Thornton Township High School
| Thornton Township High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
|
15001 S. Broadway Harvey, Illinois 60426 United States |
|
| Coordinates | 41°37′05″N 87°38′36″W / 41.6181°N 87.6434°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Opened | 1899 |
| School district | Thornton Twp. HS 205 |
| Superintendent | J. Kamala Buckner |
| Principal | Tony Ratliff |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Enrollment | 2,513 |
| Average class size | 19.6 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| School colour(s) | Purple and white |
| Athletics conference | South Suburban Conference |
| Team name | Wildcats |
| Average ACT scores | 16.5 |
| Newspaper | Paw Prints |
| Communities served | Harvey, South Holland, Phoenix, Riverdale, Dixmoor, Markham, Blue Island |
| Website | School website |
Thornton Township High School, often simply referred to as Thornton is a public high school founded in 1899, located in Harvey, one of the south suburbs of the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The school is one of three administered by Thornton Township High Schools District 205. It is occasionally confused with the two other similarly named schools in the district, Thornridge High School and Thornwood High School.
A predominantly African American high school, Thornton is perhaps best known for its many alumni who have been successful in both the performing arts and athletics.
The site for Thornton Township High School was decided by a special election on May 28, 1898, where Harvey was selected over Dolton by a 1,504 to 1,123 vote, with the estimate of the school's cost being $40,000. Oscar L. Murray was the architect of the building whose cost by October 1898 was $35,000, and was planned that included physical and biological laboratories, a library, gymnasium, a 280-seat assembly room, bicycle and lunch rooms.
By May 1899, the plans had been firmed up to include a two-story structure with basement, with an interior to be finished in red oak. Heat would be provided by steam, with electric fans and an automated clock and signal system. The main floor assembly room was expanded to seat 700. Construction was set to begin in June, with completion in October. The original building was located at 154th Street and Columbia Avenue.
In 1913, Thornton was one of nine schools, and the only south suburban school, invited to found what became the Suburban League, which mostly consisted of schools like Thornton which had formerly been members of the Cook County High School League.
In 1928, 16-year-old Betty Robinson (between her junior and senior years at the school) not only won the very first Olympic gold medal awarded to a woman in the 100 meters (at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam), but set a world record which stood for four years.
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