Latin School of Chicago

Infobox Secondary school
name = Latin School of Chicago
type = Private
established = 1888
city = Chicago
state = Illinois
country = USA
students = 1,100 (2005-06)
grades = JK–12
mascot = Romans
newspaper = "The Forum"
yearbook = "The Roman"

website = [http://www.latinschool.org/ www.latinschool.org]

The Latin School of Chicago is a private elementary, middle and high school in the Old Town neighborhood in Chicago. The school was founded in 1888 by Mable Slade Vicory.

The School was founded in 1888 by a small group of mothers wanting to establish a school for the education of their sons, which had until that time been primarily the provence of either private tutors or eastern boarding schools. The school grew rapidly and by the First World War had full classes for every year from kindergarten through 12th grade. In 1902 Girls Latin was founded and was subsequently merged with Boys Latin to form The Latin School of Chicago in 1948. The school nearly collapsed following the Great Depression and the migration of many families from central Chicago to the suburbs. The school has since rebounded and now boasts more than 1100 pupils in 14 grades, 440 of which are in grades 9 through 12. Like many modern independent schools, the Latin School has sought to increase its national presence over the last decade. It has done so in one regard by pioneering its Humanities interdisciplinary course. Although this course has been moderately successful, in the 2007-2008 school year, it will be discontinued due to the worries of preparation for tenth grade English. The school has also sought to increase its scholarship funding and has consequently become slightly more diverse than it was even 15 years ago. The Latin School has always had the tradition of being an academically conservative school with a strong grounding in the Humanities and the Classics. At least one year of Latin is required of all pupils in 6th grade and the high school curriuculum requires four years of English and a minimum of three years of other subjects. Latin also offers the highest number of AP classes per capita and has a thriving system of Independent Studies.

The current campus has three buildings. The "lower school" (Junior Kindergarden to grade 5) building is the oldest structure dating to the 1950's and is located at 1531 N. Dearborn. The "upper school" (Grades 9-12) building at 59 W. North was completed in 1970. The "middle school" (grades 6-8) building located at 45 W. North was completed in the fall of 2007.

There has traditionally been some rivalry with Francis W. Parker School and The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, especially with Parker.

Notable alumni

* Bob Balaban - actor and producer.
* Carol Mendelsohn - television producer and writer.
* Nancy Reagan - former First Lady.
* Adlai Stevenson III - U.S. Senator, candidate for governor of Illinois, son of presidential candidate Adlai E. Stevenson.
* Roger McGuinn - singer and songwriter, founding member of the Byrds.
* William Wrigley, Jr. II - business executive.
* Brooks McCormick - International Harvest Company CEO and philanthropist.
* Lisa Madigan - current Illinois Attorney General.
* Laura Granville - professional tennis player.
* Johanes Maliza - professional soccer player.
* Bill Wirtz - former businessman and Chicago Blackhawks owner.
* John Marshall Harlan II - US Supreme Court Justice. [ [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/print/robes_harlan.html The Supreme Court . Printable Page | PBS ] ]
* Claes Oldenburg - sculptor.
* Neil Strauss - journalist and author.
* Douglas H. Ginsburg - Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, US Supreme Court nominee.
* Lauralee Bell - actress.
* Bradley Bell - television writer and producer.
* Ike Barinholtz - comedian.
* Matt Brandstein - writer/actor.
* J. Keith van Straaten - actor, comedian.
* Kenny George - college basketball player, the tallest athlete in the history of the NCAA.
* Crispin Freeman- voice actor.
* Alexi Giannoulias - current Illinois State Treasurer.
* Nina Gordon - singer and songwriter, founding member of the alternate rock band Veruca Salt.

References

External links

* [http://www.latinschool.org The Latin School of Chicago]