Oak Lawn Community High School

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 Green and White were chosen by a committee in tribute to the Michigan State University Spartans, who won the Rose Bowl in 1954.

Oak Lawn Community High School
Address
9400 Southwest Highway Oak Lawn , Illinois 60453 United States
Coordinates	41.7216°N 87.7677°W
Information
School type	public secondary
Opened	1952
School district	Oak Lawn Comm. HS 229
Superintendent	Michael Riordan[1]
Principal	Jeana Lietz [1]
Teaching staff	102.59 (FTE)[2]
Grades	9–12
Gender	coed
Enrollment	1,823 (2017–18)[2]
Average class size	20.1[3]
Student to teacher ratio	17.77[2]
Campus type	suburban
Color(s)	kelly green   white[4]
Athletics conference	South Suburban Conference[4]
Mascot	Spartan
Nickname	Spartans[4]
Team name	Spartans
Newspaper	Spartanite[5]
Yearbook	Shield[5]
Website	http://www.olchs.org

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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3]

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, and Theater.[7] Young men may compete in baseball, football, and wrestling, while young women may compete in badminton, cheerleading, golf, softball, and tennis.[7] There is a coed bass fishing team.[7] While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a poms team for young women.[7]

The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meet:[8]

• Volleyball (Boys): State Champions(1993–94)
• Theater (GI): State Champions (2003–04)
• Theater (Drama): State Champions (2009–10)
• Theater (Drama): State Runner Up (2010–11)
• Theater (GI): State Champions (2010–11)
• Theater (Drama): State Champions (2011–12)
• Theater (Drama): State Champions (2012–13)
• Theater (GI): State Champions (2013–14)
• Speech: State Champions (2010)
• Speech: State Runner Up (2012)
• Theater (Drama): State Champions (2013–14)
• Theater (Drama): State Champions (2014–15)

The Oak Lawn Community High School Spartans currently play their home games at Napleton Field, not far from the Oak Lawn Community High School. Napleton Field on 9500 Southwest Highway was named in honor of Ed Napleton.[9]

Notable alumni

• Benn Jordan is a composer and recording artist known as The Flashbulb
• C. J. Kupec is a former forward/center who played for the University of Michigan and professionally in the NBA (1975–78); honored as one of "100 Legends" of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.[10][11]
• Steve Kmak is an ex-bassist for the group, Disturbed
• Rob Mackowiak is a Major League Baseball outfielder, currently playing for the Cincinnati Reds.[12]
• Tim Purpura is the former general manager of the Houston Astros (2004–07).[13]
• Dave Wills is a sportscaster who has been the radio voice of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since 2005.[14]

Notable faculty

• Edward Maloney, Illinois state senator (2003–2013).[15]

References

1. "District/School Administrators". directory. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
2. "Oak Lawn Comm High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
3. "Illinois District Report Card" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
4. "Oak Lawn (Community)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 17 November 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
5. "Activities". directory. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
6. "District Boundaries." Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. Retrieved on January 18, 2017.
7. "Athletic Teams". directory. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
8. "Season summaries for Oak Lawn (Community)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 16 November 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
9. Lawn, Ed Napleton Honda in Oak. "Oak Lawn dedicates field to Ed Napleton". www.ednapletonhonda.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
10. IHSA Announces 100 Legends of Boys Basketball Tournament; 12 April 2006; accessed 1 January 2009
11. C.J. Kupec stats & bio; basketball-reference.com; accessed 1 January 2009
12. Vorva, Jeff (9 December 2005). "Baseball's Winter Meetings". Beacon News. Aurora, Illinois, USA. Retrieved 18 November 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.
13. "Timothy G. Purpura - Alumni Hall of Fame". biographic sketch. Oak Lawn Community High School District 229. 2005. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
14. "EC alum, Dave Wills, looking forward to ninth season behind Tampa Bay microphone". The Leader. March 3, 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
15. "SENATOR EDWARD D. MALONEY NEWS". Illinois State Senate Democrats. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009. His professional experience includes being an assistant principal and dean of faculty at Brother Rice High School in Chicago ... and a teacher, counselor and administrator at Oak Lawn Community High School.