The high school was founded in 1901 in Winnetka, Illinois with seventy-six students and seven faculty members. In 1912, New Trier became the first high school in America to have an indoor swimming pool. During World War I, New Trier became a training ground for soldiers in 1918. A fundraising drive by students led to the purchase of an ambulance. During the mid 1920s, New Trier began the adviser system that is still in place today. Later, students sold tax warrants door to door to keep the school operating as the flow of property tax funds was disrupted by the Great Depression in the early 1930's. In the 1940s, students raised enough funds to finance the purchase of a B-17 bomber ("The Spirit of New Trier") and a B-29.
By 1962, student enrollment had increased to over 4,000. To accommodate this larger student body, voters approved a referendum for New Trier to purchase forty-six acres in Northfield through a bond issue. New Trier West opened for freshmen and sophomores in 1965. Then in 1967, the New Trier West campus was dedicated as a separate four-year high school. Attending the dedication ceremony were then Education Secretary John Gardner, Illinois Senator to CongressCharles Percy (alumnus, 1937), and Congressman and future Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (alumnus, 1950).
Enrollment reached an all time peak of 6,558 studenta in 1972. By 1981, enrollment had dropped significantly. As a result, the school board decided to combine the East and West schools back into one, and convert the Northfield (west) buildings into a freshmen-only campus for the combined school. The resulting arrangement (freshmen at the "west campus" and upperclassmen at the "east campus") lasted from September 1981 until June 1985, when enrollment had declined enough for the board to close and convert the entire Northfield campus to a community recreation space. The campus later housed a senior center, corporate dormitories, a public swimming pool, and an alternative high school program known as West Center Academy.
In 2001, the Northfield campus was reopened as a freshmen-only campus due to increasing enrollment. The decision to make it a freshmen-only campus was a compromise from a stalemate between plans to either increase capacity at the Winnetka campus or reopen the Northfield campus as a separate school.
The Northfield campus also houses the administrative offices of the New Trier Township High School District.
Today New Trier is considered one of the most elite public high schools in the country, both in academics and athletics.
Subject-level grouping, GPA, and class rank
Northfield campus
New Trier has practiced subject-level grouping for over forty years. In this system, up to four different levels of difficulty are offered for each academic subject, and Advanced Placement classes provide a fifth alternative for upperclassmen. Level 1 is considered a general level. Levels 2, 3, and 4 are college preparatory, accelerated, and honors levels respectively. Level 5 is reserved for Advanced Placement classes. Students may work at different levels in different subjects.
New Trier offers both unweighted and weighted grade point averages (GPA), and plus and minus grades are reported on transcripts. However, transcripts only report decile rank (as opposed to class rank). For weighted GPA, the maximum score (an A) in a 1-level course is a 3.33 out of 4.00. In a 2-level course, it is 4.00 for the same grade. In levels 3/9, 4, and 5, the maximums are 4.67, 5.33 and 5.67, respectively.
Since the late 1990s, the Board of Education has been examining how to encourage students to pursue a strong academic career without having them focus too much on their class rank. The first step taken by the administration was to eliminate the process of reporting class rank and switch to decile ranking. Around the same time, the scale for weighted GPA calculations was modified, and plus and minus grades were implemented. Previously, an A in a 4-level course was considered a 6.0 in the weighted GPA scale, while it is presently weighted 5.33. In late October of 2005, Superintendent Hank Bangser revealed that the school board is seriously evaluating whether the school should eliminate the practice of class (decile) ranking altogether. Bangser stated to a reporter from the Pioneer Press, "What we really want to do is eliminate it because it makes it harder and harder for really good students who are in the middle of the class to be selected by competitive schools because they won't select kids in the middle of the class."
Sports and organizations
Official logo of the New Trier Trevians
New Trier's mascot is the Trevian, named after soldiers from the city of Trier, Germany during the Roman Empire. The Trevion mascot was chosen in recognition that the Grosse Pointe area of Wilmette was largely settled by immigrants from Trier, Germany. From 1901 to 1965, the school's sports teams were known as the Indians. When the new campus in the western part of the district, opened in 1965, the new school's sports team was known as the Cowboys. When the two schools merged in 1981, the school adopted Trevians as a team name. During the 2004-2005 school year the mascot was named "Trevius Maximus" after conducting a poll among the students.
New Trier's biggest conference rival is Evanston Township High School. The rivalry between their swim teams is said to be the oldest in the history of high school sports, dating back to before 1920. Both schools compete in the Central Suburban League-South conference. The two annual basketball games New Trier plays against Evanston draw so many people that since 2001 they have been held at Northwestern University's larger Welsh-Ryan Arena. New Trier's biggest non-conference rival is Loyola Academy, which is located in Wilmette, just down the road from the Northfield campus.
There are over 100 different co-curricular organizations at New Trier. Some notable organizations include:
New Trier News
New Trier's weekly student newspaper is the [New Trier News], and has been published since 1904. It has won the All-American citation from the Scholastic Press Association as well as Quill and Scroll's George Gallup Award. In 2006, the New Trier News staff won the first ever IHSA Journalism championship.
Freshman Focus/Sophomore Journal/View From the Garden Window
Freshmen and Sophomores run their own newspapers, respectively titled The Freshman Focus and The Sophomore Journal, the former of which has been a Silver Medalist in each of the past two years in the Columbia University contest for high school newspapers. There is a fourth paper, View from the Garden Window, formerly called News and Views, run by a cross-section of students in all grades. It publishes poems and cartoons in addition to articles.
New Trier Scholastic Bowl
The Scholastic Bowl team that has been to 4 state championships, and last won IHSA sectionals in 2006.
New Trier Debate
100 students compete in 5 different forms of debate and as many as 30 Individual Events.
WNTH Radio
WNTH is the school's radio station that broadcasts throughout the New Trier community. WNTH also has had famous guests on show, including Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, White Sox Assistant General Manager Rick Hahn (alum) and makeup artist Bobbi Brown (alum). The award-winning show "SportsLife," which aired from 1996-2000 with hosts Jack M. Silverstein, Brad Meyers, Dan Schor, Sam Vangelovski, and Jonny Corwin, featured interviews with former Northwestern University All-American linebacker Pat Fitzgerald and Chicago sportswriters Rick Telander, Bill Gleason, Bill Jauss, Lester Munson. One particularily notable interview with Chicago Tribune basketball writer Sam Smith, aired the night before Michael Jordan announced his second retirement. #redirect
Student Alliance
Student Alliance is a student government body at New Trier High School. It serves as a liaison between the students and the administration. Student Alliance meets every day and votes to charter or reject new clubs at the Wednesday parliamentary procedure meetings.
Girls Club
Girls Club's objective is to raise money for girls' scholarships. Every girl at New Trier is automatically a member of the club and annually a board of members is selected to meet daily. Girls Club usually raises approximately $20,000 each year #redirect , which is distributed to worthy New Trier girls in need of college funding. Annual fundraisers for Girls Club include running the concessions at football games, a magazine drive, and cookie dough and candy sales. In 2006, Girls Club also participated in the Glass Slipper Project.
Pep Band
Pep Band plays at the football and basketball games. It is composed of volunteers from the school's curricular music ensembles.
Intramural Sports
Intramural Sports provides opportunities for student groups to play athletic games against each other.
Lagniappe/ Potpourri
Lagniappe/ Potpourri is the student-produced musical comedy revue, presenting skits and songs satirizing student life. The name derives from two similar productions that merged in 1981 when the two campuses reunited, Lagniappe having been New Trier East's production, and Potpourri having been New Trier West's. As of 2005, this former club is now included in the Performing Arts division.
Kinesis Dance Company
Kinesis Dance Company prepares for and performs dances at their yearly concert in January and dance festivals in March, April, and May.
Pep Club
Pep Club promotes school spirit for athletic and other school events.
Social Service
Social Service, the largest club at New Trier, is a very popular community service organization.
Soundtraks
Soundtracks is a student-run, 48-track digital audio recording studio, and an 8-camera video production facility that records student music ensemble concerts and presents all school concerts live on [http://www.ntjazz.com/], local cable television, and WNTH radio.
Trevia
Trevia is New Trier's print yearbook. Members of Trevia are responsible for putting the yearbook together.
Chess Club
Chess club is one of the oldest clubs at New Trier.
TriShip
TriShip is a school and community service organization for boys. It organizes a wide variety of activities every year. Its name stems from the values of sportsmanship, citizenship, and fellowship.
Science Olympiad
Each year, the Science Olympiad team works to prepare for events by studying general material, taking practice tests, and building various contraptions for the events at the tournament. New Trier's 2005-2006 school year team ranked 6th nationally.
Traditions
Philanthropy
Each of the four official class governments (Sophomore and Junior Steering Committees and the Freshman and Senior Senates) makes significant annual donations to various philanthropic causes throughout the community, state, country, and planet. Every year since 2001, the Senior Senate has fully funded the construction of a house in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity of Lake County, Illinois, a non-profit organization that fights homelessness and substandard housing. Members of the senior class also have the opportunity to help build the house. Countless fundraisers contribute to this and various other causes over the course of the academic year. The New Trier Tsumani Relief Committee donated more than $18,000 to relief organizations which helped victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December, 2004. [link]
Homecoming/Spirit Week
Homecoming consists of a semi-formal dance, a football game, and various contests occurring in October. Like the other formal dance of the year, Turnabout, the upperclassmen choose to go in groups with "themes" instead of the formal dress that the Freshmen and Sophomores wear. Some often-used themes are, "Pirates", decades such as the 70s and 80s, "Cops (girls) and Criminals (boys)" or any theme that is easily conveyed.
Frank Mantooth Jazz Festival at New Trier High School
The jazz festival began in 1983 and takes place on the first Saturday of February. Each year, the event brings in around fifty high school and junior high jazz ensembles from all over the Great Lakes region and Canada to perform during the day. The high school groups attend clinics with respected jazz educators and composers from around the country.. Seminars are also held throughout the day on improvisation, transcription, and becoming a professional musician. Smaller professional groups perform during the afternoon, while the evening concert features a professional jazz ensemble. Past groups have included the Buddy Rich Big Band, the Woody Herman Big Band, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, the Bob Mintzer Big Band, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, Maynard Ferguson, and Dizzy Gillespie. The festival was renamed after jazz musician, educator, and composer Frank Mantooth in 2003 when he died just days before that year's festival.
Accolades and accomplishments
Gaffney Auditorium at the Winnetka campus
National recognition
New Trier Township High School has been included in the "top ten" and "most successful" lists of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Parade magazine. The school was also identified as "quite possibly the best public school in America" by Town and Country. [link] Life also recognized New Trier as one of the best high schools in America with cover stories in 1950 and 1998. [link]
Academic accomplishments
Approximately 98% of the Class of 2005 enrolled in college. 801 students took 1,855 Advanced Placement exams in 2005 with an average score of 4.0 (out of a possible 5.0). Of the 977 students in the Class of 2005, 12 were National Merit Scholarship Winners, 32 were National Merit Semifinalists, and 68 received Letters of Commendation. New Trier also scores in the top 5% in the nation in academics, and is considered one of the best academic public high school in the Midwest, according to numerous United States Department of Education officials.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
For the class of 2005, the mean SAT I Verbal score was 623, and the mean SAT I Math score was 641. The mean ACT composite score was 26.8. [link]
Athletic accomplishments
With more than 95 state championships, New Trier High School currently has more state championships than any other high school in Illinois. New Trier also leads the state in Boys State titles, and Girls state titles. The sports in which New Trier has the most titles are Boys Swimming and Diving (18), Boys Tennis (18), Boys Fencing (15) (Midwest Championships), Girls Swimming and Diving (10), Boys Golf (9), and Girls Tennis (8). [link] However, New Trier has yet to win a state title in football or basketball. In May 2005, New Trier was ranked #12 in Sports Illustrated's list of the Top 25 High School Sports Programs in America, and first in Illinois.[[Citing sources citation needed]] New Trier Girls Soccer finished the two seasons 2002-2004 first in the nation, with a combined record of 59-0-1.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
Boys and Girls Ice Hockey
Although ice hockey is not officially supported by the school nor the IHSA, the independent [New Trier Hockey Club] fields three varsity, one junior varsity and two girls teams—has enjoyed 9 varsity state championships, 2 junior varsity state championships and 3 girls varsity state championships since the two campuses were joined in 1981.
Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving
The New Trier Boys Swimming and Diving Team is the top swim team in the state with eighteen Boys IHSA State Titles (1942, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 2004 and 2006).
The New Trier Girls Swimming and Diving Team has the most Girls IHSA State Titles in Illinois with 10 currently (1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2000, and 2001).
Musical accomplishments
The instrumental music department has received 27 Downbeat awards in that magazine's annual student musician awards program.[[Citing sources citation needed]] This is the most awards received by any public high school. More than 1,100 students participate in the music department by presenting 24 concerts a year with almost all concerts webcast live on the internet at [ntjazz.com], live on local cable television, and in stereo on WNTH radio.
New Trier was named a Grammy Signature School Gold recipient by the GRAMMY Foundation in 2000 for its commitment to music education. [link]
In April of 2006, the school's Concert Choir and Symphony Orchestra performed in New York City at Carnegie Hall. In the summer of 2000, the school's Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra and Blue Grass Band enjoyed a successful two week concert tour of China.
Controversies
Northfield campus
Newsweek ranking
The school is ranked #293 on Newsweek's 2005 list of the public school list of "Best High Schools in America."[[Citing sources citation needed]] Many students and faculty raised objections to this list's technique of evaluating a school based exclusively on the school's ratio of AP tests taken to the number of students in the graduating class.[[Citing sources citation needed]] New Trier limits AP courses only to students who show academic excellence, reducing the number of AP tests taken, showing a concern for quality over quantity. If based on academics, New Trier could possibly be considered one of the Top 60 Public High Schools in the nation.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
Drug use
New Trier Township High School was featured in the December 9, 1996 issue of Time in an article entitled, "High Times at New Trier High". [link] The article noted that approximate 60% of students were using marijuana compared with national averages at the time closer to 33%.
New Trier has made efforts to stop the drug use, including posting student-survey results. However, the school stirred up controversy after putting up a poster claiming that most New Trier students do not smoke cigarettes, with a picture of a girl with the caption, "I'm one of them." This campaign has been criticised for many reasons, one being that the girl was not a student but rather a model.
Retiring superintendent Henry S. Bangser, was quoted as saying, "How could a school eradicate it? Schools have a responsibility to address the problem, but students didn't learn to do drugs here, and mostly they don't do it here."
Tax referendum
At the beginning of 2002, the school faced a cash crunch, and the community responded by supporting a referendum. Due to a slight miscalculation, the school found that it had asked for $6,500,000 more than it had actually needed. All of the money was returned to the community.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
2006 Boys' Lacrosse Team
In 2006, a number of New Trier Boys lacrosse team players were suspended because of some pictures distributed over the internet.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Players at the freshman, JV and varsity levels were barred from coming to school for two days. The entire controversy arose when parents saw inappropriate photos of students and expressed their concerns to school officials. A quick and thorough investigation led to the suspensions, but the entire controversy was overshadowed by the varsity team winning the state title.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
