Buffalo Grove High School
| Buffalo Grove High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
|
1100 W. Dundee Rd. Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089 United States | |
| Coordinates | 42°08′26″N 87°58′58″W / 42.1405°N 87.9829°W |
| Information | |
| School type | public secondary |
| Opened | 1973 |
| School district | Twp. H.S. District 214 |
| Superintendent | Dr. David Schuler[1] |
| Principal | Jeff Wardle[2] |
| Faculty | 149 certified staff members[3] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | coed |
| Enrollment | 2,161[4] |
| Average class size | 22.9[4] |
| Campus | suburban |
| School color(s) |
navy blue burnt orange white[5] |
| Athletics conference | Mid-Suburban League |
| Mascot | Bison[5] |
| Average ACT scores | 23.3[4] |
| Newspaper | The Charger[6] |
| Yearbook | Stampede[6] |
| Website | http://bghs.d214.org/ |
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Buffalo Grove High School (BGHS) is a public high school located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. It is one of six four-year comprehensive high schools in Township High School District 214, serving portions of the villages of Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights and Wheeling.
History
Buffalo Grove opened in 1973, drawing students and staff from Wheeling and John Hersey High Schools.
Dr. Clarence M. "Chick" Miller, formerly assistant principal at Wheeling High School, was named the school's first principal.
On March 12, 1976, President Gerald Ford, during his campaign against former California Governor Ronald Reagan, made a March primary appearance in the gymnasium of Buffalo Grove High School.
In 2003, new classrooms, a foyer, and offices opened as part of a six-million dollar new development. The "circle drive" on the west side of the school was greatly reduced in size to make room for the new classrooms and foyer. The new classrooms included new science labs and special-ed facilities. Additionally, room was made in old storage space on the second floor of the south side of the building for new foreign-language classrooms.
On August 27, 2004, the Bison hosted their first Friday night game under new lights at Bison Stadium. They were the final team in the Mid-Suburban League to switch from Saturday afternoons to Friday night games.
In the 2013-14 school year, a brand new eleven-million dollar swimming facility was put in.[7]
Academics
Buffalo Grove High School won a 1999–2000 Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence, presented by the United States Department of Education.[8]
In 2008, the average ACT score was 23.3, and 95.5% of the class of 2008 graduated on time. BGHS failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) according to the federal No Child Left Behind Act because of scores below the minimum target on the Prairie State Achievement Examination and ACT in two student subgroups.[4]
Athletics
A renovation of the school in 2014 added a multimillion-dollar pool area. Competitive teams from Buffalo Grove HS compete in the Mid-Suburban League (MSL). Buffalo Grove is also a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the governing body for most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in Illinois.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for boys and girls in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. Boys may compete in baseball, football, and wrestling. Girls may compete in badminton, bowling, and softball. In 2011 the school inducted a co-ed competitive cheerleading team to perform at athletic games and compete in the winter and spring.
The following teams have finished in the top four of eight respective IHSA sponsored state tournaments or meets:[9]
- Basketball (girls'): 4th place (1979–80); 3rd place (2007–08); State Champions (1999–2000)
- Bowling: 3rd place (1984–85)
- Football: 2nd place (1978–79); State Champions (1986–87)
- Gymnastics (girls'): 2nd place (1991–92, 1992–93, 93–94)
- Gymnastics (boys'): 8th place (2013)
- Soccer (boys'): 2nd place (2004–05); State Champions (1988–89)
- Soccer (girls'): 4th place (1992–93, 1994–95); 2nd place (1991–92)
- Volleyball (boys'): 4th place (1997–98, 2005–06); 2nd place (2007–08); 3rd place (2008–09 ; 5th place (2009–10)
- Competitive Co-Ed Cheerleading: State Champions (2014)
Activities
Buffalo Grove supports 47 student clubs and activities, an entire and updated list of which can be found at the school's website.[10] These include music, the arts, culture and language, social/political action, and student government. Buffalo Grove also has an excellent Speech and Debate team, boasting the 99th best Lincoln Douglas Debate team in the National Forensics League.
Among the clubs are chapters of these more nationally notable groups: NJROTC, SADD, Scholastic Bowl, Science Olympiad, and Mathletes.[11]
In March 2012, the Scholastic Bowl Team qualified for the IHSA State Meet in Peoria, Illinois by beating William Fremd High School in the Sectional Final at North Chicago High School. They were also the Regional Champions and MSL Conference Champions, beating Fremd in dramatic fashion 485-480.
Another prominent group at Buffalo Grove is its show choir, The Expressions. This mixed competition show choir is composed of 38 singer-dancers, 12 band members and 4 crew members.[12] Similar to the hit television show Glee, the group meets as a class as well as competes throughout the country at various show choir competitions. They attend the Dekalb Indiana Show Choir Invitational Competition, the Chicagoland Showcase Competition, and the Nashville Show Choir Nationals Competition.[12]
Notable alumni
- Tim Bogar — Major League Baseball infielder (1993–2001), playing most of his career for the New York Mets and Houston Astros, former interim manager Texas Rangers.[13]
- Zach Borenstein, professional baseball player[14]
- Melanie Chandra — actress, Code Black.
- Larry Doyle — comic writer who worked on The Simpsons (1997–2001). His first novel, Thurber Prize winning I Love You, Beth Cooper, is set at Buffalo Grove High School.[15][16]
- Lindsey Durlacher — Greco-Roman wrestler who competed for the United States.
- Brett Lebda — professional ice hockey defenseman, currently playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. He was a member of the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.[17][18]
- Mike Marshall — Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman (1981–91), playing most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a member of the 1988 World Series champions.[19]
- Brian McBride — professional soccer player, who was the first overall selection in the inaugural MLS draft in 1996, has since played in three FIFA World Cups for the US men's national soccer team[20][21][22]
- Josh Paul — Major League Baseball catcher (1999–2007), playing most of his career with the Chicago White Sox.[23]
- Jessy Schram — actress. Among her most notable roles are Hannah Griffith in Veronica Mars, Rachel Seybolt in Life, Karen in Falling Skies and Cinderella/Ashley Boyd in Once Upon a Time.
- Judd Sirott — radio broadcaster who has national experience broadcasting for the NHL, and more locally with the Chicago Wolves, Chicago Blackhawks, and on WGN (AM), where he works with the Chicago Cubs.[24][25][26]
- Don Thorp — defensive lineman in the NFL (1984, 87–88).[27]
- Tom Zbikowski — special teams in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, as well as professional boxer.[28]
References
- ↑ District 214 Superintendent's homepage; accessed June 15, 2009 Archived February 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ BGHS Administration; accessed June 15, 2009 Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Buffalo Grove High School Profile
- 1 2 3 4 Class of 2008 school report card; accessed June 15, 2009
- 1 2 emascot image = inickname = School info for BGHS; ihsa.org; accessed June 15, 2009
- 1 2 Activities List for BGHS; accessed June 15, 2009 Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Daily Herald | Electronic Archive". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ "''BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM – Schools Recognized – 1982–1983 Through 1999–2002''; United State Dept. of Education; p. 28; accessed June 15, 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ "IHSA season summaries for BGHS; ihsa.org; accessed June 15, 2009". Ihsa.org. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ↑ Student Activities at BGHS; accessed June 15, 2009 Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 "Buffalo Grove HS Choir". Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ↑ Tim Bogar stats & bio; baseballcube.com; accessed June 15, 2009
- ↑
- ↑ "Nuckols, Ben (AP); ''First-time novelist Larry Doyle is so immature, thank heavens''; July 19, 2007; ''Oakland Tribune''; accessed June 15, 2009". Findarticles.com. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ Budasi, Teresa (2008-08-20). "Budasi, Teresa; ''Buffalo Grove native a finalist for Thurber Prize''; August 20, 2008; ''Chicago Sun-Times''; accessed June 15, 2009". Blogs.suntimes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ Wilcox, George M.; BG native brings Stanley Cup to suburbs; August 28, 2008; Buffalo Grove Countryside
- ↑ "Wigge, Larry; ''Lebda steps in and steps up for ailing Ericsson''; May 28, 2009; nhl.com; accessed June 15, 2009". Nhl.com. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ Mike Marshall stats & bio; baseballcube.com; accessed June 15, 2009
- ↑ "Brian McBride player stats and bio; Chicago Fire Homepage; accessed June 15, 2009". Chicago.fire.mlsnet.com. 2004-01-13. Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ McGrath, Chris; Brian McBride: Strife of Brian; May 3, 2008; The Independent; accessed June 15, 2009
- ↑ Wilcox, George M.; McBride heading home, via China; August 7, 2008; Buffalo Grove Countryside accessed June 15, 2009
- ↑ Josh Pau stats & bio; baseballcube.com; accessed June 15, 2009
- ↑ Judd Sirott biography; wgnradio.com; accessed June 16, 2009
- ↑ Judd Sirott bio; Chicago Blackhawks homepage; accessed June 16, 2009 Archived December 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Judd Sirott Named Host of WGN Radio's Cubs Central Pregame; wgnradio.com; accessed June 16, 2009
- ↑ "Don Thorp stats & bio; databasefootball.com; accessed June 15, 2009". Databasefootball.com. 1962-10-07. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ "Tom Zbikowski stats & bio; databasefootball.com; accessed June 15, 2009". Databasefootball.com. 1985-05-22. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
External links
- Official Website
- School profile from the district website
- Windows Live Local satellite photo of school campus with labels