St. Charles North High School

Saint Charles North High School
Location
255 Red Gate Road
St. Charles, Illinois
USA
Coordinates 41°56′56″N 88°19′15″W / 41.94889°N 88.32073°W / 41.94889; -88.32073Coordinates: 41°56′56″N 88°19′15″W / 41.94889°N 88.32073°W / 41.94889; -88.32073
Information
Type Public primary
Principal Audra Christenson
Faculty 420
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 2,169
Color(s) Blue, Silver, Black
Mascot Polaris
Yearbook Varies
Website

Saint Charles North (SCN) High School is a public four-year high school, located in St. Charles, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community Unit School District 303 which also includes Saint Charles East High School.

History

Originally, the main campus was built in 1995 by Hestrup & Associates as Wredling Middle School with a capacity of expanded and converted into a high school in 2000 at a cost of $41,600,000.

In the spring of 2001, a serious mold problem was discovered at St. Charles East. and was determined to be the source of some student illnesses.[1] As a result, East students received an extra two weeks of spring break while school board officials decided on the best recourse. For the rest of the 2000-2001 school year, St. Charles East shared a split-schedule with St. Charles North. East students attended class at the North campus during the morning while North students had class during the afternoon. After repairs, which totaled nearly $30 million dollars,[2] classes resumed their normal locations and schedules the following school year.

In November, 2010, St. Charles North was featured in newspapers and newscasts nationwide after at least three students at the school demonstrated their own view on homosexuality by wearing t-shirts that said “Straight Pride” on the front and referencing a Biblical verse from Leviticus on the back. The verse advocates death as punishment for homosexual activity.[3]

Referendums

In recent years many referendums have been presented to residents of Community Unit School District 303. As can be seen on their site the D303 operates on a budget of $134,000,000. Referendums for this school had been ongoing since March 2002 when at the time superintendent Francis J. Kostel proposed with the school board a series of referendums to raise tax money. In 2004, the school board posted a list that even showed the programs that could no longer be paid for by the school district if a referendum wasn't passed. This led to a student rally on the St. Charles bridge with signs in support of the 2004 referendum. Of the four referendums presented since 2002, only one has passed.

Amenities

The 345,000-square-foot (32,100 m2) school is equipped with:[4]

Academics

In 2006, Saint Charles North had an average composite ACT score of 22.6 and graduated 100% of its senior class.[5] Saint Charles North has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test which is mandatory under the No Child Left Behind Act.

St. Charles North High School offers the following Advanced Placement Program courses:

Currently, St. Charles North is undergoing curriculum renewal and redesign in partnership with the Illinois Math and Science Academy along with Brown University. The average class size is 22.8.[5]

Fifty St. Charles North students were recently named AP Scholars for their exceptional performance on the AP tests administered in May 2006.[6]

In the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program, St. Charles North was represented by two finalists: Alison J. Conn and Raymond H. Hsu.[7] Hsu, the valedictorian[8] for the Class of 2007, and Conn went on to win National Merit Scholarships.[9] The following year, St. Charles North once again boasted two finalists (Patrick Eschenfeldt and Katharine Fragoso)[10] and one winner (Eschenfeldt).[11]

Athletics

Saint Charles North has 35 athletic teams, of which 18 are for boys and 17 are for girls, which compete in the Upstate Eight Conference of the Illinois High School Association. Saint Charles North's teams are dubbed the "North Stars".

In 2010, St. Charles North was awarded a Blue Ribbon, which honors schools that have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students.

Activities

Saint Charles North offers over fifty clubs & activities.

  • Peer Tutoring
  • Blue Fan Group
  • Photo Club
  • Scholastic Bowl
  • R.E.A.C.H. (Realizing Everyone and Anyone Can Help)
  • School Store
  • Service-Learning Club
  • Spanish National Honor Society
  • Speech Team
  • Sports Medicine
  • Student Council (North Star Council)
  • Student Outreach Society
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee Club
  • T.E.A.M. Polaris
  • Tech Crew
  • Theater
  • Yearbook (Polaris)

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ School Districts Scramble to Rid Buildings of Mold
  2. ↑ BBC News: Fighting mould(sic) the US way
  3. ↑ Fuller, James (11 November 2010). "'Straight Pride' shirts become free speech fight at St. Charles North". Daily Herald. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  4. ↑ School Designs
  5. 1 2 In 2010, St. Charles North High School was nominated for the blue ribbon award; an educational award given to outstanding schools. Illinois School Report Card
  6. ↑ Eighty-one D303 high school students earn AP Scholars honors
  7. ↑ Chicago Sun-Times: Semifinalists vie for scholarships
  8. ↑ The Examiner of St. Charles
  9. ↑ Chicago Sun-Times: National merit scholars' names
  10. ↑ Student Scholars Excel on National Level
  11. ↑ National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners announced
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