1904, the school was known as Deerfield High School. The high school served both Deerfield and Shields townships from 1904 until 1936 and was Deerfield-Shields High School. The building of Lake Forest High School in 1936 provided a school to serve Shields Township students. This led to the return of the name Highland Park High School. A new, separate Deerfield High School opened 20 years later to serve the growing population.
WWW hphs.dist113.org

History

For a period of approximately fourteen years following Highland Park High School's establishment in 1886, classes were held in the rooms over the Brand Brothers paint shop in downtown Highland Park. It has occupied the present site on Vine Avenue since 1900. Over the course of time, however, several additions have been constructed. In 2000, HPHS and its sister school, Deerfield High School underwent a two-year, $75 million renovation and expansion project. HPHS received several new additions and renovations with renovated and added. The additions and renovations were designed by Legat Architects and executed by VACALA Construction, Inc.

Academics

In 2013, Highland Park had an average composite ACT score of 25.2, and graduated 90.5% of its senior class.
Highland Park High School has non native-English speaking students and a student population of 80% white, 15% Hispanic, 3% Asian and 2% African American.

Student life

Athletics

Highland Park competes in the Central Suburban League and is a member of the Illinois High School Association which governs most of the sports and competitive activities in the state. Its mascot is the Giants.
The school sponsors interscholastic sports teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, wrestling, and water polo. Young men may also compete in baseball, golf, football, and Scholastic wrestling. Women may compete in softball and field hockey. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors teams for men and women in lacrosse in addition to an ice hockey team for men. Highland Park also sponsors a joint fencing team with Deerfield High School for men and women.
The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament:
  • Cross country : State Champions
  • Golf : State Champions
  • Tennis : State Champions

Activities

Highland Park offers 64 clubs, activities, and intramurals for students. Among these activities are chapters or affiliates of several nationally notable organizations: Amnesty International, Congressional Debate, DECA, FIRST Tech Challenge, Key Club, and Model UN.
The following competitive teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament:
  • Drama: State Champions
  • Group Interpretation: State Champions
The following clubs have scored championships in non-IHSA sanctioned events:

Philanthropy

Since 1994, students at HPHS annually mobilize to support a charity during February. This month-long event is known as "Charity Drive" and is orchestrated by the Charity Drive Committee, one of the subdivisions of the school-wide political Student Senate. Students choose the charity in a school vote. The school regularly raises six-figure amounts and is courted by charities. Fundraising activities last the whole month and include raffles, themed events, and a battle of the bands. students have raised more than $3 million.

Notable people

Academia and letters

Arts

Business

Sports

Military

Politics and activism

Staff

  • [Paul Adams (American High school football|football coach)|Paul Adams] briefly taught at HPHS after leaving the military, before transferring to Deerfield High School in 1966 and becoming that school's head football coach.
  • Jerry Wainwright was the school's head boys basketball coach. He was later men's head coach at DePaul University.