James B. Conant High School
Encyclopedia
James B. Conant High School is a public four-year high school
located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States
. It is part of Township High School District 211
, which also includes William Fremd High School
, Hoffman Estates High School
, Palatine High School
, and Schaumburg High School
.
, a chemist, educator, and leading authority on teacher education, who helped model the high school system used today. Conant serves students who reside in the east side of Schaumburg
, the west side of Elk Grove Village
, the northern Cook County section of Roselle
and the Southeast side of Hoffman Estates
.
Conant also served students in the Northern Cook County section of Hanover Park until 2001. In 2000, District 211 approved a boundary change that sent about 300 Conant students who resided in Hanover Park and the south side of Schaumburg to attend Schaumburg High School to relieve overcrowding at Conant.
In 1995-96, the United States Department of Education
recognized Conant High School as a part of its Blue Ribbon Schools Program
.
In 2006, Conant was recognized by the College Board
as having the highest percentage of students passing their Advanced Placement exams in the College Board's Midwest Region.
(IHSA), which governs most interscholastic sports and academic competition in Illinois. The teams representing the school are stylized as the Cougars
.
The school sponsors interscholastic athletic teams for young men and women in basketball
, cross country
, golf
, gymnastics
, soccer, lacrosse
, swimming
& diving
, tennis
, track & field, volleyball
, and water polo
. Young men may also compete in baseball
, football
, and wrestling
, while young women may compete in badminton
, bowling
, and softball
. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a co-op hockey
team for young men, along with Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg High Schools.
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet:
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 Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...
, a northwest 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 Township High School District 211
Township High School District 211
Township High School District 211 is a school district located in Cook County, Illinois, the largest high school district in Illinois. District 211 serves most of the Palatine and Schaumburg townships, including significant portions of the city of Rolling Meadows and the villages of Hoffman...
, which also includes William Fremd High School
William Fremd High School
William Fremd High School, or Fremd, is a public four-year high school located in Palatine, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 211, which also includes James B...
, Hoffman Estates High School
Hoffman Estates High School
Hoffman Estates High School, or HEHS, is a public four-year high school located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 211, which also includes James B...
, Palatine High School
Palatine High School
Palatine High School, or PHS, is a public four-year high school in Township High School District 211. Located at 1111 N. Rohlwing Rd in Palatine, Illinois, United States, a northwest suburb of Chicago...
, and Schaumburg High School
Schaumburg High School
Schaumburg High School, or SHS is a public four-year high school located in Schaumburg, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.-History:Schaumburg High School opened on September 17th 1970...
.
History
Conant opened in 1964, and was the first high school built within Schaumburg Township, and the third in District 211. It was named after James Bryant ConantJames Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
, a chemist, educator, and leading authority on teacher education, who helped model the high school system used today. Conant serves students who reside in the east side of Schaumburg
Schaumburg, Illinois
Schaumburg is a city located in Cook County in northeastern Illinois. A common misspelling of the city name is Schaumberg, a spelling which persists on some modern maps. Schaumburg is located just under northwest of downtown Chicago and approximately northwest of O'Hare International Airport. As...
, the west side of Elk Grove Village
Elk Grove Village, Illinois
Elk Grove Village is a municipality located in northeastern Illinois adjacent to O'Hare International Airport and the City of Chicago. Elk Grove Village encompasses in land area with located in Cook County and located in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 32,745 at the 2010 census...
, the northern Cook County section of Roselle
Roselle, Illinois
Roselle is a city located in DuPage County and a small portion in Cook County Illinois in northeastern Illinois. It was first incorporated in 1922 and can correctly be relegated to a bedroom community — that is, a community that largely consists of residential zoning in both income streams...
and the Southeast side of Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...
.
Conant also served students in the Northern Cook County section of Hanover Park until 2001. In 2000, District 211 approved a boundary change that sent about 300 Conant students who resided in Hanover Park and the south side of Schaumburg to attend Schaumburg High School to relieve overcrowding at Conant.
Academics
In 2008, the senior class of Conant HS scored an average of 22.9 on the ACT, and 94.7% of the senior class graduated.In 1995-96, the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
recognized Conant High School as a part of its Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Blue Ribbon Schools Program
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...
.
In 2006, Conant was recognized by the College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
as having the highest percentage of students passing their Advanced Placement exams in the College Board's Midwest Region.
Athletics
Conant High School competes in the Mid-Suburban League (MSL), and is a member of the Illinois High School AssociationIllinois 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), which governs most interscholastic sports and academic competition in Illinois. The teams representing the school are stylized as the Cougars
Cougars
Cougars is a Chicago-based rock band signed to the New York-based label Go-Kart Records.The Cougars' music is often compared to that of Rocket from the Crypt...
.
The school sponsors interscholastic athletic 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...
, 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...
, 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....
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, soccer, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
& 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, 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...
, and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
. Young men may also 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....
, and 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 badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, and 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...
. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a co-op hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
team for young men, along with Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg High Schools.
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet:
- Bowling (girls): 4th place (1997-98); 3rd place (1998-99); 2nd place (1999-2000)
- Cross Country (boys): 4th place (1984-85); 3rd place (1983-84, 85-86)
- Cross Country (girls): 2nd place (1989-90); State Champion (1988-89)
- Gymnastics (boys): 4th place (1989-90, 90-91, 96-97); 3rd place (1991-92); 2nd place (1984-85, 85-86); State Champions (1986-87, 87-88)
- Gymnastics (girls): 3rd place (2006-07); 2nd place (2003-04, 04-05); State Champions (2005-06)
- Soccer (boys): 4th place (1999-2000); 3rd place (1991-92)
- Soccer (girls): 4th place (2008-09); 3rd place (2010-11)
- Track & Field (girls): 4th place (2006-07); 3rd place (2007-08)
- Water Polo (boys): 8th place (2006-2007)
- Wrestling: 4th place (2002-03); 2nd place (1982-83, 95-96, 99-2000)
Notable alumni
- Jennifer Grubb was a professional soccer player with the Washington FreedomWashington FreedomThe Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Germantown, Maryland that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was originally founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Since 2004, the...
of the Women's United Soccer AssociationWomen's United Soccer AssociationThe Women's United Soccer Association, often abbreviated to the WUSA, was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States...
(2001-04). - Russ MichnaRuss MichnaRussell Walter Michna is a gridiron football quarterback who is currently a Free Agent of the Arena Football League. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2004...
is a professional quarterbackQuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, currently a member of the UFL Las Vegas LocomotivesLas Vegas LocomotivesThe Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...
. - William BeckettWilliam Beckett (singer),William Eugene Beckett Jr. was the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... , who were signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance Records. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is......
is the singer for The Academy Is... and attended his freshman year at Conant - De'Mar Hamilton is the drummer for the band Plain White T'sPlain White T'sPlain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.The band is best...
and participated in band when he attended Conant. - Andre Holmes is a professional wide receiverWide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
who played for Hillsdale CollegeHillsdale CollegeHillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...
before signing with the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in 2011. - Katherine Cunningham - Actress, The Playboy ClubThe Playboy ClubThe Playboy Club is an American television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 2011 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers around the employees of the original Playboy Club operating in Chicago....