Maine South High School - History

History

Bids on the construction of Maine South opened on 18 March 1963. Maine South was built in 1964 on the grounds of a former landfill to meet the growing educational needs of the area, mainly the city of Park Ridge, but also some of Niles, Harwood Heights, Norridge, Rosemont and unincorporated Norwood Park Township.

The first principal, Clyde Watson, was appointed in December, 1963, in order to give him time to begin forming the first parents and music booster clubs.

Until 1969, students were under a dress code that included a requirement for men to be clean shaven, and that hair had to be cut above the collar. 1969 also saw the first expansion of the school with the addition of the student cafeteria, and some physical education and classroom areas.

In 1973, the North Central Association, an academic accreditation agency, rated Maine South as "one of the top 10 high schools in the nation."

In 1986 and 1987, officials from Maine South were instrumental in pushing the Illinois High School Association to recognize girls soccer.

The 1988-1989 school year saw Maine South recognized by the United States Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School.

In 1996, after several decades of existing in the shadow of nearby O'Hare International Airport, the school received federal funds which allowed for the installation of soundproof windows, air conditioning, and sound dampening ceilings. The project began in 1997 and took three years to complete.

1998 saw the completion of the last major addition to the building: a sixteen classroom, four laboratory extension on the east end of the academic wing.

In 2008, graduation ceremonies, which since the first graduating class had been held on campus (except for the 2004 graduating ceremonies, which were held at Harper Community College due to the construction of the new bleachers), were moved to the nearby Rosemont Theatre.

Over the summer of 2009, the athletic stadium had lights and an artificial turf surface installed.

In July, 2011, the Guinness World Records certified that the Maine South class of 2014 had set a world record for the most multiple birth sets in the same academic year (16 sets of twins and 3 sets of triplets).