St. Laurence High School
St. Laurence High School is a co-educational, STEM-based high school founded in 1961. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the school is conducted by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and is named for the Irish Saint Laurence O'Toole.
The school is located in the southwest Chicago suburb of Burbank, Illinois, adjacent to the property of the former Queen of Peace High School, a private, all-female Catholic high school that closed in 2017. St. Laurence became co-ed beginning with the 2017–2018 school year after Queen of Peace closed.
History
St. Laurence High School was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers as a boys' school. With the closure of its neighboring sister school Queen of Peace High School, a girls' school run by the Dominican Sisters, the St. Laurence board of directors announced that the school would become co-educational from the 2017–2018 academic year onwards and accommodate transferring female students.Currently, AERO Special Education Cooperative occupies the former Queen of Peace campus, with new accessible construction completed in 2023.
Classes
At the start of the 2013 school year, St. Laurence became a STEM school. The school incorporates spirituality and leadership in its STEM program.In 2021, St. Laurence began an IB Diploma Programme, making it one of only three Catholic high schools in Illinois to offer the program, along with DePaul College Prep and Trinity High School.
Athletics
St. Laurence is a member of the Chicago Catholic League for boys' sports and the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference for girls' sports. It is also a member of the Illinois High School Association. St. Laurence sponsors interscholastic teams in baseball, basketball, bowling, cheer, cross country, dance, eSports, flag football, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling, which compete in IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments. The school also sponsors an ice hockey team.The following teams have finished in the top four at the IHSA state tournament in their respective class:
- Baseball: Semifinalist, 3rd place, 2nd place, IHSA 3A champions
- Basketball: 4th place
- Boys Track & Field: 100-meter race champion, 4×100-meter relay race champions
- Football: Champions, runner-up, 4th place
- Soccer: IHSA 2A 4th place, IHSA 2A 3rd place, IHSA 3A runner-up
- Softball: 4th place
- Wrestling: Champions
Notable alumni
- Brent Bowers, Major League Baseball outfielder with the Baltimore Orioles
- Kevin Bracken, United States team member in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Jimmy Dore, comedian and political commentator
- Jim Dwyer, Major League Baseball outfielder with the 1983 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles
- Tim Grunhard, National Football League All-Pro center with the Kansas City Chiefs
- James Hickey, retired United States Army colonel involved in the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in December 2003
- Daniel R. Jenky, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria; rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame; chaplain of Notre Dame's last football team to win a national championship
- Kevin J. O'Connor, film and TV actor
- Steve Puidokas, professional basketball player in Europe and Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor member
- Stan Smagala, NFL safety with the Dallas Cowboys
- Jim Stack, National Basketball Association executive with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls
- John Tumpane, MLB umpire
- Jeff Vintar, motion picture screenwriter