Maine East High School

History

Maine East was known as Maine Township High School when it was built in 1929 as a replacement for the original Maine Township High School, which itself had been built in 1902. Until 1959, when Maine West High School was built, it was the sole school in the district. The school was built with an indoor rifle shooting range and swimming pool. Over the years, the shooting range was closed and the swimming pool closed with a larger modern pool opened in a new section of the building.

In the early 1920s, Maine Township became the first high school in Illinois to teach courses in automotive repair and telegraphy.

During the Great Depression most of the staff taught without financial compensation, as the district could not afford to meet salaries. As thanks, local merchants provided necessities to the staff free of charge.

In 1936, Maine East's band director, Alexander Harley, along with his wife Frances, founded Maine Music Masters as a way of honoring musicians in the school band. The idea spread, and in 1952, the chapters at individual high schools were incorporated as Modern Music Masters. In 1983, it was renamed Tri-M Music Honor Society. Today, it is the largest international honor society in music education.

In December, 1959, student-operated radio station WMTH-FM went on the air. The first broadcast was of a basketball game in the school fieldhouse. The sportscaster students were Harrison Ford and Marshal Seese. Harrison went on to become a major movie star and Marshall went on to be a weather-caster at The Weather Channel.

For a short amount of time, in 1958–1959, there were so many students enrolled in the school (approximately 7,000) that the school day was split into two parts so that half of the population attended in the morning and half in the afternoon. The largest graduating class was the Class of 1970 with just under 1100 students, just prior to the opening of Maine North High School. Prior to that, graduating classes of about 1,000 students were in 1959, just prior to Maine West High School opening, and the Class of 1964, just prior Maine South High School opening. When Maine North High School closed in 1981, a majority of the students from that school were sent to Maine East, with the remainder being sent to Maine West High School and Glenbrook South High School.

Building and grounds

The architecture of the original building was inspired by the architecture of the Powell Library Building at UCLA. The original building was "L" shaped, with a long wing running east–west, parallel to Dempster Street. A shorter wing runs north–south, parallel to Potter Road, with both wings meeting at "the tower" where the main entrance is located. Each of the wings is three stories tall.

The tower is six stories tall, though the higher floors are not in use today because of fire hazard (there is only one narrow staircase granting access to these floors). The fourth floor contains the new heating and air-conditioning systems. The "tower" originally housed the art and music rooms, but since 1960 houses the broadcasting transmitter for WMTH 90.5 FM, the student-operated radio station. Following World War II and up into the late 1960s aviation classes were given with the use of a Link Trainer installed in the tower. The sixth floor also has a balcony on the outside from which there is a distant view, on some days, of the Chicago skyline.

The school has two swimming pools. The newer one is used for physical education classes, and by the interscholastic water polo and swimming & diving teams. The original natatorium, located in the basement, has been shut down due to the need for financially unfeasible repairs, but is kept for its irreplaceable decorative mosaics, which could be damaged with further exposure to water and chemicals.

The school also has a firing range in the basement that was in use when the school opened, as training with firearms was considered essential for young men in the wake of World War I.The firing range was also used for World War II because many people wanted to join the military. Though today used for storage, it is believed to be one of the few non-military academies to still have a usable firing range still on the premises.

On the football / track field there is a memorial for Maine East World War II alumni behind the stadium.

Starting in 1988, the school's ecology club began a cleanup and restoration of a small section of the property which was native savanna. In addition to general cleanup. students began annual buck thorn cutting days. In addition to some endangered species, trees as old as 200 years old were identified.

Diversity

Maine East is known statewide for its diversity. A large percentage of students are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. Maine East students collectively speak over 54 languages. In all, over 40 nations are represented, mostly from Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and Africa. The school's diversity also extends to religious belief. While Roman Catholic may make up the largest representation, the school has a considerable number of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Evangelical Christians, Protestants, Orthodox and Atheists. Despite the proximity of so many groups that are characterized as having animosity toward each other, Maine East has had virtually no incidents of hate crimes among its students.

This can best be shown in the number of ethnic clubs at the school which promote the cultures of various peoples, as well as giving students of similar background a chance to socialize. Among the clubs currently sponsored are clubs celebrating African-American culture, Assyrian, Chinese, Filipino, Hellenic (Greek), Korean, Mexican, Mongolian, Polish, Serbian, and Vietnamese. There is a South Asian Club which combines both Indian and Pakistani cultures, among others. There is also an all–encompassing International Club which celebrates all cultures and backgrounds.

One of the biggest annual events at the school is the Cultural Diversity Celebration. Held on a Saturday in late winter, the clubs representing these and other aspects of culture present food, art, music, and other performances which represent the diversity of the school's students.

In 2008, 56 in Harmony was published by Laura Matzen, one of the school's art teachers. Part of the artist's master's degree, the book depicts the faces of students on a dark background, with projections of the flag of that student's nation of origin on their face. While attempts were made to depict all 57 nations of origin for the students in 2007, permission could not be secured to photograph one flag.

Academics

The school offers 18 Advanced Placement courses: English Language, English Literature, Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Physics (C), Calculus (AB & BC), Statistics, Computer Science (AB), Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, U.S. History, European History, Government and Politics, Economics, Music Theory, and Studio Art.

Maine East has also been ranked in the top 1500 of America's public schools (based on the Challenge Index), as reported by Newsweek. In 2009, the school ranked #1192, in 2006, the school ranked #1181.

Activities

Maine East High School is active in United States policy debate and hosts a tournament with regional significance to Great Lakes-region high school debaters, as those advancing far enough receive a bid to attend the national Tournament of Champions.

The following teams succeeded in placing in the top four of the IHSA sponsored State Championship Tournament of their respective competitive activity:

Maine East High School is also home to the Park Ridge Rotary Interact Club, founded in 2013. The Interact Club boasts a large amount of student involvement and has led major fundraising and community service initiatives. The Interact Club has conducted service projects on the local and international level. The Interact Club's initiatives have received coverage by numerous media outlets. The Interact Club holds the motto "Service Above Self" and allows students to develop leadership skills through service.

Athletics

Maine East has competed in the Central Suburban League since 1972. Prior to 1972 the school competed in the West Suburban Conference. The school also competes in state championship tournament series sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. There are men's teams in baseball, football, and wrestling, while women may also compete in badminton, cheerleading, and softball.

The following teams succeeded in placing in the top four of the IHSA sponsored State Championship Tournament of their respective sport. These also include IHSA recognized finishes by Maine Township High School prior to 1960:

Politics and government service

Writing and journalism

The arts

Business

Athletics