Libertyville High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Libertyville, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue (IL Rte 176) and Dawes Street, on the shore of Butler Lake, it is part of Community High School District 128, which also includes Vernon Hills High School.
History
The school was founded as Libertyville Township High School in 1917. When it first opened there were 138 students from Libertyville and the surrounding towns, and seven teachers. The original building (the Brainerd Building, pictured below) was located at the corner of Brainerd and West Park Avenues. In July 2008, the Brainerd Building was named to the National Register of Historic Places for its role as the first four-year high school building in Central Lake County, and its over 80 subsequent years of continued use. With the opening of the Butler Lake Campus in 1956, the Brainerd Building served as the school's Freshman campus, requiring students to commute about a quarter mile by foot between the two campuses. With the growth in the student body from communities surrounding Libertyville, the school became known formally as "Libertyville Community High School" until the opening of Vernon Hills High School in 1999. With the opening of Vernon Hills High School, the Brainerd Building was phased out as the Freshman campus, and the entire student body was eventually consolidated at Butler Lake. Plans to rehabilitate it for community use were unsuccessful and, to make way for athletic fields, demolition of the building began December 2014. In 2003, Libertyville High School began a $9 million expansion project at the Butler Lake campus to add new offices, classrooms and an expansion of the school's music department.
In the film Public Enemies, footage of the school's science lab, an office, the school's front entrance, and the locker rooms was filmed during spring break of March. The 2001 film New Port South was also filmed at Libertyville High School. Portions of the 2009 horror film The Unborn was filmed in the high school's locker rooms.
Feeder schools
LHS draws students from several feeder schools in the area, the majority of which matriculate from Highland Middle School in Libertyville. Other school districts supplying students to LHS include the Vernon Hills-based Hawthorn School District 73, Oak Grove School District 68 in neighboring Green Oaks, Rondout School District 72 serving unincorporated Lake Forest, and St. Joseph Catholic School in Libertyville.
Academics
In 2013, according to the Chicago Tribune Illinois School Report Card, students’ average composite ACT score was 26, which is above the Illinois state average of 20.3. Also, in 2013, 84% of LHS students met the Prairie State Achievement Exam standards. This is up 0.9% from 2012. The Prairie State Achievement Exam, or PSAE is a two-day exam which all juniors take. It includes the ACT college exam and the ACT Work Keys, which is a math and reading exam measuring real-world skills. In 2010 the Chicago Tribune Illinois School Report Card ranked Libertyville High School the ninth best public high school in Illinois, based on its average composite ACT score of 25.3. 98.0% of seniors were graduated in 2010 LHS has also been consistently recognized by NEWSWEEK magazine in their annual "America's Best High Schools" list. Libertyville High School was ranked as number 23rd in the nation by Niche, for their "2017 Best Public High Schools in America."
Extracurricular activities
The scholastic bowl team twice finished in the top four at the IHSA State Championship Tournament: achieving third place in 1997 and fourth place in 2007.
Music
The LHS Wind Ensemble has performed at several national and international music conferences. In 1998 and 2004, the Wind Ensemble performed at the prestigious Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. The Wind Ensemble was also one of sixteen bands in the entire country selected to participate in the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis in 2001, 2007, 2009, and 2013, and its percussion ensemble was selected to participate in 2013. In 2007 the Wind Ensemble earned the recognition of National Wind Band Honors in the highest class, AAAAA.