West Aurora High School
| West Aurora High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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1201 W. New York Street Aurora, Illinois 60506 United States |
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| Coordinates | 41°45′54″N 88°20′44″W / 41.765°N 88.3456°WCoordinates: 41°45′54″N 88°20′44″W / 41.765°N 88.3456°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Motto | A Tradition of Excellence |
| Opened | 1868 |
| School district | West Aurora Public School District 129 |
| Superintendent | Jeff Craig |
| CEEB code | 140185 |
| NCES School ID | 170471000174 |
| Principal | Charles Hiscock |
| Teaching staff | 196 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | coed |
| Enrollment | 3,470 (2012) |
| Average class size | 23.3 |
| Campus | suburban |
| School colour(s) |
Red Blue |
| Fight song | Roll On, You Blackhawks |
| Athletics conference | Upstate Eight Conference |
| Mascot | Chief Blackhawk |
| Nickname | Blackhawks |
| Accreditation | AdvancED |
| Average ACT scores | 20.3 |
| Publication | Muses |
| Newspaper | Red and Blue |
| Yearbook | EOS |
| Website | School website |
West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-year high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is part of West Aurora Public School District 129. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,".
High school classes were first offered in 1867 at Stone School (now defunct). The first graduating class of five students had their commencement in 1870.
From 1905 until the 1950s the high school was located in a building on Blackhawk Avenue (so named after the school's athletics mascot). This same building (demolished in February 2015) was Benjamin Franklin Junior High School until the 1970s, when it was sold to Aurora Christian School, which used it as their school building until 2004. The current WAHS structure was built in the early 1950s, and was dedicated in 1953 as "West Side Senior High." From 1978–1981 the building was briefly known as the "West Aurora South Campus," when two buildings existed on Aurora's west side to house the high school population. The building formerly known as the "West Aurora North Campus" now houses the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.
The present building has had multiple additions and renovations, with the major additions occurring over four phases. The first added classrooms to an existing two-story classroom wing in the early 1960s. The largest addition, to the north and east sides of the building, added the auditorium, classroom space and other amenities in 1966–1967. This addition was responsible for the creation of the building's first two courtyard spaces. The 1997–1998 addition was constructed as a two–story wing on the south end of the building, giving it a new facade, and closing a portion of New York Street. This addition included a new library, a technology center, a new cafeteria, and additional classroom space. The most recent addition was completed in time for the 2004–2005 academic year. This included a new fieldhouse, a new single–story classroom wing on the northwest corner of the building, and a new choral rehearsal space.
Today West High is a diverse school, with several academic and athletic programs available.
In 2008, West Aurora had an average composite ACT score of 19.3, and graduated 79.1% of its senior class. West Aurora has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test, which with the ACT, are the assessment tools used in Illinois to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act. All four of the student subgroups at West Aurora failed to meet minimum expectations in reading and math, as did the school as a whole.
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