Thornton Fractional South High School
Thornton Fractional Township South High School (T.F. South, TF South, TFS) is a high school located in Suburban Cook County, Illinois, located 6 miles (9.7 km) from the city limits of Chicago. The school serves an area of approximately 9 square miles (23 km2), & serves over 2,000 students in grades 9-12 who reside in the near South Suburban communities of Lansing & Lynwood.
Thornton Fractional South High School | |
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Address | |
18500 Burnham Avenue , 60438 United States | |
Coordinates | 41.5594°N 87.5417°W |
Information | |
School type | public secondary |
Opened | 1957 |
Status | Opened |
School district | Thornton Fractional Twp. HS 215 |
Superintendent | Dr. Sophia Jones-Redmond[1] |
CEEB code | 142547[2] |
Principal | Mr. Jake Gourley [3] |
Faculty | 165[3] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | coed |
Enrollment | 1,740 (2016-17)[4] |
Average class size | 21.1[5] |
Campus type | suburban |
Color(s) | red gray[6] |
Athletics conference | South Suburban Conference[6] |
Team name | Rebels[6] |
Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[7] |
Publication | Rebel Ana[8] |
Newspaper | Rebel Rouser"[8] |
Yearbook | Postscript[8] |
Website | http://TFD215.org/South/ |
Foundation
Thornton Fractional South High School opened in 1958[9] and Thornton Fractional High School in Calumet City, which opened in 1926, was renamed to Thornton Fractional North High School. The school flag, a replica of the flag of the Confederacy of the United States,[10] was retired in 1993.[11] The Thornton Fractional Vocational Center, later renamed the Center for Academics and Technology was later built between the two high schools in Calumet City and opened for T.F. South and T.F. North students and has served many purposes, from being a freshman academy, to hosting AP courses for students from both campuses, to housing programs such as CAD, nursing, and culinary arts.
Academics
In 2010, District 215, T.F. South, T.F. North, and CAT, combined had an average composite ACT score of 18.7. Also in 2010, the total enrollment at T.F. South was 2,014 and graduated 93% of its senior class.[12] T.F. South has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, PSAE, a state test used in Illinois to fulfill the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[5] When comparing District 215's 2008–2009's PSAE scores to 2009–2010's scores, the scores have significantly gone down. Overall, the school has not met minimum expectations in mathematics and science. All three of the school's student subgroups failed to meet expectations in mathematics, and two of the three failed to meet expectations in reading.[5]
Athletics
T.F. South competes in the South Suburban Conference & is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the body that governs most sports & competitive activities in the state. All T.F. South's teams are known as the Rebels. Athletics director for The T.F. South Rebels is Marc Brewe.[13]
The football team twice reached the state semifinals (1994–95, 2002–03). In 2010, Varsity football was ranked # 57 in Illinois, the highest rank it has had since before 2007.[14] But in 2012, they were ranked #24 in Illinois finishing the season with a shared South Suburban Blue Conference championship (7–2) and 7 All-Conference selections. In 2011, Badminton was the SSC Conference team Champions. The badminton team also placed 2nd in the IHSA state finals in 2011.[15] Also during the 2010–2011 year, Girls' Cross-Country qualified for sectionals, with one runner awarded All-Conference.[15]
The athletic sports that T.F.South has to offer include Boys Golf, Girls Badminton, Baseball and Softball, Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Bowling, Boys and Girls Swimming, Football, Cheerleading, Boys and Girls Cross Country, Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys and Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Track and Field, Boys and Girls Volleyball, and Wrestling.[8]
Notable alumni
- Curtis Granderson - Major League Baseball player[16]
- Bruce Kingma - economist, professor, and former provost for entrepreneurship at Syracuse University; graduated from TFS in 1979
- Demetra Plakas - drummer for all-girl punk band L7 (band), graduated in 1982[17]
- Harry Smith - television journalist, best known for CBS's The Early Show and hosting A&E program Biography (1997–2002), currently with NBC[18]
- Pierre Thomas - NFL player, New Orleans Saints[19]
- Tom Baldwin - NFL player, New York Jets[20]
- Ken Kremer - NFL player, Kansas City Chiefs[21]
- Jim O'Heir[22] - actor best known for portraying Jerry Gergich in the television sitcom Parks and Recreation
References
- "Superintendent's Biography". www.tfd215.org. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- "Directory Staff". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "Thornton Fractnl So High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- "Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "IHSA information". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "Institution Summary for T. F. South High School". AdvancED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- "Clubs & Activities". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "History". www.tfd215.org.
- Masciotra, David. "My hometown Confederate war". Salon.com. Salon.com. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- CARREON, JOAN. "TF South retires Rebel flag".
- "School Report". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "Athletic & Activities Directors". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "High School Sports". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "TFS Student Achievement". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- "Curtis Granderson agrees to 1-yr, $5 million deal with Blue Jays".
- Dickinson, Chrissie. "L7 is, better late than never, getting respect".
- "Harry Smith". Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- Disabato, Pat. "T.F. South honors Curtis Granderson, Dave Smith and Pierre Thomas".
- "Ex-new York Jet Thomas Baldwin".
- 933-3232, Mike Nieto [email protected], (219). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: Kremer a success on and off the football field".CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Clark, Mike (April 16, 2008). "High School Spotlight: TF South". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 64.