George Henry Corliss High School (commonly known as Corliss High School) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

4–year

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in the Pullman neighborhood on the far south side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. Corliss is operated by the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

district. Opened in September 1974, The school is named in the honor of American mechanical engineer and inventor

George Henry Corliss George Henry Corliss (June 2, 1817 – February 21, 1888) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor, who developed the Corliss steam engine, which was a great improvement over any other stationary steam engine of its time. The Corliss ...

History

During the 1970–1971 school year, the residents of the community areas located on far south side requested to James F. Redmond, the General Superintendent of Chicago Schools, that two new high schools were needed to relieve overcrowding at the already two existing schools, Harlan and Fenger. At the time, both schools had an enrollment of approx. 2,500; surpassing the buildings' capacity. The school proposals were approved by the

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently appointed solely by the mayor ...

and construction on Corliss began in 1973 (construction on the other requested school which became known as Percy L. Julian High School began in 1974). Designed by Myron Goldsmith, The school was completed in two phases; beginning in August 1973 and concluding in July 1974. The school opened to freshman and sophomore classes, totaling 800 students, for the 1974–1975 school year in September 1974. The following year, an additional 1,100 students enrolled. The initial name of the school, Corliss High School, came from its location being 103rd Street and Corliss Avenue. It was later renamed George Henry Corliss High School after inventor George Henry Corliss and dedicated to him on May 15, 1976. The school's first senior class graduation occurred in June 1977.

Facilities

In honor of the African-American heritage, Corliss has named different facilities within the school after famous

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

. The school auditorium was named in honor of the composer-pianist

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, which is called "Ellington Hall". The physical education building was named for the baseball player

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

. The library media center named for the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...

poet

Arna Bontemps Arna Wendell Bontemps ( ) (October 13, 1902 – June 4, 1973) was an American poet, novelist and librarian, and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Bontemps was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, into a Louisiana Creole family. His a ...

. The school is divided into three subunits known as "houses" which was created to provide a smaller school atmosphere within a large school.

Other information

In 2012, the school joined the Chicago Public Schools'

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

program. Since 2013, Corliss has shared its campus with

Butler College Preparatory High School Butler College Prep (formerly known as Pullman College Prep) is a public four-year charter high school located in the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is a part of the Noble Network of Charter Schools. It shares its campus with C ...

, a public charter school which is a part of the

Noble Network of Charter Schools Noble Schools, (formerly known as the Noble Network of Charter Schools and as Noble Street Charter School) is an open enrollment, public charter network of high schools and middle schools serving students throughout Chicago. Noble was co-founded ...

Athletics

Corliss competes in the

Chicago Public League The Chicago Public High School Athletic Association, commonly known as the Chicago Public League (CPL), is the interscholastic competition arm of the Chicago Public Schools. The governance of the CPL is set through the Department of Sports Admini ...

(CPL) and a member of the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

(IHSA). The school's sports teams are nicknamed the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

. The boys'

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team were Class 5A and qualified for state finals three times; 1981–82, 2002–03 and 2004–05. For the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, The boys' basketball team were Class 2A and regional champions under the leadership of coach Harvey Jones.

Notable alumni

Anthony Beale Anthony A. Beale (born October 22, 1967) is an American politician and the alderman of the 9th ward of the City of Chicago, Illinois United States. Beale is noted as having been one of the youngest members to serve as elected official on the Cit ...

(Class of 1985) —

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

City of Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(9th ward). * Eddie Johnson (Class of 1978) — police officer, former

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

superintendent. *

Antwon Tanner Antwon Tanner (born April 14, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Michael on the UPN sitcom ''Moesha'' (1996–97), and its spinoff ''The Parkers'' (2001) and as Antwon "Skills" Taylor on the drama series, '' On ...

(attended) — Actor, (''

Moesha ''Moesha'' () is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with her upper middle class famil ...

'', ''

The Parkers ''The Parkers'' is an American television sitcom aired on UPN from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004. A Spin-off (media), spin-off of UPN's ''Moesha'', ''The Parkers'' features the mother-daughter team of Nikki (played by Mo'Nique) and Kim Parker ...

'', ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

''). *

Darrell Walker Darrell Walker (born March 9, 1961) is an American college basketball coach and retired professional player. He is currently head men's coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. At 6'4" (1.93 m) and 180 lb (82 kg), he played as ...

(Class of 1979) — former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, (''

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

'', ''

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

'') (1983–1993).

References

External links

School Website
{{authority control Public high schools in Chicago Educational institutions established in 1974 Educational institutions established in 1971 South Side, Chicago 1974 establishments in Illinois