Oak Lawn Community High School, 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 ...

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It shares borders with the city in two areas but is surrounded mostly by ...

, in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and h ...

. The name "Spartans" and the colors

Kelly Green Shades of chartreuse are listed below. Historically, many of these colors have gone under the name of either yellow or green, as the specifics of their color composition was not known until later. Wrapping the spectrum into a color wheel In a ...

and

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

were chosen by a committee in tribute to the Michigan State University Spartans, who won the Rose Bowl in 1954. The school, as a part of Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, serves sections of Oak Lawn, Bridgeview, Chicago Ridge, and Hometown.

Academics

In 2009, OLCHS had an average composite ACT score of 20.2, and graduated 91.6% of its senior class. The school has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the

Prairie State Achievement Examination The Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) was a two-day standardized test taken by all high school Juniors in the U.S. state of Illinois. On the first day, students take the ACT, and on the second day, a WorkKeys examination and Illinois ...

, which is the state assessment used to fulfill mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Overall, the school failed to meet minimum standards in reading and mathematics, in addition to having two student subgroups fail to meet expectations in reading, and one subgroup fail to meet expectations in mathematics.

Athletics and Clubs

Oak Lawn 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 Fe ...

(IHSA); the organization which governs most sports and competitive activities for high schools in the state. Teams are stylized as the Spartans. The school sponsors interscholastic 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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), thou ...

, cross country, soccer,

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 ...

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 eve ...

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 Sum ...

, speech, and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. 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 t ...

, football, 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 p ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. There is also a coed bass fishing team. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a poms team for young women. The following teams have won or placed top four at their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meet: *Basketball (Boys): 2nd Place (1970–71) *Badminton (Girls): 2nd Place (1976–77) *Drama: State Champions (2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2020–21); 2nd Place (1958–59, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2016–17); 3rd Place (2006–07, 2015–16, 2018–19); 4th Place (2017–18) *Group Interpretation: State Champions (2003–04, 2007—08, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018—2019, 2020–21); 3rd Place (2005–06); 4th Place (2002—03, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2021–22) *Speech: State Champions (2009–10); 2nd Place (2011–12, 2022–23); 3rd Place (1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02) 4th Place (1999–00, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2015–16) *Volleyball (Boys): State Champions (1993–94); 4th Place (1992–93) *Volleyball (Girls): 2nd Place (1976–77) *Wrestling (Boys): 2nd Place (1958–59, 1973–74) The Oak Lawn Community High School Spartans currently play their home games at Napleton Field.

Notable alumni

Benn Jordan Benn Lee Jordan (born October 28, 1979) is an American musician operating under many pseudonyms. Since 1999, his most widely distributed electronic music has been released under the name of The Flashbulb. Other names Jordan has released as are ...

, musician known as "The Flashbulb". * C. J. Kupec, former basketball player who played for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and professionally in the NBA (1975–78); he was honored as one of "100 Legends" of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament. * Steve "Fuzz" Kmak, former bassist for the heavy metal band

Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 2 ...

Rob Mackowiak Robert William Mackowiak (; born June 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. During his Major League Baseball career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, and Washington Nationals. Pe ...

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), ...

player who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates,

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. *

Tim Purpura Timothy Gerard Purpura (born March 19, 1958 in Oak Lawn, Illinois) is an American baseball executive and former lawyer. He is the former General Manager of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball team. He was with the club from 2005 to 2007. Bi ...

, former general manager of the baseball team Houston Astros (2004–07). * William A. Reiners, ecologist * Dave Wills, sportscaster who has been the radio voice of

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

since 2005.

Notable faculty

* Edward Maloney,

Illinois state senator The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the I ...

(2003–2013).

References

{{authority control Oak Lawn, Illinois Educational institutions established in 1952 Public high schools in Cook County, Illinois 1952 establishments in Illinois