Mather High School
Stephen Tyng Mather High School (commonly known as simply Mather) is a public 4–year high school located in the West Ridge neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1959, Mather is operated by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district. Mather is named in honor of Stephen Mather, an industrialist and conservationist who became the first director of the National Park Service.
| Mather High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
5835 N. Lincoln Avenue , 60659 | |
| Coordinates | 41.9880°N 87.7011°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public Secondary |
| Motto | "Celebrating Diversity" |
| Opened | 1959 |
| School district | Chicago Public Schools |
| CEEB code | 141307[1] |
| Principal | Peter J Auffant[2] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | Coed |
| Enrollment | 1,448 (2018–2019) |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Royal blue White[3] |
| Athletics conference | Chicago Public League[3] |
| Team name | Rangers[3] |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[4] |
| Yearbook | Dais[5] |
| Website | matherhs |
Background
Campus and Faculty
Mather is a neighborhood high school with a college preparatory emphasis. More than 75% of students speak a language other than English at home. Mather's Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) program is central to the school's curriculum. The school campus shares two acres (56,000 m2) with adjacent Mather Park. The school has teachers fluent in languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Assyrian, Spanish, Russian, Serbo-Croat, Gujarati, and Urdu.
Academics
Advanced placement (AP) classes are offered:
- Art/Studio Art
- English Language and Composition
- English Literature and Composition
- U.S. History
- U.S. Government
- World History
- Calculus AB
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Physics
- Spanish
Virtual High School classes are offered in a wide variety of subjects at various ability levels.
Athletics
Mather competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The school sport teams are nicknamed the Rangers. The boys' baseball team were public league champions in 1966–67. The boys' cross country team were regional champs in (2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16)The girls' soccer team were public league champions in 2000–01. During the 2000–01 season, The girls' softball team were Class AA and public league champions. The girls' volleyball team were Class AA and public league champions twice (1995–96, 2001–02). The school's chess team were Class AA champions in 1991–92. The boys' soccer team were public league champions five times (1983–84, 1985–86, 1988–89, 2000–01, 2011–12) and State champions once (2011–12). The boys' golf team were public league champions in 1974. The boys' tennis team were public league champions twice (1973–74, 1974–75).[6]
Notable alumni
- Robert Berland (1980) – judoka and coach who became the first American to receive as high as a silver medal in Olympic judo, winning the silver medal at the 1984 Olympics.[7][8]
- Mun Choi – Current President of the University of Missouri
- Stephen Elliott (1990) – brother of William Elliott and author (Happy Baby).[9]
- Noah Falstein (1975) – Pioneer game developer of games such as Sinistar and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
- Frank Klopas (1983) – former soccer player, coach, and television broadcaster. He played on the U.S. national soccer team in the 1988 Olympics and the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[10]
- Qudus Lawal (2012) - Professional soccer player who led Mather to state and city championships.
- Max Levchin (1993) – internet entrepreneur who founded PayPal, Slide.com, and Affirm.[7]
- Harry Rushakoff (1977) - Former drummer for the band Concrete Blonde.
- Ira I. Silverstein (1979) – member of the Illinois Senate (1999–2019).[7]
References
- "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- "Administration". Mather High School. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- "Chicago (Mather)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 19 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- "Institution Summary for Mather High School". AdvancED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- Mather High School (Chicago, Illinois) 1967 - Yearbook
- IHSA - Mather (Chicago)
- "Stephen T. Mather High School Honor Roll". Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- Bain, Brittney (28 May 2008), "Judo medalist on the team to land Olympics for Chicago", Medill Reports - Chicago, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University (Evanston, IL, USA), archived from the original on 30 September 2011, retrieved 23 January 2010,
Berland, a 1979 graduate of Stephen T. Mather High School, 5835 N Lincoln Ave., has had big visions most of his life.
- Athitakis, Mark (8 August 2001). "The Making of Stephen Elliott: How a product of Chicago's group homes became a local literary cause célèbre". San Francisco Weekly. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
(p. 2) He graduated from high school after negotiating a deal with his principal -- if he got straight A's in the group home school for two years, he would get to go to the real high school, Mather High, across the street. He describes that time in his first book, a slim, street-tough novel called Jones Inn published two years ago.
- Ziehm, Len (13 June 1993), "Klopas Returns to Roots: Former Mather Star On U.S. Cup Team", Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved 23 January 2010,
Chicago has been the scene of many great soccer games by Frank Klopas - just none for a while. Klopas scored 70 goals in a spectacular high school career at Mather that culminated in the 1983 Public League championship.