Deerfield High School (abbreviated DHS) is a comprehensive

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 ...

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 ...

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a north shore suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into Cook County, Illinois. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens Boo ...

, United States. It is part of

Township High School District 113 Township High School District 113 is a school district in Illinois, with its headquarters in Highland Park, Illinois, Highland Park. It is made up of two high schools and serves Highland Park, Deerfield, Illinois, Deerfield, Highwood, Illinois, Hi ...

, which also includes Highland Park High School. DHS opened in 1959, and graduated its first class in 1963. The school was as a

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

in 1992, 2009, and 2022. In sports competitions, the school has won multiple state championships. Deerfield competes in the

Central Suburban League The Central Suburban League is an IHSA-recognized high school extracurricular conference comprising 12 public schools located in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago. Comprising 12 relatively large high schools, it is among the larger high school ...

and in

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 ...

tournaments. DHS has also won awards for its theater, student newspaper, congressional debate, television, and scholastic bowl programs.

History and campus

Completed in 1959, its first class graduated in 1963. As of 1999, DHS included of space. In 2000, DHS and its sister school, Highland Park High School, underwent a two-year, $75 million renovation and expansion project. DHS received new science and arts wings for a total of added and renovated. The additions and renovations were designed by Legat Architects and executed by VACALA Construction, Inc. Beginning in 2004, the school ceased comparing the academic achievements of students, nor does it distribute students' class rank to colleges. The elimination of

class rank Class rank is a measure of how a student's performance compares to other students in their class. It is commonly also expressed as a percentile. For instance, a student may have a GPA better than 750 of their classmates in a graduating class of ...

aimed at creating a less stressful competitive academic environment. The DHS Auditorium is a

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

style theater that seats 969 persons and is used for assemblies and productions of dance, musical theater, and concerts by soloists and large ensembles. The Auditorium's stage house measures with a proscenium that is wide, high and a stage that is deep to the

cyclorama A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make vie ...

. The lighting grid is high. The Studio Theatre is located immediately adjacent to the Auditorium and is used as a backstage area during Auditorium productions. The orchestra pit is located at house level and can contain up to thirty musicians. The stage house has a 7-line, manual, single purchase counterweight

fly system A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of rope lines, blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, lights ...

, with a 569-pound capacity per line-set. In addition, the Auditorium houses a walk-draw white

, movable tormentors, four travelers, dead-hung teasers and a walk draw black

scrim Scrim can refer to: * Scrim (material), either of two types of material (a lightweight, translucent fabric or a coarse, heavy material) * Scrim (lighting), a device used in lighting for films * Scrim (internet slang), friendly match between tea ...

. The DHS Studio Theater is a reconfigurable

black box theater A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

. Its various seating configurations can accommodate up to 269 persons in

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...

, stadium, or arena arrangements. The lighting pipe grid is eighteen feet above the stage floor. The Studio Theatre has a reconfigurable walk-draw curtain system with a dedicated inventory of black stage draperies and a sky blue cyclorama. During Studio Theater productions the Auditorium stage is used as backstage.

Academics

In the 2018-2019 academic year, Deerfield High School graduated 98% of its senior class. It also had 68% of students take AP classes, and was ranked as 12th in Illinois High Schools. Deerfield has made

Adequate Yearly Progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing ac ...

on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which with the ACT comprises the assessment tools used in Illinois to fulfill the federal

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

. Deerfield High School was in the top 500 public U.S. high schools in 2007 and in the top 1000 in 2006.

Awards

In its over fifty years of existence, Deerfield High School has won many awards. In 1990, 2009, and 2022, the high school was named a

. This prestigious award is awarded by the

to high performing, and improving schools.

Athletics

The Deerfield Warriors compete in the

, and counts its in-district sister school Highland Park High School as a longtime rival. The school's teams compete in state championship series tournaments sponsored by the

(IHSA). The school sponsors interscholastic sports teams for men and women in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

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. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

. Men may also compete in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Women may compete in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. The 1977 Deerfield boys cross country team is regarded by at least one publication as one of the single greatest prep cross country teams of all-time. Recognized by Marc Bloom's Harrier Report and the National High School Archives (xcnation.com). While no longer sponsored by the IHSA, the school still has a women's

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

team. While never sponsored by the IHSA, the school sponsors

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

for men and women. Deerfield also sponsors a joint

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

team with Highland Park High School for men and women. A co-ed ice hockey team also competes against teams from surrounding schools, however it is not sponsored by the school or the IHSA. The team is supported entirely by private donations and players must purchase their own jerseys and equipment. In the 2007–2008 season, the Warriors defeated

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illinoi ...

to win the State title in the White Division by a score of 3–1. The school has won the following IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments or meets *Badminton: 1987–88 *Cross Country (boys): 1976–1977, 1977–78 *Football: 1975–76 *Tennis (boys): 1983–84, 1994–95, 2004–05 *Tennis (girls): 2005–06 The football stadium is named for former coach Paul Adams, who coached the football team from 1966 to 1992, an era which included fifteen appearances in the State playoffs, four appearances in the State Championship game, and one State championship title. In addition to the team's success, tennis player Mike Morrison was the second of two players in Illinois men's high school history to win four state singles titles (1983–1986). The only other player to accomplish this was

Marty Riessen Marty Riessen (born December 4, 1941) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player active from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP rankings in September 1974, though was rank ...

. The school also sponsors

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

pom-pon A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material. The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as a ...

s, and a dance team at the club level.

Media and other student activities

The school newspaper is ''Deerprints''; it won a

Pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...

award, given by the

National Scholastic Press Association The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism conv ...

. Also, the school has a television station called DHS-TV that comes out with bi-weekly, and sometimes weekly 12-minute news shows during the homeroom period. The

Congressional Debate Congressional Debate (also known as Student Congress, Legislative Debate) is a competitive interscholastic high school debate event in the United States. The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) ...

team (Student Congress) won the Illinois Congressional Debate Association (ICDA) state championship in 2003. The Scholastic Bowl team qualified for the Class AA IHSA State Championship in 2004 and 2005 by winning its regional and sectional tournaments. The team also advanced to sectionals by winning regionals in 2006 and 2010.

Theater

Deerfield won the IHSA championship in Drama in 1970–71. In 2018, Deerfield High School student Natalie Doppelt won th
IHSMTA
for Best Actress for her role in the DHS production of

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It ...

. In 2019, Deerfield High School’s production of Crazy for You brought in 5 nominations and 2 wins at th
IHSMTA
DHS' theatre director Susan Gorman won the award for Best Direction and DHS student Jacob Simon won the award for Best Actor.

Notable alumni

Hub Arkush Herb "Hub" Arkush (born February 14, 1953) is an American football sportscaster and analyst. He is the editor and general manager of ''Chicago Football'' and ChicagoFootball.com, a magazine and website devoted to coverage and analysis of all thin ...

, publisher of ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

'', radio

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

Dean Bernardini Dean Bernardini (born December 27, 1973) is an American musician, best known as the former bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Chevelle. He joined the band in 2005 after the departure of Joe Loeffler, who had been a member of t ...

, bass for rock band ChevelleO*YAD 1993. "Seniors". *

Donald Blome Donald Armin Blome is an American diplomat serving as the United States Ambassador to Pakistan since 2022. He served as the United States Ambassador to Tunisia from 2019 to 2022. Early life and education Blome received a Bachelor of Arts and ...

, United States diplomat. * Mark Carlson, former

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

quarterback * Scott Colton,

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

as "Colt Cabana" *

Ross Golan Ross Golan (born April 8, 1980) is a multi-award-winning, multi-platinum selling, American songwriter, record producer and playwright. Life and career Early career Golan graduated from Deerfield High School (Illinois) of Deerfield, Illinois in ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, multi-platinum, award-winning songwriter *

Duje Dukan Duje Dukan (born 4 December 1991) is a Croatian professional basketball player who plays for the Landstede Hammers of the Dutch BNXT League. He played college basketball for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early life Dukan was born in S ...

, professional basketball player *

Simone Elkeles Simone Elkeles (born April 24, 1970) is an American author known for the teen romance ''Perfect Chemistry'' trilogy and ''How To Ruin'' trilogy. She is a New York Times Bestselling young adult author. Simone has won the 2010 RITA Award for Best ...

, young adult author *

Cory Everson Corinna "Cory" Everson ( née Kneuer; born January 4, 1958) is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Everson won the Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989. Education Corinna Kneuer was born in Racine, Wiscons ...

(1984–1989), Miss Olympia, author, actor, fitness show host,

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 *Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek *Lee Haney *Rachel McLi ...

Chris Hirata Christopher Michael Hirata (born November 30, 1982) is an American cosmologist and astrophysicist. Hirata was 13 years old when he won the gold medal in 1996 at the International Physics Olympiad. He received a bachelor's degree in Physics at C ...

, astrophysicist, professor, gold medal 1996

International Physics Olympiad The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967. Each national delegation is made up of at ...

Bryan Jurewicz Bryan Jurewicz () is a former professional National Football League player who was briefly a member of both the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts. Jurewicz was a star lineman at Deerfield High School in Illinois, a starter on the varsit ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

lineman *

Lindsay Knapp Lindsay Haines Knapp (born February 25, 1970) is a former American football guard in the National Football League who played for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers. He was a member of the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI championship ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Christina Loukas Christina Loukas (born December 19, 1985) is an American diver. She competes in the 3 meter springboard event. Loukas is of Greek origin, and was born and grew up in Riverwoods, Illinois, where she studied gymnastics, swimming, and diving from an ...

, 2008 and 2012 US

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

diver *

Lou Manfredini Lou Manfredini (born May 4, 1964) is an American television/radio personality and home improvement expert. Born in Highland Park, Illinois he is the host of ''HouseSmarts TV,'' host of Chicago's WGN (AM) HouseSmarts Radio (formerly Mr. Fix-It), an ...

, television/radio personality, home improvement expert *

Kevin McCollum Kevin McCollum (born March 1, 1962) is an American theatrical booking executive and producer of musical theater and plays, many on Broadway. During a producing career spanning over twenty-five years, McCollum has received three Tony Awards for ...

, Broadway producer *

Aaron Moorehead Aaron Matthew Moorehead (born November 5, 1980) is an American football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at Va ...

, former

wide receiver for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

The Redwalls The Redwalls were an American Rock band#Rock and pop bands, rock band from Deerfield, Illinois, in Chicago metropolitan area, suburban Chicago. The band was composed of singer/guitarist Logan Baren, bassist Justin Baren, lead guitarist Andrew La ...

(Logan Barren, Justin Baren, and Andrew Langer), rock band *

Todd Reirden Todd R. Reirden (born June 25, 1971) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the associate coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously held head coaching positions for the Washi ...

, former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

hockey player, assistant coach for

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

Carol Roth Carol Roth (born 1973) is an American television personality, bestselling author, entrepreneur, radio host, and investor. Roth appears regularly on national cable television networks including Fox Business, CNBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. She was ...

, author, radio and TV host *

Andrea Sanke Andrea Sanke is an American List of television reporters, television journalist. She currently works as a senior presenter for TRT World in Istanbul. Career After working for US broadcasters NBC and National Public Radio in the mid-1990s, Andrea ...

, journalist * Radhanath Swami, spiritual gurum *

Charlie Jones Charles, Charlie, Charley or Chuck Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Chuck Jones (1912–2002), American animator, director, and producer * Charles Jones (c. 1889–1942), American actor better known as Buck Jones * Charles Jones (pho ...

, Wide receiver at Purdue University m

Notable staff

* Paul Adams head football coach 1966–1992. * Aaron Cohen (born 1981), judoka and judo coach *

Doug Kay Doug Kay is a retired American football coach who was most recently assistant head coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL), which league ceased operations after the 2017 season. He has more than 55 years of football expe ...

head football coach (1962–65), later coached at the college and professional levels, including the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

References

External links

*
Map of DHS

Profile from greatschools.net
{{authority control Public high schools in Illinois Deerfield, Illinois Schools in Lake County, Illinois 1959 establishments in Illinois