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Maine East High School, or MEHS, and officially Maine Township High School East, is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Dempster Street and Potter Road in Park Ridge, Illinois, a north-west suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Maine Township High School District 207, which also includes Maine South High School and Maine West High School.

History

The current building was built in 1929, and saw its first full year of use for the 1929-30 school year. It is not only the oldest of the three high schools in the school district, but is one of the oldest public high schools in continuous use in suburban Chicago. Even though the building has seen several expansions and renovations, much of the original facade and artwork is still intact. A few older local residents refer to the school as "Old Maine" or simply "Maine."

Maine East was known as Maine Township High School from when it was built in 1929 through 1962 when Maine West High School was built. The original Maine Township High School was housed in a smaller building in Des Plaines from 1902 until 1929. For a short amount of time, there were so many students enrolled in the school, approximately 7,000, that the school day was split into two parts, with half of the population attending in the morning, and half in the afternoon. The largest graduating class at Maine East was just over 1,100 students in 1971.

During the Great Depression most of the staff taught without financial compensation, as the district could not afford to meet salaries. As thanks, local merchants provided necessities to the staff free of charge.

The school has two swimming pools. One is used for classes and natatorium is kept for its irreplaceable decorative mosaics, which could be damaged with further exposure to water and chemicals. The school also has a firing range in the basement that was in use when the school opened, as training with firearms was considered essential for young men in the wake of World War I. Though today used for storage, it is believed to be one of the few non-military academies to have a firing range still on the premesis. The building also includes five floors and a basement. The basement houses classrooms, equipment, the shooting range and the closed swimming pool. The first through third floors are where the classes and offices are located. The fourth floor and above is blocked off for students under normal circumstances, but the fourth floor contains the new heating and air-conditioning systems. The fifth and sixth floors form the "tower" and are also blocked to students, although there are "tours" that allow students up there, due to the fire hazard formed by having only one exit, a narrow staircase. The "tower" originally housed the art and music rooms, but since 1960 houses the broadcasting transmitter for WMTH-FM, the student-operated radio station. The sixth floor also has a balcony on the outside from which there is a far view, in some cases the skyline of Chicago.

In 1936, Maine East's band director, Alexander Harley, along with his wife Frances, founded Maine Music Masters as a way of honoring musicians in the school band. The idea spread, and in 1952, the chapters at individual high schools were incorporated as Modern Music Masters. In 1983, it was renamed Tri-M Music Honor Society. Today, it is the largest international honor society in music education.

Academics

In 2005, Maine East had an average composite ACT score of 20.8, and graduated 94.1% of its senior class. Maine East has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievments Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act. The average class size is 20.1.Illinois School Report Card

The staff is comprised of 220 teachers, of which 80% hold an advanced degree.School profile

Athletics

Maine East competes in the Central Suburban North. Its mascot is the Blue Demons.

Activities

In 1960, the first high-school radio station went on the air, WMTH at 88.5 FM. The first student voice on the station was Harrison Ford. The station continues to be on the air today at 90.5 FM. WMTH-FM is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010 with alumni being registered at WMTHalumni.com.

Due to Maine East's diversity, including over 50 different languages spoken by students as their primary language, the school is able to offer several uncommon after school activities, including cricket club which is one of the few in existence at a Midwestern high school.

Notable alumni

References

External Links

High schools in Illinois | Educational institutions established in 1902

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Maine East High School".

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