Alan B. Shepard High School

Alan B. Shepard High School
Address
13049 S. Ridgeland Avenue
Palos Heights, Illinois 60463
United States
Coordinates 41°39′18″N 87°46′28″W / 41.6551°N 87.7744°W / 41.6551; -87.7744
Information
School type public secondary
Opened 1976
School district Community HS 218
Superintendent Dr. John Byrne[1]
Principal Greg Walder[2]
Staff 173[3]
Grades 9–12
Gender coed
Enrollment 1,908[4]
Average class size 22.4[4]
Campus type suburban
Color(s)      brown
     orange[5]
Song We're the Astros[6]
Fight song Fight, Fight for Shepard High[6]
Athletics conference South Suburban Conference[5]
Team name Astros
Lady Astros[5]
Average ACT scores 19.7[4]
Publication Spectrum[7]
Newspaper Freedom 7[6]
Yearbook Odyssey[6]
Website http://shepard.chsd218.org/

Alan B. Shepard High School is a public secondary school located in Palos Heights, Illinois. The school, along with Dwight D. Eisenhower High School and Harold L. Richards High School are part of Community High School District 218. Students who attend the school live in the communities of Palos Heights, Crestwood, Worth, Alsip, Robbins, and Calumet Park. The school is named in honor of Alan B. Shepard, the first American astronaut to travel into space.

History

As early as 1966, District 218 began looking for a site for a third high school. The school and local residents argued between two sites located on either side of the intersection of 120th Street and Pulaski Avenue in Alsip.[8] In 1972, the district asked voters in the district to approve a bond issue to raise money for a new school to be located in Palos Heights.[9]

Academics

In 2008, Shepard had an average composite ACT score of 19.7, and graduated 86.4% of its senior class.[4] The school has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which is the state assessment used to fulfill mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[4] Overall, the school failed to meet minimum standards in reading and mathematics, in addition to having three of the school's four student subgroups fail to meet expectations in reading and mathematics.[4]

Student life

Activities

The school offers over 40 extracurricular clubs ranging from student publications and academic competitions to service and special interest clubs.[10] Clubs which are chapters or affiliates of nationally notable organizations include Future Educators of America, Key Club, Leo Club, and Quill and Scroll.[10]

Extracurricular Success

The School's extracurricular success overshadows that of their athletic success. The Shepard Marching Astros, Shepard Mathletes, Shepard Show Choir, and Shepard Speech Team have been the most successful in their respective domains. The most notable of which being the Shepard speech[11] sending state qualifiers to the IHSA state tournament every year. The Team hosting five recent state champions including: Jasmine Lockett in Original Oratory (2009) Amy Ramelli in Original Comedy (2010) Leah Ellis in Special Occasions Speaking (2011) Glorielle Williams in Poetry Reading (2012) Lindsie Bliss in Informative Speaking (2014).

Athletics

Shepard competes in the South Suburban Conference and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA); the organization which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Astros (for men) and Lady Astros (for women).

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball, bowling, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo.[12] Young men may compete in baseball, football, golf, wrestling while young women may compete in badminton, cheerleading, and softball.[12] While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors a poms team for young women.[12]

The school's badminton team is the only athletic team to place in the top four of their IHSA sponsored state tournament, placing third twice (1979–80, 91–92) and second twice (1990–91, 97–98).[13]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Superintendent". Community HS District 218. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Administration". directory. Alan B. Shepard HS. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Alan B. Shepard High School Faculty & Staff". directory. Alan B. Shepard HS. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Illinois School Report Card" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 13, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 "Palos Heights (Shepard)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). November 19, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "About Us". Alan B. Shepard High School. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Literary Magazine (Spectrum)". Alan B. Shepard HS. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  8. ↑ "District School Boards Clash Over Building Location in Alsip". Chicago Tribune. May 26, 1966. pp. IND3.
  9. ↑ "Bond OK Asked for New School in Palos Heights". Chicago Tribune. September 17, 1972. pp. S5.
  10. 1 2 "Activities and Clubs". directory. Alan B Shepard HS. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Team results – Shepard". SpeechWire.
  12. 1 2 3 "Athletic Team Pages". Alan B. Shepard HS. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  13. ↑ "IHSA Season summaries". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Ron Mahay". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
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