Naperville North High School

History

The building was constructed in 1970 comprising 152,347 square feet (14,000 m²). Additions to the building were made in 1974, 1986 and 1992, increasing the size to the current (as of 2005) 449,665 square feet (42,000 m²). From the time of its construction until the 1992-1993 academic year, Naperville North was the only high school in its district to have a swimming pool. Thus Naperville Central High School students who took Physical Education courses in swimming or desired to compete in swimming and/or diving would be bussed from Naperville Central to Naperville North. The stadium and pool underwent significant renovations during the 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 school years, respectively.

Academics

In 2008, Naperville North had an average composite ACT score of 25.4, and graduated 100.0% of its senior class. Naperville North has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which with the ACT, are the assessment tools used in Illinois to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act. One student subgroup failed to meet expectations in reading and mathematics.

In 2010, Newsweek ranked Naperville North #1332 in their annual list of the top 1500 American public high schools, based upon the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests given at a school, divided by the number of seniors graduating that year. In 2005, the school was ranked #1008, in 2007, #1082, in 2008 #926, and in 2009 #1331.

Naperville North is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Illinois State Department of Education.

Athletics

Naperville North competes in the DuPage Valley Conference (DVC). Naperville North is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in Illinois. The school's teams are stylized as the Huskies.

From 1975–87, Naperville North played its home football games at Naperville Central. In 1988, Naperville North opened Harshbarger/Welzel Stadium as its new home field.

The school sponsors interscholastic athletic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. Young men may also compete in baseball, football, and wrestling, while young women may compete in badminton, cheerleading, and softball. In addition to the above sports, the school also offers club sports in ice hockey and ultimate frisbee.

The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet:

Activities

The school is also host to a Certamen; a quizbowl-like team, placing first in the 2004 state Latin convention; the Northern Lights, a nationally competitive winter guard; the Marching Huskies marching band, who tied for second in the state championship in 2005 and took fourth in state in 2009; and a drama department that contributes regularly to the Illinois High School Theatre Fest. Notable recent IHSTF productions with North students in the cast or crew began with The Kentucky Cycle in 1999, ending a decade-long absence from the festival, and have since included West Side Story, Pirates of Penzance and Macbeth. In 2000, a Naperville North adaptation of 12 Angry Men (presented as Twelve Angry Jurors), was selected to perform as a showcase at the IHS Theatre Festival. More recent selections taken to state include The Laramie Project, Angel's Fall and Wings. The Naperville North theatre recently received a technical over-haul, allowing for better lighting and control mechanisms. North's newspaper, the North Star, has won numerous local and statewide awards.

The Math Team at Naperville North has been the DuPage Valley Conference champions for 28 consecutive years and were Illinois state champions 14 of the last 16 years, and won ten consecutive Math Team state championships (1998–2007). Naperville North also participates in the North Suburban Math League. In 2008, the math team competed at the ICTM Regional competition at the College of DuPage and placed 1st overall. During the ICTM State competition at the University of Illinois in 2008, Naperville North lost to IMSA, which prevented North from winning their 11th consecutive state championship. They received 2nd place overall. In 2009, Naperville North regained the state title, their fourteenth in sixteen years. Naperville North again won the ICTM Division 4AA state championship in 2016. The WYSE team won the state championship from 1999 to 2005, 2007 to 2009, 2012, and 2013.

Naperville North has a Junior State of America (JSA) chapter. Naperville North's JSA chapter is well known, and has a high chapter membership in the Midwest state. They are debaters who form a tight knit group. The chapter is also involved in the state structure of JSA. Naperville North also has a DECA Chapter. The DECA chapter has grown in size and in caliber. In the past five years, Naperville North's DECA chapter has had over fifty different state qualifiers, ten state winners (top three), five national winners, including one taking the championship, and elected a State President, who leads Illinois DECA.

In the winter of 2011, NNHS announced they may have to discontinue print publication of "The North Star." This happened as a result of decreased advertising revenue and subscribers.

Partnerships

The school offers an international exchange programme with Steinbart Gymnasium in Duisburg, Germany. In this programme students have the opportunity to gain a great view on their own country from the outside and to get prepared for the globalised scientific and business life. The partnership is part of the German American Partnership Program.