Glenbard West High School


Glenbard West High School is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Ellyn Avenue and Crescent Boulevard in Glen Ellyn, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Glenbard Township High School District 87. The West campus draws students from Glen Ellyn, a small portion of Lombard, and portions of Wheaton, Glendale Heights and Carol Stream. Glenbard West is known for its historically strong academic performance. The town of Glen Ellyn is passionate about athletics and West sporting events are often packed with supportive fans.

History

The first high school that area students attended was Glen Ellyn High School, which served students from 1916 to 1922. These classes were held at the DuPage Bank Building. By 1920, classes were spread between the bank building and local church basements. The administrators decided to build a dedicated high school building.
The district purchased a site on Honeysuckle Hill for the price of US$1. The current building opened in 1922 as Glenbard Township High School, the first of the district's high schools. It was built in the style of a castle, complete with roof turrets.

Facilities

Glenbard, as it was originally named, was constructed in 1922 atop Honeysuckle Hill, overlooking Lake Ellyn. Built with dark red brick, the building was built with castle-like design, complete with a turret and other minor castle details. Glenbard West also has a tower known as the sixth floor. From the window of the sixth floor tower, the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago can be seen on a clear day.
Athletics were initially played in a gymnasium, built in 1936, in the school building itself, but with the construction of a $12 million state of-the-art field house across the street, the former gym was turned into the Robert D. Elliott Library, named after one of the most influential principals in the school's history. Biester Gym was built in 1958.
Across the road from Glenbard West is Bill Duchon Field, where football, boys' and girls' soccer, and track are played. Originally built in 1923, it was renamed in 1980 in honor of a head football coach who led West to several conference championships. The stadium seats up to 5,000 spectators, with the home side overlooking Lake Ellyn. In 2001, Duchon field was named by USA Today as one of the top 10 places to watch high school football.
Additions to the school were added beginning in 1926. The auditorium was built in 1931, and the East Wing in 1953. Glenbard East was built in 1959 in Lombard, and the original school became Glenbard West. There was a complete renovation of the school during the 1964-1965 school year, adding new choral, band, and physical science facilities. The George Zahrobsky Botanical Garden, Shakespeare Garden and Poet’s Corner were added in later years. A new library and field house were completed in 2001, and the most recent additions, the science wings, were added in 2016.

In media

Bill Duchon Field was used to stage the football field scenes in the 1986 film Lucas, which featured rising stars such as Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Winona Ryder, and Jeremy Piven. The school building was also used for shooting scenes. Glenbard West cheerleaders appeared as extras in the film, though the school colors and school name were changed.
The 1991 television documentary Yearbook was also filmed here.
It was also featured in the post-apocalyptic book The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. Nelson.

Academics

Glenbard West has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which with the ACT, comprise the assessments used in Illinois to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
In 2015, U.S. News and World Report ranked Glenbard West #520 in the nation and 20th overall in Illinois.
Glenbard West has been ranked among the top 1500 public schools in the United States six times, according to Newsweeks challenge Index. In 2010, the school ranked #900. The school was previously ranked #1022, #954, #673, #626, #684, and #711.

Activities

Glenbard West is home to a number of competitive activities that have represented the school well.
The Glenbard West Forensics team won the team IHSA state championship trophy in 1991. Since then, the team has won numerous individual awards in State Finals. In 2010, the team tied for second overall.
The Glenbard West Theatre program performs in the Larry Shue Auditorium. In 2008, the school's production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was performed at the Illinois Theatrefest.
The Glenbard West Model United Nations team regularly annually competes at the Brown University, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Model UN Conferences. The team has received numerous awards at each of those conferences.

Athletics

Glenbard West competes in the West Suburban Conference. The school is also a member of the Illinois High School Association, which governs most sports and competitive activities in Illinois. Teams are stylized as the Hilltoppers.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, boys' lacrosse, and volleyball. Young men may compete in baseball, football, lacrosse, basketball, wrestling, track & field, and cross country, while young women may compete in badminton, basketball, track & field, cross country, and softball.

State Championships