Lyons Township High School


Lyons Township High School is a public high school located in Western Springs, Illinois, and also in La Grange, Illinois. Lyons Township is a co-educational high school and serves grades 9–12 for Lyons Township High School District 204. Students from the communities of La Grange, Western Springs, Burr Ridge, La Grange Park, Countryside, Indian Head Park, Hodgkins, and parts of Brookfield, Willow Springs, and McCook attend Lyons Township. Lyons Township High School is the 8th-largest public high school in Illinois and the 46th-largest public high school in the United States. Freshmen and sophomores attend class at South campus, located at 4900 S. Willow Springs Rd. in Western Springs. Juniors and seniors attend class at North campus, located at 100 S. Brainard Ave. in LaGrange, which also houses the district offices. Sports facilities at Lyons Township include swimming pools, field houses, theatres, a turf football field, soccer fields, baseball fields, a gym, outdoor tracks, basketball courts, and volleyball courts. The two campuses are about a mile apart. Activity buses run after school between the campuses.

History

Lyons Township High School was opened on September 4, 1888. The enrollment included 39 students. An athletic field named Emmond Field was constructed in 1888, and a 1926–1929 expansion included the erection of a clock tower, auditorium, offices, library, and a gym. Leonard H. Vaughan funded the erection of the Vaughan Building; it was constructed in 1949 for sporting events and classes. In 1956, South Campus was opened about a mile south-west in nearby Western Springs to accommodate the community's growing population. The Corral was constructed in 1944 as a social place for all students to spend time with each other after school hours. In 2005, a performing arts center, a field house, and a pool were added to the South campus to complement the facilities at the North campus.

Athletics

At LTHS boys compete in baseball, football, cross country, wrestling, golf, soccer, bowling, basketball, swimming, diving, track and field, lacrosse, water polo, tennis, and volleyball. Girls compete in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, diving, tennis, lacrosse, track and field, volleyball, badminton, softball and water polo.
The following teams have won their respective IHSA state championship tournaments:
The LION newspaper is the student publication of LTHS. The LION is a member of the High School National Ad Network. The newspaper has won multiple awards:
LTHS is the license holder of WLTL-FM - a Class A non-commercial radio station which broadcasts from North Campus on 88.1 FM. WLTL has won several national and local awards, including the Service to Young Children award. The station is student-run, with new student managers selected each year.
WLTL is the recipient of more than 25 awards of excellence, including the John Dunn award for "Best High School Radio Station in the Nation" and has had 10 consecutive years winning the Communicator Award. WLTL has also been recognized nationally for the quality broadcasting that it provides by the National Association of Broadcasters. Several current media figures got their start at WLTL, including Mike Murphy of WSCR, Dave Juday of WMVP-AM, Ryan Arnold and Emma McElherne of WXRT-FM, and Phil LeBeau of CNBC.

Clubs and activities

LTHS offers over 100 activities and athletics including academic clubs, communication arts, performing arts, intramurals, leadership and service organizations. They include the following:
Performance groups
Service groups and initiatives
Fine arts groups
Academic organizations
Clubs and organizations
Throughout the year, students arrange multiple small events for the school as well as the community. Such events include the All School Assembly, Relay For Life events, Computer Drive, Secret Santa, Rockathon and various other student run events.

Notable alumni