Peoria High School
Address
1615 N. North Street

Peoria
,
Illinois
61604

United States
Information
School typePublic, High School
StatusOpen
SuperintendentSharon Kherat
PrincipalShaun McGinnes
Teaching staff81.24 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment1,230 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio15.14[1]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)  Maroon
  Black
AthleticsIHSA
Athletics conferenceBig Twelve
Team nameLions
NewspaperThe Opinion
WebsiteOfficial website

Peoria High School is a public high school in Peoria, Illinois. Peoria High School was established in 1856 and is the second oldest continually operating high school west of the Allegheny Mountains after Evansville Central High School in Indiana.[2][3] Peoria High is located at 1615 N. North Street and moved to this location in 1916. Peoria High School is commonly referred to as "Central" to distinguish it from Richwoods and Manual, and it is centrally located in Peoria. Peoria is the only city in the Peoria metro area with multiple high schools. The motto is the "Pride of the City".[3]

History

1800s

In 1856, the school opened on the second floor of the Peoria Female Academy.[3] Classes were held in this building for five years until the first location, at Fourth and Fisher streets near the present-day Civic Center, opened in 1861.[3]

Lucetta Howell was the first valedictorian in 1858.[3]

The name Peoria High became official in 1882.[3] A second location was built at Monroe and Fayette Streets due to rising enrollment.[3] This location was demolished to build I-74.[4]

In 1889, the first student newspaper, The High School Opinion, was established with Julia Proctor as its first editor.[3] It is the oldest continuously running student newspaper in Illinois and currently publishes quarterly.[3]

1900s

In 1912, the school board voted to build a new school on North Street.[3] The current building opened on September 11, 1916.[3] It was designed by Peoria architect Frederic Klein, who also designed Madison Theatre, the Japanese bridge at Bradley Park, and pavilions in Glen Oak Park and Grand View Park.[4]

2000s

The school had a 150th all-school reunion and celebration in June 2006 at the Peoria Civic Center.

Sports

Peoria High had one of the first football teams in the area and played Illinois Wesleyan's college team.[3] Peoria high won the first Illinois state championship for basketball in 1908.[3] They also won the first state track and field championship in May 1893.[3]

Peoria High is a member of the Big Twelve Conference (Illinois) in athletics, and the school mascot is the Lions. The school mascot was the Maroons until the late 1940s when it was changed. The school colors are maroon, black, and white. Their longtime rivals are the Peoria Manual Rams.

Illinois High School Association State Championships
Sport Class Year Coach
Boys Basketball N/A 1908 Les Straesser
Boys Basketball 2A 1977 Bruce Boyle
Boys Basketball 2A 2003 Chuck Buescher
Boys Basketball 2A 2004 Chuck Buescher
Boys Basketball 3A 2012 Dan Ruffin
Boys Football 5A 2016 Tim Thornton
Speech N/A 1978 John Davidson

Student council

The student council of Peoria High School is a part of the Hopewell District of the Illinois Association of Student Councils. They take part in (as well as host) a multitude of events for student councils throughout the state.

Alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Peoria High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Peoria High School History". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Bruch, Thomas (2016-03-25). "For 160 years, Peoria High has strived to be the 'Pride of the City'". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lasswell, Mark (2022-08-01). "Historic Peoria High, still making history". Peoria Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  5. ↑ Renken, Leslie (2022-04-04). "'My name is Jon Daker': Awkward performance immortalized Peoria singer with internet fame". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ↑ "About Shaun". Chicago: CAA Sports. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-04.

40°42′25″N 89°35′58″W / 40.70694°N 89.59944°W / 40.70694; -89.59944

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