The Independent School League (ISL

ISL

There are several expansions of the abbreviation ISL:* International Sign Language* Formally,* Informally, ISL can refer to Irish Sign Language* More formally, ISL is the SIL code for Israeli Sign Language...

) is an athletic league comprising nine private

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

 secondary schools

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 in the Chicago metro area. All of the schools are also full members 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...

; the governing body for most high school athletics and competitive activities in the state. The schools are all relatively small, most belonging to the smaller classes of competition offered by the IHSA.

Members

School	Town	Team Name	Colors	IHSA 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...  Classes 2/3/4	Reference
Elgin Academy	Elgin Elgin, Illinois Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...	Hilltoppers		A/1A/1A
Francis W. Parker School Francis W. Parker School (Chicago) Francis W. Parker School is an independent day school serving students from junior kindergarten through grade twelve of high school. Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the school is based on the progressive educational philosophies of John Dewey and Colonel Francis Wayland Parker,...	Chicago	Colonels Colonel (United States) In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...		A/1A/2A
The Latin School The Latin School of Chicago The Latin School of Chicago is a private elementary, middle and high school in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery.- History :...	Chicago	Romans Roman army The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...		A/1A/2A
Morgan Park Academy Morgan Park Academy Morgan Park Academy is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent Pre-Kindergarten-12th grade day school located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1863, Morgan Park Academy was formerly known as Mt...	Chicago	Warriors		A/1A/1A
Northridge Prep	Niles Niles, Illinois Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....	Knights		A/1A/1A
North Shore Country Day School North Shore Country Day School North Shore Country Day School, is a small private school founded in 1919 and located in Winnetka, Illinois. It consists of a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school.-History:...	Winnetka Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...	Raiders Raiders Raider may refer to:in Food:* Space Raiders, brand of crisps* the Twix chocolate bar was called Raider in several European countries until the 1990sin sports organizations:...		A/1A/1A
University of Chicago Lab School University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools is a private, co-educational day school in Chicago, Illinois. It is affiliated with the University of Chicago...	Chicago	Maroons		AA/2A/3A
The Willows Academy The Willows Academy The Willows Academy is an all-girls' private school in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA, with its religious education under the direction of Opus Dei. The school is divided into the Middle School and High School . There are approximately 316 students enrolled in grades 6-12, with about forty students...	Des Plaines Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in... s		A/1A/2A
Woodlands Academy Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart is a private, Roman Catholic girls' high school in Lake Forest, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.-Sports:...	Lake Forest	Wildcats Bobcat The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...		A/1A/2A

Other conference affiliations

North Shore Country Day is the only school to support a 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....

 program, and competes as an independent. The Latin School is the only school to sponsor a Scholastic Bowl

Quizbowl

Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...

 team, and competes in the North Metropolitan Scholastic Bowl League.

History

The ISL was organized for the 1966–67 school year. The league initially comprised eight teams: Chicago Lab, Elgin Academy, Latin, Morgan Park Academy, North Shore, Francis W. Parker, and the no longer existant Glenwood School in Glenwood, Illinois

Glenwood, Illinois

Glenwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,000 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glenwood is located at ....

 (which closed its high school in 1979) and Harvard-St. George High School in the Hyde Park neighborhood

Hyde Park, Chicago

Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...

of Chicago. Lake Forest Academy was a member of the ISL for many years before withdrawing from the league in 2008 in search of better athletic competition.

IHSA State titles

• Chess: Chicago Lab (1973–74)
• Scholastic Bowl: Latin School (1993–94, 97–98, 2001–02, 03–04, 04–05, 05–06, 08–09)
• Soccer (girls): Latin School (2005–06)
• Track & Field (boys): Chicago Lab (1908–09, 09–10, 10–11, 13–14, 18–19)