West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-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

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

. It is part of

West Aurora Public School District 129 West Aurora Public School District 129 is a unit school district in southeastern Kane County, Illinois. The present "West Side" school district covers the city of Aurora, Illinois with an eastern boundary of the Fox River, a southern boundary of ...

. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,".

History

High school classes were first offered in 1867 at Stone School (now defunct). The first graduating class of five students had their commencement in 1870. From 1905 until the 1950s the high school was located in a building on Blackhawk Avenue (so named after the school's athletics mascot). This same building (demolished in February 2015) was

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

Junior High School until the 1970s, when it was sold to Aurora Christian School, which used it as their school building until 2004. The current WAHS structure was built in the early 1950s, and was dedicated in 1953 as "West Side Senior High." From 1978 to 1981 the building was briefly known as the "West Aurora South Campus," when two buildings existed on Aurora's west side to house the high school population. The building formerly known as the "West Aurora North Campus" now houses the

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public secondary education institution in Aurora, Illinois, United States, with an enrollment of approximately 650 students. Enrollment is generally offered to inc ...

. The present building has had multiple additions and renovations, with the major additions occurring over four phases. The first added classrooms to an existing two-story classroom wing in the early 1960s. The largest addition, to the north and east sides of the building, added the auditorium, classroom space and other amenities in 1966–1967. This addition was responsible for the creation of the building's first two courtyard spaces. The 1997–1998 addition was constructed as a two–story wing on the south end of the building, giving it a new facade, and closing a portion of New York Street. This addition included a new library, a technology center, a new cafeteria, and additional classroom space. The most recent addition was completed in time for the 2004–2005 academic year. This included a new fieldhouse, a new single–story classroom wing on the northwest corner of the building, and a new choral rehearsal space. Today West High is a diverse school, with several academic and athletic programs available.

Academics

In 2008, West Aurora had an average composite ACT score of 19.3, and graduated 79.1% of its senior class. West Aurora has not 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 ...

(AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test, which with the ACT, are 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 ...

. All four of the student subgroups at West Aurora failed to meet minimum expectations in reading and math, as did the school as a whole.

Athletics

Starting in 2019, West Aurora competes in the

Southwest Prairie Conference The Southwest Prairie Conference (SPC) is an athletic and competitive activity conference consisting of twelve public high schools in Northern Illinois. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School Association. History ...

. West Aurora previously competed in the

DuPage Valley Conference The DuPage Valley Conference (DVC) is an organization of six high schools in northeastern Illinois, representing seven communities in Chicago's suburbs. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School Association. The Conference, or ...

and the

Upstate Eight Conference The Upstate Eight Conference (''UEC'', ''U8C'', or ''Upstate 8'') is an organization of ten high schools in northeastern Illinois, representing ten communities in Chicago's suburbs. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School A ...

. WAHS 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), which governs most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in the state of Illinois. Officially, Chief Blackhawk serves as the mascot for the school. The red and blue logo of the chief is painted on the back of the school's football stadium, as of 2006, replacing the school's WA logo. The school sponsors interscholastic sports teams for young 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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Young men may 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 ...

, while young 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the Athletic Department also sponsors a poms team for young women. The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet: * Basketball (boys): State Champions (1999–2000) * Tennis (girls): State Champions (1996–97, 1997–98) * Track & Field: State Champions (1905–06) The rivalry between West and

East Aurora High School East Aurora High School, (also known as EAHS or Aurora East High School), is a public, four-year high school located in Kane County, at the corner of Smith Boulevard and Fifth Avenue in Aurora, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. ...

is the second oldest in the state of

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 ...

. The 1951 Girls' Golf season saw great controversy which nearly resulted in a cancellation of the season. The issue began when a member of the team refused to wear the required uniform, which consisted of a polo shirt with the West Aurora Blackhawks logo and a pleated, knee length skirt. The aforementioned team member arrived for the first tournament at the links wearing a pair of men's golf

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

, stating that if she had worn the required skirt, she would either have to sacrifice a full force swing or her modesty. Wanting to keep his player's femininity as well as their ability strike the ball 200 yards at the same time, the coach came up with the idea of dressing his girls in

culottes Culottes are an item of clothing worn on the lower half of the body. The term can refer to either split skirts, historical men's breeches, or women's under-pants; this is an example of fashion-industry words taken from designs across history, l ...

. These split, pants-like skirts were designed to provide women more freedom to do activities such as gardening, cleaning, bike riding, etc. and still look like one is wearing a skirt.

Music program

The West Aurora band program is a member of district nine in the

Illinois Music Educators Association The Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) is the Illinois state-level affiliate of National Association for Music Education. It formed in 1941 out of the previous Illinois School Music Association. ILMEA offers support to Illinois music ed ...

(IMEA). The Jazz Ensemble performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival on 1 September 2006, becoming only the second high school group ever invited to perform at the Festival. The band participated in festivities and performed at the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Notable alumni

* Marger Apsit (class of 1926), football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

and in

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL) *

Kenny Battle Kenneth R. Battle (born October 10, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. High school career In 1984, Battle led Aurora West High School to third place in the Illinois High School Association Class AA state basketball tourn ...

(class of 1984), basketball player in

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 ...

(1989–1993) *

Rich Becker Richard Godhard "Rich" Becker (born February 1, 1972) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletic ...

(class of 1990),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

(1993–2000) *

Bob Carney Robert Lee Carney (August 3, 1932 – November 9, 2011) was an American basketball player. He played in West Aurora High School and collegiately for Bradley University. He was selected by the Milwaukee Hawks in the 6th round (47th pick overall) ...

, NBA player * John Drury (class of 1945), Chicago news anchor ( WGN, WLS) *

Andrea Evans Andrea Lynn Evans (born June 18, 1957, in Aurora, Illinois) is an American actress and producer. She is most recognized for her portrayal of Tina Lord on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', a role she played from 1978 to 1981 and from 1985 ...

(1967), actress *

Ruth VanSickle Ford Ruth Van Sickle Ford (August 8, 1897 – April 18, 1989) was an American painter, art teacher, and owner of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. She credited artists George Bellows, who influenced her interest in social realism, and John Carlson, ...

(class of 1915), commercial illustrator and art teacher *

Bruce Franklin H. Bruce Franklin (born February 1934) is an American cultural historian and scholar. He is notable for receiving top awards for his lifetime scholarship in fields as diverse as American studies, science fiction, prison literature and marine e ...

(class of 1979), guitarist for heavy metal band

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

* George H. Garrey, mining geologist and engineer * Phillip E. Johnson (class of 1958),

University of California-Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

law professor and founder of

Intelligent design movement The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the pseudoscientific Article available froUniversiteit Gent/ref> idea of intelligent design (ID), which ...

. * Stana Katic (class of 1996), actress, star of television series ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'' *

Preston Larrison Preston Wade Larrison (born November 19, 1980) is an American retired professional baseball player. As a pitcher, Larrison played college baseball for the University of Evansville and in minor league baseball from 2002 through 2009. Career Larris ...

, baseball player *

Lester Larson Lester Lamont Larson was an American football player and coach. He was the first head football coach in the history of the University of Louisville, serving in that position form 1912 to 1913. At the time of his hiring, he was working as a typewri ...

, collegiate football coach *

Don Laz Donald Robert Laz (May 17, 1929 – February 21, 1996) was an American pole vaulter. He won a silver medal at the 1952 Olympics and a bronze at the 1955 Pan American Games. Domestically he held the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic As ...

, silver medalist

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

at 1952 Olympics in Helsinki * Jim Marzuki (class of 1943), Illinois state representative, teacher, and sculptor *

Nicole Narain Nicole Narain (born July 28, 1974) is an American model, actress and Playboy Playmate of Afro-Caribbean descent. Career She was chosen as ''Playboy'''s Playboy Playmate, Playmate of the Month in January 2002 and has appeared in numerous List ...

(did not graduate), actress, model,

Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

* Richard Olson (class of 1947), politician *

Shaun Pruitt Shaun Steven Pruitt (born November 22, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Illinois before going undrafted in the 2008 NBA draft. High school career Pruitt attended Prov ...

, professional basketball player * Alvin Ross (class of 1981), NFL

(1987–88) for

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. *

Randy Shilts Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951February 17, 1994) was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, Shilts began working as a reporter for both '' The Advocate'' and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', as wel ...

(class of 1969), journalist and author *

Jeffrey Skilling Jeffrey Keith Skilling (born November 25, 1953) is an American businessman who is best known as the CEO of Enron Corporation during the Enron scandal. In 2006, he was convicted of federal felony charges relating to Enron's collapse and eventual ...

(class of 1971), CEO of

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...

, convicted of crimes related to

Enron scandal The Enron scandal was an accounting scandal involving Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. Upon being publicized in October 2001, the company declared bankruptcy and its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen then on ...

. *

Tom Skilling Tom Skilling (born 1952) is an American television meteorologist. Since 1978, he has worked as a meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago. Career Beginnings The oldest of four children, Tom Skilling was born in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinoi ...

(class of 1970),

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

who works with WGN-TV and ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' *

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

, college basketball coach

References

External links

Official website

Official Athletics web page
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1867 Public high schools in Illinois Education in Aurora, Illinois Schools in Kane County, Illinois 1867 establishments in Illinois