- Hinsdale Central High School, or HCHS (locally referred to as "Central" and formerly Hinsdale Township High School or HTHS) is a public four-year high school located at the corner of W. 55th St. and S. Grant St. in Hinsdale, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded in 1879, the school is well known for its large spending per student, academic excellence, and athletic programs. It is part of Hinsdale Township High School District No. 86, which also includes Hinsdale South High School. The school is 17 miles west of Chicago and serves a suburban residential area of approximately 35,000 people. The Central campus draws its students from the communities of Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Oak Brook, and portions of Burr Ridge, Willowbrook and Westmont.
- The full, technical name of the school (that appears on transcripts and other official documents) is Hinsdale Township High School Central and is often abbreviated Hinsdale TWP HS Central.
- History
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- Hinsdale High School was established in 1879 when community members began to see the need for education beyond eighth grade for their children. The first students, Alice Warren, Minnie Hinds, Grace Redfield, and Florence Webster graduated in 1883. In this period, there were five teachers, including the principal, teaching about 120 students in grades 1 - 12. All twelve grades shared the ca. 1866 schoolhouse at Garfield and Third Streets, built by William Robbins to serve the community he was developing.
- In 1894 the school building burned, and was replaced by a new building on the same site. In 1911 the school district was reorganized, and the school became officially known as Hinsdale Township High School. In 1916 a new school building was completed nearby.
- By the 1930s, a site for a new school to serve the growing community was purchased south of town at the corner of 55th & Grant Streets. Though a new football field was dedicated here in 1932, Depression and World War II constraints postponed construction until 1948. The current high school building was dedicated in 1950.
- By the 1960s, two additional school sites were purchased. Hinsdale South High School opened in 1965 a the corner of Clarendon Hills Road and 75th Street in Darien. It was then that the word "Central" was added to the name of the school. The other property at the corner of Midwest Road and 31st Street in Oak Brook, for a potential Hinsdale North High School, was later determined to be not needed, and was sold. This property now forms part of the Trinity Lakes Subdivision.
- In 2004, the school underwent additional construction to alleviate crowded hallways and rebuild deteriorating parts of the building. The reconstruction included a new 5 million dollar library, extended cafeteria, and connected hallways greatly opening up the campus and improving the flow of traffic.
- During the years 2000-2004 two female students were sexually assaulted by the men's basketball coach and science teacher Robert Mueller. He is now serving 32 years in prison for eight counts of criminal sexual assault. The two girls testified to having consensual sex with Mueller.
- In 2007, it was the only high school in the country to be nominated as a Character Counts school and was named Character Counts School of the Year
- Academics
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- The Class of 2008 scored an average composite score of 25.5 on the ACT examination, and graduated 97.6% of the class.
- Technology in the classroom
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In recent years the administration has moved towards integrating technology into the daily life of the school. A so-called "Tablet Initiative" attempted to have every freshman from the class of 2009 purchase a tablet PC for use in classes. However, this initiative was met with poor enthusiasm, fewer than 10 notebooks were sold.
- Grade notification, attendance, discipline records, schedules,and registration information are now available online. Hinsdale Central has integrated their server with Microsoft's SharePoint Services solution as opposed to their original use of Blackboard in the 2003-2004 school year. Students and faculty members are also given a school email, running Microsoft Exchange Servers.
- The school currently provides all teachers with Tablet PCs, and the school is fully equipped with wireless internet technologies. Tablet PC carts and desktop PC workstations are also available to students. Also, students at Hinsdale Central are allowed the option of bringing a laptop computer, tablet PC, or personal digital assistant for note taking and word processing in class.
- Hinsdale Central has a fully equipped and operating radio room which powers its own radio station, WHSD 88.5 FM. This station is also operated by Hinsdale Central's sister school, Hinsdale South High School.
- Social Security leak
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- In the 2004-2005 school year, two students gained unauthorized access to the school's server and obtained the Social Security numbers of the student body and faculty.
- Student life
- Athletics
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Hinsdale Central competes in the West Suburban Conference and is a member school in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. Its teams are stylized as the Red Devils.
- The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in: basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.
- Hinsdale Central has finished in the top four of the following IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments or meets:
- In the 2006-07 season, the girls lacrosse team won the state championship. In 2007-08 the girls lacrosse team finished 3rd in state.
- The boys gymnastics team's 33 top ten finishes and nine state titles is the state record.
- The boys tennis team's 57 top ten finishes and 19 state championships is the state record. The girls tennis team's 33 top ten finishes is the second highest total in state history, though their 11 state titles is the state record.
- The boys swimming & diving team's 44 top ten finishes and 17 state titles is the second highest totals in state history. The girls swimming & diving team, similarly, is second in state history with 27 top ten finishes and 7 state championships.
- The boys hockey team made it to the frozen four in 2009.
- Activities
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The school offers more than fifty clubs, including community service organizations, academic competition teams, foreign language groups, and special interest clubs. Many clubs have won local and state awards and competitions.
- The following IHSA sponsored competitive activities have finished in the top 4 of their respective state tournament:
- Chess: State Champions (1972–73)
- Individual Events: 3rd place (2007–08)
- Scholastic Bowl: 2nd place (1997–98, 2001–02); State Champions (1991–92)
- Notable alumni
- Kirk Dillard (class of 1973) is an Illinois State Senator (1994–present).
- Leslie Hindman is a nationally renown auctioneer and founder of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
- Dennis Keller founded the Keller Graduate School of Management, now a part of the DeVry Institute.
- John Kinsella was an Olympic swimmer, winning a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics and a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics. He is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
- Ben Murphy is an actor best known for his work in television.
- John Murphy was a swimmer at the 1972 Olympics.
- Joseph Nechvatal (class of 1969) is a visual artist.
- Robert Nieman (class of 1966) was a three–time Olympic Modern pentathlon athlete.
- Cathy Richardson (class of 1986) is an actress, singer, songwriter.
- Marty Riessen (class of 1960) was a professional tennis player. He was a five–time member of the United States Davis Cup team.
- Bill Veeck (attended Hinsdale Central, but transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy) was a Major League Baseball team executive and owner. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
- Citations
- Baaken, Timothy. HINSDALE. Hinsdale, Ill.: Hinsdale Doings, 1976.
- Dugan, Hugh. VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE. Privately Printed, 1949.
- Sterling, Tom, and Mary Sterling. HINSDALE AND THE WORLD. Hinsdale, Ill.: Sterling Books, 19
- External links
- Official Website
- School Profile & Reviews on GreatSchools.net
- 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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