Danville High School (Illinois)

Danville High School (DHS) is a public high school located in Danville, Illinois. DHS is part of Danville District 118, which also includes two middle schools and eight elementary schools. This also includes The Kenneth D. Bailey Academy, previously Holy Family Catholic School, the new home for Danville School District 118's alternative programs.[9]

Danville High School
Address
202 East Fairchild Street

Danville
,
Illinois
61832

United States
Coordinates40.1381°N 87.6267°W / 40.1381; -87.6267
Information
School typepublic secondary
MottoService
Opened1870
School districtDanville District 118
SuperintendentDr. Alicia Geddis[1]
PrincipalTracy Cherry[2]
Staff151[3]
Grades9–12
Gendercoed
Enrollment1,533 (2016-17)[4]
Average class size21.6[5]
Campus typeurban
Color(s)     maroon
     white[6]
AthleticsIHSA
Athletics conferenceBig Twelve
MascotOdin[7]
Team nameVikings/Lady Vikings[6]
NewspaperMaroon & White[8]
YearbookMedley[8]
Websitedhs.danville118.org

The school is perhaps best known for four of its alumni who went on to success in acting: Gene Hackman, 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

Principals

Tracy Cherry, the current principal of Danville High School, is the school's 33nd principal since 1870.[7]

Academics

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

Activities

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 2004 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

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]

  • Basketball (boys): 3rd place (1970–71, 1992–93); 2nd place (1935–36, 1949–50)
  • Football: 2nd place (1976–77) semifinals (1978-1979) (2009–10) semifinals (2010-2011)
  • Golf (boys): 4th place (1938–39); State Champions (1981–82)
  • Swimming & Diving (boys): 3rd place (1939–40, 1940–41)
  • Tennis (boys): 4th place (1952–53, 1958–59, 1966–67); 3rd place (1946–47, 1947–48, 2002–03); 2nd place (1951–52, 1959–60); State Champions (1945–46, 1953–54)
  • Track & Field (boys): 3rd place (1983–84, 1989–90); State Champions (1924–25)
  • jrotc drill (Chicago): 2nd place

Traditions

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".[7][18]

The school claims no knowledge as to why the school colors were chosen, though they date to at least 1906.[7] The school's teams were originally stylized as the Maroons.[7] The school's teams briefly used the name Silver Streaks before adopting Vikings in 1960.[7] While the Vikings name stuck, an attempt to change the school's primary color from maroon to light blue failed to catch on.[7]

Dress Code

As of the 2017-2018 school year, Danville District 118 has revised their 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
  • Maj. Kenneth D. Bailey, USMC
  • Gene Hackman
  • Bobby Short (center, at piano)
  • Joe Tanner
  • Dick Van Dyke
  • Jerry Van Dyke
gollark: Weird.
gollark: Why ever not?
gollark: Understanding computer things is important because people use computers lots for important tasks.
gollark: Also, between 0 and 206 of them are just my alts.
gollark: Apparently half aren't actually "styropyro fans", which is odd.

References
  1. "Superintendent - Danville School District No. 118". directory. Danville District 118. Retrieved 15 Oct 2015.
  2. "Principal - Danville High School". Danville High School. Retrieved 15 Oct 2015.
  3. "Staff - Danville High School". directory. Danville High School. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  4. "Danville High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  5. "Illinois School Report Card - Danville High School" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  6. "Danville (HS)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 30 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  7. "About Danville High School". Danville High School. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  8. "Danville High School Production Organizations". Danville High School. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  9. "District 118 Information - District Statistics". Danville District 118. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  10. Herkamp, Anna (16 September 2009). "Global learning: Taiwanese educational dignitaries tour schools". The Commercial-News. Danville, IL, USA. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  11. "Clubs and Organizations index". Danville High School. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  12. "Danville High School Choral Music". Danville High School. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  13. "Danville High School Instrumental Music". Danville High School. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  14. "Danville High School Choral Music Historic Events". Danville High School. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  15. "Dick Van Dyke comes Home to Danville High School" (PDF), Maroon & White, 2 (2): 2–3, June 2004, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16, Choreographed by Michael Weaver and arranged by Robert Hills, the highlight of the production occurred when Mr. Van Dyke himself came out to perform “Put On a Happy Face” with the cast ... Since Dick Van Dyke left Danville High School before the end of his senior year to enter the army, Superintendent Gary Tucker, board members David Groves and Leon Parker, and DHS Registrar Nancy Van Vickle presented him with his Class of 1944 diploma.
  16. "Danville High School Athletics". Danville High School. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  17. "IHSA season summaries". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 6 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  18. Freese, Ralph S. (8 July 2006). "Illinois Wesleyan Cheer Song". lyrics. fightsonglyrics.com. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  19. "Student Dress Code - Danville School District No. 118". Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  20. Bleill, Tony (10 July 2009). "Danville's Chuck Robinson, 14, has big-league aspirations". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois, US. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017. And by the time he enrolls at Danville High in August for his freshman year, he'll be carrying a reputation as one of the best up-and-coming baseball players in central Illinois ... That's high praise, considering the talent that has made Danville a home. The list includes Jason Anderson, a former Illini and major league reliever now pitching in Class AA.
  21. "Jason Anderson". the baseball cube.com. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  22. "Danville High School - Wall of Fame". Danville High School. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  23. "Keon Clark". biographical sketch and statistics. basketballreference.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  24. 'Illinois Blue Book 1961-1962,' Biographical Sketch of John P. Meyer, pg. 204-205
  25. 'Illinois Blue Book 1941-1942,' Biographical Sketch of John W. Speakman, pg. 194-195

Bibliography

Jones, Lottie E. (1911). History of Vermilion County, Illinois. Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Publishing Company. pp. 255, 334–5.

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