Adlai E. Stevenson High School (AESHS), commonly called Stevenson High School (SHS), is a four-year public high school located in Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States.
History
2017 Adlai E. Stevenson (Team 8597) Presentation - Adlai E. Stevenson High School from Lincolnshire, IL was the winning team in the 2017 Moody's Mega Math Challenge - congratulations! This year, more than 5000 high school students from across...
Adlai E. Stevenson High School opened in September 1965 amid turmoil and adversity. Prior to the opening of Stevenson, the students in the Stevenson area attended Ela-Vernon High School in Lake Zurich. Stevenson was planned to become a second school for the growing district, but the western side (Lake Zurich) of the district decided to go their own way and build their own district. This left Stevenson with an unfinished building, no board or administration and no faculty. When Stevenson opened to 467 students and 34 teachers in 1965, the building was not carpeted, the library was empty, most classrooms were without desks and athletic fields were non-existent, as most of the school furniture had been shipped to Prairie View, Texas instead of Prairie View, Illinois.
In the 2005-06 school year, Stevenson had its highest enrollment of 4,573 students. Since then, each school year has progressively seen a declining enrollment in the student body. But in the 2014-15 school year, Stevenson had its first enrollment increase since the peak in the 2005-06 school year. Stevenson is expecting enrollment of over 4000 students once again in the 2017-18 school year, and enrollment is expected to surpass 4500 by 2020.
Stevenson has grown since its opening to become one of the largest high schools in the area. The school has undergone various additions over the years, the first being in 1970 where the school gym, auto shop, and pool were renovated. To accommodate the increasing student population, another round of remodeling occurred in the mid 1990s. With the addition of the tri-level east building in 1995, the physical size of SHS increased more than six times its original size of 113,000 square feet. The new east building included 60 new classrooms, a new Performing Arts Center (PAC), the Patriot Aquatic Center, Field House, and the Technology Center, among other projects as well. Also built was a new indoor walkway (link) between the original west building and the new east building.
In 2004, the main entrance to the school was completely rebuilt and transformed into another commons area now known as "The Point." Other renovations that year included more fine arts areas around the band, choir, and orchestra rooms in the west building as well. Around 2008, many of the athletic fields were expanded and the football field got new turf. In that same year, the original west auditorium was renovated as well.
In 2011, the school library and student resource center in the old/west building were renovated for the first time in Stevenson's history. The project was finished in 2015, when the removal of the two lecture halls were completed to make way for the Quiet Learning Center (QLC). In addition to the new ILC/QLC, the photography studio was also renovated in the summer of 2013.
Demographics
White: 63.4%, Asian: 24.7%, Hispanic: 7.6%, Black: 1.5%, Two or More Races: 2.6%, American Indian: 0.2%
Communities served
The school serves students in the area's District 125 coming from Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Prairie View, portions of Buffalo Grove, Mundelein, Kildeer, Hawthorn Woods and smaller portions of Vernon Hills, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Lake Forest, Mettawa, Riverwoods, Bannockburn and Deerfield.
Feeder schools
Public schools
Controversies and incidents
Newspaper censorship
In November 2009, a dispute erupted between school officials and the student newspaper, The Statesman, regarding censorship of stories. The administration stopped publication of the November 20 issue, objecting to stories regarding drugs, teen pregnancy and shoplifting. When students wanted to leave the front page blank in protest of the censorship, the officials instead required the students to produce other stories approved by the administration. The Stevenson public information officer released a statement November 20 stating the administration did not think anonymous sources discussing alleged illegal activity was fit for print.
The Chicago Tribune, in a November 26 editorial, said the school was wrong to force students to produce administration-approved stories. "This isn't editing, it's censorship," wrote columnist Zak Stombor. The Society of Professional Journalists' Freedom of Information chairman called the censorship "immoral, un-American, irresponsible and not fit for education."
Following the censorship fiasco, 11 of 14 Statesman staffers â€" and all the paper's top editors â€" resigned from their positions at the start of the spring 2010 semester.
Confiscation of student cellphones
In February 2012, school administration initiated an investigation into drug sales at the school, during which the cellphones of students suspected of drug sales were confiscated, and the text messages stored on the phones were read. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois described the incident as a "fishing expedition", while school officials stated they were "perfectly within our rights". In one instance a student was suspended five days and barred from participating in extracurricular activities because he refused to provide the password to his cellphone. The probe resulted in two arrests on misdemeanor drug charges.
Athletics
The Stevenson Patriots compete in the North Suburban Conference.
Stevenson High School is a member of the IHSA, the athletic teams are stylized as the Patriots. Many of its teams are top-ranked nationally and has a history of producing elite collegiate and professional athletes.
The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meets:
Awards and recognition
Stevenson was ranked as one of the best public high schools in America in 2017. In addition, Niche gave Stevenson A+ ratings in the following areas in 2016: academics, teachers, educational outcomes, health and safety, resources and facilities, sports and fitness, co-curricular activities, food service, and administration and policies.
Several national publications have regularly included Stevenson in their lists of America's best public high schools. Stevenson was the top-ranked open-enrollment public high school in Illinois in 2015 and 2014 in U.S. News and World Report, and was the top-ranked open-enrollment school in Illinois in the Washington Post’s rankings in 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Stevenson was ranked among the best in the nation's best STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs by U.S. News and World Report.
Stevenson High School is only one of only three high schools in the country to receive the United States Department of Education's "Excellence in Education" Blue Ribbon Award four times. In addition, Stevenson has been named one of America's top high schools by both U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek magazines, and has been named a National School of Distinction in Arts Education by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
For the class of 2016, 99.9% attended college. In 2015-2016, 360 students were named Illinois State Scholars. In addition, there were 32 National Merit Semi-Finalists in the Class of 2016 and 38 Commended students.
Notable alumni
- Megan Bozek - 2014 USA women's Olympic hockey player.
- Kyle Brandt - actor.
- Jalen Brunson - basketball player, member of 2016 and 2018 NCAA champion Villanova Wildcats.
- Tamika Catchings - basketball player, WNBA champion and 2011 MVP.
- Brad Cieslak - NFL tight end for the Buffalo Bills.
- Jason Duboe - Major League Lacrosse player for the Boston Cannons.
- Kevin Frederick - Major League Baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Ronald Goldman - murder victim, allegedly killed by O.J. Simpson.
- Andrea Jaeger - professional tennis player, Wimbledon and French Open finalist, who became a nun.
- Joe Lando - actor, known for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
- Alison LaPlaca - actress, known for sitcoms Duet and The John Larroquette Show.
- Drew Mormino - NFL football player for the Miami Dolphins.
- Ted Musgrave - professional race car driver.
- Matt O'Dwyer - NFL offensive guard for the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals.
- Danny Richmond - professional ice hockey defenseman.
- Rex Ryan - analyst at ESPN.
- Rob Ryan - NFL football coach.
- Lisa Wang - rhythmic gymnast, winner of the 2007 Pan Am Games.
- Andy Wozniewski - professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
References
External links
- Official Website
- Clubs and Activities at Stevenson High School