Eisenhower High School (Blue Island, Illinois)
Encyclopedia
Dwight D. Eisenhower High School (Eisenhower, DDE, EHS or Ike) is a public four-year high school
located in Blue Island, Illinois
, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States
. It is part of Community High School District 218
along with sister schools Alan B. Shepard High School
and Harold L. Richards High School
.
Eisenhower is a diverse school with a balanced student body of Caucasian, Hispanic and African-American students. Eisenhower serves students from the communities of Blue Island, Calumet Park
, Robbins
, Alsip
, Merrionette Park
and Garden Homes.
, which was established in 1927. Blue Island Community High School was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (now North Central Association - Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement) in 1899. As president of Columbia University
, Eisenhower
was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the current facility on Sacramento Ave. in 1951, and the building was renamed in his honor in 1962.
(SSC) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association
(IHSA), the association which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Cardinals.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball
, bowling
, cross country
, soccer, swimming & diving
, tennis
, track & field, and volleyball
. Young men may compete in baseball
, football
, wrestling
while young women may compete in softball
. There is also a coed golf
team. The school's athletic department supports the district teams which compete in the Special Olympics
.
The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments or meets:
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Blue Island, Illinois
Blue Island, Illinois
Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...
, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of Community High School District 218
Community High School District 218
The Community High School District 218 is a public high school district with offices in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The district enrollment is 5,329 students in six high schools and one alternative high school. The district superintendent is John Byrne.-Schools:...
along with sister schools Alan B. Shepard High School
Alan B. Shepard High School
Alan B. Shepard High School is a public secondary school located in Palos Heights, Illinois. The school, along with Dwight D. Eisenhower High School and Harold L. Richards High School are part of Community High School District 218. Students who attend the school live in the communities of Palos...
and Harold L. Richards High School
Harold L. Richards High School
Harold L. Richards High School is a co-ed public high school located in Oak Lawn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and is a member of Illinois school district 218. The current enrollment is over 1,876 students. The school mascot is the bulldog. The school colors are Gold, Black, and White...
.
Eisenhower is a diverse school with a balanced student body of Caucasian, Hispanic and African-American students. Eisenhower serves students from the communities of Blue Island, Calumet Park
Calumet Park, Illinois
Calumet Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 8,516 at the 2000 census.On May 13, 2010 Mayor Joseph DuPar and the Village Board approved renaming 127th Street as Obama Drive, in honor of the 44th President of the United States...
, Robbins
Robbins, Illinois
Robbins is a village in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 6,635 at the 2000 census. Irene H. Brodie is the current mayor of the city.-Demographics:...
, Alsip
Alsip, Illinois
Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,725 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Chicago.Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank Alsip, the owner of a brickyard that opened there in 1885...
, Merrionette Park
Merrionette Park, Illinois
Merrionette Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,999 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Merrionette Park is located at ....
and Garden Homes.
History
Dwight D. Eisenhower High School was founded as Blue Island Community High School in 1897 and as such was the first constituent educational institution that today comprises Community High School District 218Community High School District 218
The Community High School District 218 is a public high school district with offices in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The district enrollment is 5,329 students in six high schools and one alternative high school. The district superintendent is John Byrne.-Schools:...
, which was established in 1927. Blue Island Community High School was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (now North Central Association - Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement) in 1899. As president of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the current facility on Sacramento Ave. in 1951, and the building was renamed in his honor in 1962.
Athletics
Eisenhower competes in the South Suburban ConferenceSouth Suburban Conference (Illinois)
The South Suburban Conference is a high school athletic and activity conference which comprises fourteen schools located in the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois....
(SSC) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
(IHSA), the association which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Cardinals.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, soccer, swimming & diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track & field, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. Young men may compete in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
while young women may compete in softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
. There is also a coed golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
team. The school's athletic department supports the district teams which compete in the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
.
The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments or meets:
- Tennis (boys): 3rd place (1952–53); State Champions (1949–50)
- Track & Field (boys): 4th place (1955–56, 85–86); 3rd place (1944–45); 2nd place (1980–81); State Champions (1954–55)
- Track & Field (girls): 4th place (1987–88)
- Wrestling: 3rd place (1955–56)
Activities
- Marching BandMarching bandMarching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
- Concert BandConcert bandA concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
- Symphonic Band
- Jazz Band
- Show choirShow choirA show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story.-History:...
- ChoirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
- Cardinal Dance Team (Nationally Ranked 5-time State Champions)
- Student CouncilStudent councilStudent council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
- Mathletes
- Drama Club
- Art Club
- School Newspaper
- National Honor SocietyNational Honor SocietyThe National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
(NHS) - Chess Club
- YearbookYearbookA yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
- Spanish Club
- Science Club
- Bilingual Club
- French Club
- Speech Team
- Gay-straight allianceGay-straight allianceGay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
- Drill TeamDrill teamA drill team can be one of four different entities:# A Military Drill Team is marching unit that performs routines based on military drill. Military drill teams perform either armed or unarmed....
- Color Guard
- Leo Club
- Quill and Scroll
- ASPCA
- Key Club
Notable alumni
- Don KollowayDon KollowayDonald Martin Kolloway , was a Major League Baseball player who played 12 years as an infielder for the Chicago White Sox , Detroit Tigers , and Philadelphia Athletics .Raised on Chicago's south side, he debuted with the White Sox in 1940...
was a Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
infielderInfielderAn infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
(1940–43, 46–53), playing most of his career with the Chicago White SoxChicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. - Willie MayWillie MayWillie May is a retired American hurdler.He won the silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. May ran 13.99 in that race and was beaten by Lee Calhoun, another American, who ran 13.98....
is a former hurdlerHurdlingHurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
who won a silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles at the 1960 Summer OlympicsAthletics at the 1960 Summer OlympicsAt the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, 34 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 10 by women. There were a total number of 1016 participating athletes from 73 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-Records broken:...
. - Douglas A. Melton is the co-director of the Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Stem Cell Institute. He was listed as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world (2007 & 2009). - Rick RizzsRick RizzsRick Rizzs is an American sportscaster and is the lead radio voice for Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners.-Early life and career:Rizzs is a 1975 graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. From 1975 to 1980, he handled baseball play-by-play duties at the double-A level for...
is a sportscasterSportscasterIn sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, best known for this time with the Seattle MarinersSeattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
. - Robert ThompsonRobert Thompson (American football)Robert Thompson is a retired American football linebacker. He played for the University of Michigan from 1979 to 1982 and in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.-Early years:...
, American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebackerLinebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...