Oak Lawn Community High School Explained
| Oak Lawn Community High School |
| Streetaddress: | 9400 Southwest Highway |
| Zipcode: | 60453 |
| Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 41.7216°N -87.7677°W |
| District: | Oak Lawn Comm. HS 229 |
| Superintendent: | Dr. Shahe Bagdasarian[1] |
| Principal: | Dr. Lauren May |
| Ratio: | 17.77 |
| Teaching Staff: | 102.59 (FTE) |
| Grade11: | 449 students |
| Grade12: | 485 students |
| Avg Class Size: | 24[2] |
| Act: | 20.2 |
| Campus Type: | Suburban |
| Conference: | South Suburban Conference[3] |
| Mascot: | Sparty the Spartan |
| Yearbook: | Shield[4] |
| Newspaper: | Spartanite |
| Opened: | 1952 |
| Grade9: | 437 students |
| Grade10: | 444 students |
| Enrollment: | 1,815 (2020–21)[5] |
| Homepage: | http://www.olchs.org |
Oak Lawn Community High School, is a public four-year high school in Oak Lawn, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. The name "Spartans" and the colors Kelly Green and White were chosen by a committee in tribute to the Michigan State University Spartans, who won the Rose Bowl in 1954.
The school, as a part of Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, serves sections of Oak Lawn, Bridgeview, Chicago Ridge, and Hometown.[6]
Academics
In 2009, OLCHS had an average composite ACT score of 20.2, and graduated 91.6% of its senior class. The school has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which is the state assessment used to fulfill mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Overall, the school failed to meet minimum standards in reading and mathematics, in addition to having two student subgroups fail to meet expectations in reading, and one subgroup fail to meet expectations in mathematics.
Athletics and Clubs
Oak Lawn competes in the South Suburban Conference (SSC) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA); the organization which governs most sports and competitive activities for high schools in the state. Teams are stylized as the Spartans.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball, bowling, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, track & field, volleyball, speech, and theater.[7] Young men may compete in baseball, football, and wrestling, while young women may compete in badminton, cheerleading, golf, softball, and tennis. There is also a coed bass fishing team. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a poms team for young women.
The following teams have won or placed top four at their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meet:[8]
- Basketball (Boys): 2nd Place (1970–71)[9]
- Badminton (Girls): 2nd Place (1976–77)[10]
- Drama: State Champions (2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2020–21); 2nd Place (1958–59, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2016–17); 3rd Place (2006–07, 2015–16, 2018–19); 4th Place (2017–18)[11]
- Group Interpretation: State Champions (2003–04, 2007—08, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018—2019, 2020–21); 3rd Place (2005–06); 4th Place (2002—03, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2021–22)[11]
- Speech: State Champions (2009–10); 2nd Place (2011–12, 2022–23); 3rd Place (1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02) 4th Place (1999–00, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2015–16)[12]
- Volleyball (Boys): State Champions (1993–94); 4th Place (1992–93)[13]
- Volleyball (Girls): 2nd Place (1976–77)[14]
- Wrestling (Boys): 2nd Place (1958–59, 1973–74)[15]
The Oak Lawn Community High School Spartans currently play their home games at Napleton Field.
Notable alumni
- Benn Jordan, musician known as "The Flashbulb".
- C. J. Kupec, former basketball player who played for the University of Michigan and professionally in the NBA (1975–78); he was honored as one of "100 Legends" of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.[16] [17]
- Steve "Fuzz" Kmak, former bassist for the heavy metal band Disturbed
- Rob Mackowiak, Major League Baseball player who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, and Washington Nationals.[18]
- Tim Purpura, former general manager of the baseball team Houston Astros (2004–07).[19]
- William A. Reiners, ecologist[20]
- Numayr Sweis, former amateur wrestler known as "Traffic Jam Sweis". He was inducted into the 2023 First Bank[21] Wrestling Hall of Fame.
- Dave Wills, sportscaster who the radio voice of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays from 2005 until his death in 2023.[22]
- Peter Crombie, actor
- Jeff Rowe, Director The Mitchells vs. the Machines
- Mary "Kitty" Menendez was Miss Oak Lawn 1962 and also the victim and mother of notorious brothers and killers Erik and Lyle Menendez, whose crimes were highly publicized in 1989.
- Web site: District/School Administrators. directory. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. November 18, 2009.
- Web site: Illinois District Report Card. Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 2009. November 18, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110727142412/https://www.olchs.org/assets/publicrelations/School-Report-Card-2009.pdf. July 27, 2011.
- Web site: Oak Lawn (Community). Illinois High School Association (IHSA). November 17, 2009. November 18, 2009.
- Web site: Activities. directory. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. November 18, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100128222334/http://www.olchs.org/activities/index.asp. January 28, 2010.
- Web site: Oak Lawn Comm High School. National Center for Education Statistics. July 14, 2022.
- "District Boundaries." Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. Retrieved on January 18, 2017.
- Web site: Athletic Teams. directory. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. November 18, 2009.
- Web site: School Directory | IHSA .
- Web site: Records & History .
- Web site: Records & History .
- Web site: Records & History .
- Web site: Records & History .
- Web site: Records & History .
- Web site: Records & History .
- Web site: Records & History .
- http://www.ihsa.org/announce/2005-06/060412.htm IHSA Announces 100 Legends of Boys Basketball Tournament; 12 April 2006; accessed 1 January 2009
- https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kupeccj01.html C.J. Kupec stats & bio; basketball-reference.com; accessed 1 January 2009
- News: Vorva. Jeff. Baseball's Winter Meetings. Beacon News. Aurora, Illinois, USA. December 9, 2005. November 18, 2009. Thursday, the (White) Sox acquired Mackowiak, who attended Oak Lawn High School and South Suburban College, from the Pittsburgh Pirates for relief pitcher Damaso Marte..
- Web site: Timothy G. Purpura – Alumni Hall of Fame. biographic sketch. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. 2005. April 29, 2022.
- Web site: William A. Reiners – Alumni Hall of Fame. biographic sketch. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. 2015. April 29, 2022.
- Web site: Home . 2023-12-20 . www.first.bank . en.
- News: EC alum, Dave Wills, looking forward to ninth season behind Tampa Bay microphone . March 1, 2019 . The Leader . March 3, 2013.
Notable faculty
