Danville High School (Illinois)
| Danville High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
202 East Fairchild Street Danville , Illinois 61832 United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°08′17″N 87°37′36″W / 40.1381°N 87.6267°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public secondary |
| Motto | Service |
| Opened | 1870 |
| School district | Danville District 118 |
| Superintendent | Alicia Geddis[1] |
| Principal | Tracy Cherry[2] |
| Staff | 151[3] |
| Teaching staff | 86.81 (FTE)[4] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | Coed |
| Enrollment | 1,424 (2018–19)[4] |
| Average class size | 21.6[5] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 16.40[4] |
| Campus type | urban |
| Color(s) | Maroon White[7] |
| Athletics | IHSA |
| Athletics conference | Big Twelve |
| Mascot | Odin[6] |
| Team name | Vikings/Lady Vikings[7] |
| Newspaper | Maroon & White[8] |
| Yearbook | Medley[8] |
| Website | dhs |
Danville High School (DHS) is a public high school located in Danville, Illinois, United States. It is part of Danville District 118, which also includes two middle schools and eight elementary schools.[9]
The school is perhaps best known for four of its alumni who went on to success in acting: Gene Hackman, Ned Luke, the brothers Dick and Jerry Van Dyke, Donald O'Connor; and one who became an important figure in popularizing early twentieth-century popular music, Bobby Short.
History[edit]
Principals[edit]
Charlotte "Tracy" Cherry, the current principal of Danville High School, is the school's 33nd principal since 1870.[6]
| Principal | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Spillmen | 1870-1874 | ||
| Cornelia Branch | 1874-1876 | ||
| Annie Hoff | 1876-1878 | ||
| M. A. Lapham | 1878-1879 | ||
| Silas Y. Gillan | 1879-1886 | ||
| E. C. Williams | 1886-1887 | ||
| Lawrence A. McLauth | 1887-1891 | ||
| Stratton B. Brooks | 1891-1892 | ||
| S.A.D. Harry | 1892-1897 | ||
| Dr. B. D. Billinghurst | 1897-1900 | ||
| B. A. Sweet | 1900-1902 | ||
| Edwin D. Martin | 1902-1905 | ||
| Zora Mayo Smith | 1905-1909 | ||
| Charles E. Lawyer | 1909-1912 | ||
| A. W. Smalley | 1912-1916 | ||
| William C. Baer | 1916-1930 | ||
| John E. Wakeley | 1930-1934 | ||
| Russell M. Duffin | 1935-1948 | ||
| E. D. Milhon | 1948-1967 | ||
| Richard L. Burrer | 1967-1969 | ||
| Arthur F. Mathisen | 1969-1980 | ||
| Blaine E. Bonynge | 1980-1989 | ||
| Dr. Carl Esslinger (interim) | 1989-1990 | ||
| Dr. Ellen S. Russell | 1990-1994 | ||
| Dr. Carol A. Stack | 1994-1996 | ||
| Nanette L. Mellen | 1996-2001 | ||
| Mark Denman | 2001-2004 | ||
| Gail Garner | 2004-2006 | ||
| Marla Bauerle-Hill | 2006-2008 | ||
| Mark A. Neil | 2008-2013 | ||
| Phil Cox | 2013-2015 | ||
| Kimberly Norton | 2015–2018 | ||
| Tracy Cherry | 2019-2023
Academics[edit]For the graduating class of 2016, DHS had an average composite ACT score of 17.6, and graduated 69.7% of its senior class.[5] In September 2009 the school hosted several education administrators from Taiwan who were visiting to not only see how the school functions, but to participate in a learning opportunity for the school's Global House.[10] School activities[edit]Activities[edit]The school offers approximately 30 clubs and activities ranging from service-oriented clubs to academic competition, to art appreciation.[11] Among the clubs which are chapters for more national organizations are Key Club, and National Honor Society.[11] The choral music program supports a choir, show choir, and madrigal program.[12] The instrumental music program supports two symphonic bands, a pep band (the Maroon Maniacs), percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, madrigal brass band, marching band (Band of Vikings), a jazz combo (The Tenth Degree), madrigal strings, string orchestra and a symphony orchestra.[13] In 2021 the school staged the musical Bye Bye Birdie, which (at its 1958 Broadway premier) had starred alum Dick Van Dyke in the role of Albert Peterson. For the 2004 production, Van Dyke returned to the school, and learned one of the numbers ("Put On a Happy Face") alongside the students, performing both nights of the show. Van Dyke, who joined the military before receiving his diploma, was also granted his high school diploma at a ceremony.[14][15] Athletics[edit]DHS competes in the Big Twelve conference and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA); the organization which organizes most interscholastic high school sports and competitive activities in the state of Illinois. Teams are stylized as the Vikings (or Lady Vikings for women's teams). The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track & field.[16] Young men may participate in baseball, football, golf, and wrestling, while young women may compete in cheerleading and softball.[16] While not sponsored by the IHSA, the Athletic Department also sponsors a poms team (Pompettes).[16] The following teams finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meet:[17]
Traditions[edit]The school has two songs: a fight song and a cheer song. The cheer song's lyrics were borrowed from the cheer song written for Illinois Wesleyan University, substituting "Danville High" for "Wesleyan" and "maroon" for "green".[6][18] The school claims no knowledge as to why the school colors were chosen, though they date to at least 1906.[6] The school's teams were originally stylized as the "Maroons".[6] The school's teams briefly used the name "Silver Streaks" before adopting "Vikings" in 1960.[6] While the Vikings name stuck, an attempt to change the school's primary color from maroon to light blue failed to catch on.[6] Dress code[edit]As of the 2017–2018 school year, Danville District 118 had revised its old dress code into a new dress code that lets students dress freely as long as it is not vulgar or explicit.[19] Notable alumni[edit]
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
External links[edit]
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