Harold L. Richards High School is a co-ed

Public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

located in

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It ...

, a suburb of

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

, and is a member of Illinois school District 218. The school opened in 1965, named for District Superintendent Dr. Harold Leland Richards who served in that capacity for 33 years from 1935-1968. Dr. Richards served as a private in the army in

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, as a Major in the Army Air Corp in

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and eventually rose to Lt. Colonel in the Reserves and called back into active duty during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. After graduating from

Pennsylvania Military College Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

in 1920, he taught in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, was superintendent of Michigamme,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

schools, and headed the Iowa Military Academy in Epworth, Iowa before coming to District 218. In addition to PMC, he held multiple degrees from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. Dr. Richards died in January 1988 at the age of 88.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 1,588 students enrolled for the 2020-2021 school year is as follows: *Male - 52.3% *Female - 47.7% *Native American/Alaskan - 0.4% *Asian/Pacific islander - 2% *Black - 24.1% *Hispanic - 25.1% *White - 45.2% *Multiracial - 3.6%

Athletics/Clubs

Richards competes in the South Suburban Conference (SSC) and is 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 body which governs most athletics and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Bulldogs. The Athletic Director is Brian Wujcik and the Assistant Athletic Director is Sarah Ficaro. The following Richards teams won or placed top four in their respective state championship tournaments sponsored by the IHSA: * Basketball (Boys): State Champions (2007-08) * Basketball (Girls): 4th Place (1985-86) * Drama: 2nd Place (2014-15); 3rd Place (1990-91, 2008-09) * Football: State Champions (1988-89, 1989-90); 2nd Place (2001-02, 2013-14) * Softball: 2nd Place (1983-84) * Track (Girls): 3rd Place (1972-73) * Volleyball (Boys): State Champions (1991-92) * Volleyball (Girls): State Champions (1986-87) * Wrestling: State Champions (1974-75, 1976-77); 2nd Place (1975-76); 3rd Place (1977-78)

Notable alumni

* John Cox,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

presidential candidate and 2018 California gubernatorial candidate. *

Dave Dombrowski David Dombrowski (born July 27, 1956) is an American baseball executive who serves as the President of Baseball Operations for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Dombrowski also previously served as the general manager of ...

, President of Baseball Operations for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Dwayne Goodrich Dwayne Lewis Goodrich (born May 29, 1978) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tennessee. Early years Goodrich attended Harold L. Richar ...

, former defensive back of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

* Mike Jones, former offensive lineman of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

John Kass John Kass (born June 25, 1956) is an American columnist and former editorial board member for the ''Chicago Tribune'' and radio broadcaster. Until summer 2020, his opinion pieces regularly appeared on page 2 of the main news section of the ''Tribun ...

- Chicago Tribune columnist *

Joe Montgomery Joseph Montgomery, Jr. (born June 8, 1976) is a former professional American football running back. He played professionally for three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. He played coll ...

, former NFL football player for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

, Former NBA player for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

, co-owner of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, 3x champion, and Olympic gold medalist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards High School, Harold L. 1965 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1965 Oak Lawn, Illinois Public high schools in Cook County, Illinois