Carl Sandburg High School

In April 1952, two local school districts, Orland District 221 and Palos District 222 were consolidated into Consolidated High School District 230, for the express purpose of constructing a new high school.[7] This new high school would replace an older high school which had been run by the Orland district at one of its grammar schools, along with rented space around the town for history, English, home economics, and science classes.[7] The new school was designed to serve 450 students.[7] The site of the school was an old corn field, which at the time was surrounded by a forest preserve, a lake, and a golf course.[4]

A school board resolution called for the new school to be named for Carl Sandburg, out of "a desire for historic significance transcending purely local associations of the former school districts".[7] In April 1953, it was announced that the new high school building would be named for the poet, after Sandburg "consented and expressed his pleasure" in a letter to the school board.[7] At least until 1960, Sandburg visited the school every other year.[4]

Ground breaking took place on the US$930,000 structure on May 17, 1953.[8] The school was designed to be a one-story structure with a central gymnasium/auditorium capable of holding 1,200 people.[8] A smaller two story section was to house agriculture, science and business education classes as well as the school's library.[8] The school was built with the specific intent to build additions on to the building as the student population grew.[8] The school opened for classes in September 1954.[9] The school was formally dedicated on October 10, 1954, with the school's namesake in attendance.[10][11]

The district saw enormous growth, growing from 186 high school students just prior to the construction of the new school, to a projected population of over 900 for the 1956–57 school year.[12] In the summer of 1956, construction began on the first major addition to the school; an addition that more than doubled the school's size.[12] The 1956–57 school year also saw students attend in split shifts to alleviate the overcrowding that was already occurring.[12] A second gym, primarily for use by girls, was opened ahead of the rest of the addition in January 1958.[13][14] The remainder of the new addition was ready in May 1958, expanding the school's capacity to 1,700 students.[14] The original administration offices became the new book store, while the addition itself contained new classrooms and administrative offices, as well as expanded room for the music and industrial technology classes.[14]

No sooner was the new addition occupied, when, in the autumn of 1958, the school board issued a bond referendum to raise over US$1 million to further expand the school, and to purchase property for the site of a future high school.[15] This second addition, finished for the 1960–61 school year, included ten new classrooms, a new library (the old library was subdivided to make new classrooms) and the school's first swimming pool.[16]

The next bond issue came in 1966; this time a US$3.5 million request from the electorate to finance additions at Sandburg and its now sister school, Stagg High School. As a result, Sandburg saw more science laboratories as well as rooms for art, music, and industrial arts training.[17][18]

The first time Carl Sandburg visited Carl Sandburg High School in his home state of Illinois he was mistaken for a homeless man off the street and promptly ordered to leave the premises. School officials quickly learned their mistake. Sandburg, it is said, was gracious and extremely considerate through the whole thing. When Carl Sandburg died in 1967, the school's choir performed at the official memorial tribute, held at the Chicago Public Library.[19]

In 2005, Sandburg had an average composite ACT score of 22.3 and graduated 98.1% of its senior class. The average class size is 19.2. Sandburg has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.[20] Additionally, it has scored a 90.3 on the State Test Performance Index.

Sandburg has been named one of Newsweek's top 1,000 schools on several occasions.

• 2003, Sandburg was ranked 607 [21]
• 2005, Sandburg was ranked 744 [22]
• 2006, Sandburg was ranked 967 [23]

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• Official website