- Albert G. Lane Technical College Preparatory High School (also known as Lane Tech), is a public, four-year, magnet high school located on the northwest side of Chicago. Lane is one of the oldest schools in the city and has an enrollment of over four thousand students.
- Lane is a selective-enrollment-based school in which students must take a test and pass a certain benchmark in order to be offered admission.
[ As a result of consistent victories in the fields of sports and academics, the school is known as the "School of Champions".][ Lane has also produced more Ph.D. holders than any other high school in the country.] - Since Lane is one of nine selective enrollment schools in Chicago, most students have to commute to Lane. As a result, Lane is a diverse school with many of its students coming from different ethnicities and economic backgrounds which helps enrich the school's student body.
- School history
- Founding
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The school is named after Albert Grannis Lane, a former principal and superintendent. Lane school was founded in 1908 and dedicated on Washington's birthday in 1909 as the Albert Grannis Lane Manual Training High School.
- By the 1930s, Lane had a student population of over 7,000. Since the school's building was not originally planned for such a huge student population, plans for a new school were drawn up by Board of Education architect John C. Christensen. Upon the school’s completion at its new location, over 9,000 students marched from Wrigley Field on its dedication day September 17, 1934. Lane's huge student body necessitated that classes be held in three shifts.
[ In the same year the school changed its name to the Albert Grannis Lane Technical High School to reflect the school's expanding curriculum. In the 2004 the school again changed its name to Lane Technical College Prep High School to reflect a college preparatory mandate.]- Contribution to World War II
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During World War II, Lane Tech students ran drives to aid in the war effort. The drives generated over $3 million in war bonds, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and four Red Cross ambulances.
- Student admission during the Cold War
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Lane adopted a closed admission policy in 1958 on the school's 50th anniversary. All remedial classes were eliminated and only top tier students were admitted to the school. This coincided with the beginning of the space race between the United States and the USSR. Lane changed its educational policy to help ensure that the United States would not fall behind the Soviets in science and technology.
- Admission of female students
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In 1971, changes were made to the admission policy due to a drop in enrollment and lack of technical schools for girls. To solve the issue, Superintendent James Redmond recommended that girls be admitted to Lane Tech. The Chicago Board of Education concurred and girls were admitted as students for the first time. Due to a fear of having a drop in academic achievement, fifteen hundred male students protested the admission but the decision was not changed.
- Campus
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Lane Tech is located on a campus at the intersection of Addison and Western. The main building is similar to an A-shape and consists of four floors and a greenhouse as the fifth floor. Some unique features of the main building includes a clock tower and a smoke stack.
- Several fast food chains, restaurants, supermarkets, and specialty stores are located around the Lane Tech campus. The school is one of only three Chicago Public Schools that allows off-campus lunch.
- Lane Stadium
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During the spring 2007 season, Chicago city building inspectors declared Lane Stadium unsafe and condemned the eastern half of the stadium. The age of the stadium and the fact it was built on landfill raised concerns that using the stadium to full capacity would cause a structural collapse. Events affected were the 2007, 2008, and 2009 graduating class ceremony (moved to the UIC Pavilion located at the University of Illinois at Chicago), the annual Letterman versus Faculty Softball game, the annual Memorial Day assembly, and the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Pep Rally.
- Lane Stadium reopened September 7, 2007 with a new turf field. The stadium also features a new IHSA regulation track.
- Memorial Garden
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The Lane Tech Memorial Garden is located in the inner courtyard of the building and is dedicated to graduates who have lost their lives in defense of our country. At the east end of the formal garden is a bronze statue of a young Native American, created by the artist, J. Sazton. It is called, "Shooting the Stars" and it symbolically urges students to set their sights on lofty goals.
- At the west end of the Memorial Garden is the Ramo I. Zenkich Memorial, consisting of a flag pole and granite monument inscribed with the names of the students from Lane Tech who lost their lives in the Vietnam conflict.
- The Memorial Garden was rededicated in 1995. During the school’s 90th anniversary celebration in 1998, a commemorative plaque was placed near the “Shooting the Stars” statue. It explains the significance of the Memorial Garden to Lane Tech and its students.
- Academic programs
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Lane regular school day operates from 8:00 AM to 2:55 PM with seven periods of classes and one period of lunch. Students may enter the school at 7 for breakfast and other school related activities with teachers, as well as tutoring.
- Lane offers six concentrations for students to choose from: Honors, Core, Technology, Architecture/Engineering, Art, and Music. A recently new circulum: The AlphaProgram, is also available. It is an intermediate curriculum between the Honors Level and AP Level. To enter this program, a student is required to score in the 95% and higher in Math, Science and Reading. Lane Tech's A.P Photography classes are well known, winning state level competition at least 2 times a year. Education To Careers (ETC) programs are offered in automotive mechanics, machines, electronics, computers, radio-TV, theater technology, architectural drafting, computer aided drafting, art, accounting and music.
- Honor level courses are offered to qualified students. Advanced Placement (AP) courses are available in English, history, math, science, art, music, computer science and world languages.
- Other programs include the Honors Alpha Program, a hands-on, multi-disciplinary study of the sciences for students interested in scientific research. Students of the program learn at an accelerated pace compared to regular and honors classes and may receive more class credits
- Students can also replace their normal physical education classes with a class in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC). The program sponsors the Proctors Club, Color Guard, Honor Guard, Drill Platoon, Drum & Bugle Corps, and Raiders of Lane.
- Lane has a 85.4% graduation rate and scored 82.5% on the Prairie State Achievement Exam
- Athletics
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Lane offers many sports including, but not limited to baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross-country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling, and water polo.
- Lane garners, on average, 7-10 city-championships per year and has won 16 state championships since 1908 giving its nickname of "The School of Champions". Numerous Lane Tech athletes have competed beyond the high school level and achieved success at the college level and beyond.
- School traditions
- Events
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Several school events are held throughout the school year at Lane.
- Spirit Week: Events held during the week preceding Homecoming. Generally includes dress up days to encourage school spirit ending with homecoming.
- Homecoming: The school's annual Pep Rally, Football Game, and Homecoming Dance
- Turkey Bowl: Annual Letterman (Students) versus Staff Football Game prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday
- Christmas Concert: Annual concert prior to the Christmas Holiday
- Memorial Day Observation: Annual gathering of students to honor the fallen and veterans of the United States. Lane is the only school in Illinois to have a memorial day rally.
- International Days: Annual festival celebrating the diversity at Lane and the various cultures around the world through ethnic dances and food.
- Softball Game: Annual Letterman versus Staff softball game
- School Song
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The school song "Go, Lane, Go" was written in 1915 by a student named Jack T. Nelson. The song was first played during the pep rally and was met with great enthusiasm. Lane was one of only a few schools at the time to have an original school song.
[ The song is played daily before the National Anthem and also serves as a warning to students that classes will start soon.]- Alumni Association
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The Lane Tech Alumni Association was established through the efforts of the January and June classes of 1932 and their involvement in the school's Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1983. The organization grew and was incorporated in 1986. Its purpose is to promote and enhance the reputation of Lane Tech, to provide scholarships, to assist and meet with Lane Tech students in preparing them for higher education and life after graduation, to disseminate and publish information regarding the graduates' accomplishments, to preserve the history of Lane, and to foster a closer fellowship among the graduates.
- The Lane Tech Alumni Association hosts Events, Reunion Information, and works to help all Lane Tech Alumni Advance and stay connected to each other.
- Notable alumni include
- Colette Marino: Singer, DJ
- Tony Alcantar: actor
- Jim Ascot: Congressional candidate in Illinois's 7th District and president of Ascot Realty Group.
- Leonard Baldy: Highly decorated Chicago Police officer and Radio Traffic Reporter
- Rachel Barton Pine: famous violinist (Honorary Alumnus)
- Bill Fischer: College Football Hall of Famer
- Rod Blagojevich: former governor of Illinois who attended Lane for two years before graduating from Foreman High School
- Cyron Brown, NFL and AFL player
- Louis Carr (Class of 1974): BET account executive
- Phil Cavarretta: baseball player for 22 years, played for and managed the Chicago Cubs
- Frank Dasso, Cincinnati Reds pitcher.
- Anna Davlantes: News anchor at WMAQ-TV Chicago
- Ron Gora: six-time state swimming champion and 1952 Olympian
- Bato Govedarica: 1946 All-State basketball player, played at DePaul and in the NBA
- Seymour Greenberg: a top 10 US tennis player
- Jason Hengels: Director of Security, CyberSource Corporation
- John Komlos: Economist, University of Munich, Germany. Graduated from Lane in 1963.
- Frankie Laine: singer
- Justina Machado: actress, played "Vanessa Diaz" on HBO's Six Feet Under
- Frank Matarrese: 1973 BBC Journalist; MBA.
- Kevin Moyers: Writer of the comic book Scorn and star of many independent films including the international release SportKill
- Ken Nordine: American voiceover and recording artist best known for his series of Word Jazz albums.
- John Podesta: President Clinton's chief of staff.
- Fritz Pollard: All-America football player
[ ] and Hall of Fame NFL coach.[http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=242]
- Marty Robinson: 16-time Emmy Award-winning and Peabody Award- winning announcer at WTTW-TV and WFMT-FM
- Sherwood Rosenberg: co-founder, The International House of Pancakes
- Genndy Tartakovsky: Animator, created Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars. Winner of 3 Primetime Emmys
- Dick Triptow: NBL and NBA player
- Tung Thanh Tran: Supporting Actor of Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
- Johnny Weismuller: Olympic swimmer, 5 time gold medal winner and free-style world record holder, best known for portraying "Tarzan the Ape Man" in the MGM film series 1932-1942
- Steve Wilkos: Talk show host and bodyguard of the Jerry Springer show
- Adrian Zmed: Host of Dance Fever
- Movie filming
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Lane has been the site of various filming locations. The movie The Express, starring Dennis Quaid, was filmed during the 2006-2007 school year in Lane Tech stadium.
- External links
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- Official websites
- Lane Tech Website
- The Warrior, the school newspaper
- CPS High School Information Directory
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- Alumni
- Lane Tech Alumni Association Homepage
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- Sports
- IHSFW.com's Lane Tech Football page
- Lane Tech Football Booster Club featuring NFL hall of Fame player Fritz Pollard
- Lane Tech Sports Fan Site
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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