Homewood-Flossmoor High School - History

History

Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School site opened in 1959 with enrollment at 1,170 students. There were 51 classrooms, which included ten English classes, ten Social Science, eight Science, six Mathematics, five Foreign Language, three Physical Education, one Homemaking, three Industrial Arts, two Art, and three Music classes. A cafeteria, library and administrative area were also included.

In 1989, football coach John Wrenn proposed District 233 adopt a mandatory drug-testing policy similar to one at two Lafayette, Indiana high schools, where a recent landmark court case decision allowed the creation of such programs. H-F became the first high school in Illinois to require mandatory random drug testing for its student athletes.

In 1996, the school gained publicity when up to 20,000 people gathered on the school lawn to hear President Bill Clinton deliver a speech on education during his 1996 reelection campaign.

In addition to being named a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education three times, the school has received Department of Education Technology Award twice. In 1995, the school's technology plan was named one of the five best in the nation.

In 2005, H-F encountered controversy over a campaign to promote homosexual acceptance led by three students. Campaigners encouraged students to buy colorful shirts that read "Gay? Fine by me." In response, a local church distributed black T-Shirts with text that read "Crimes committed against God," which included a list of perceived offenses against Christian students. The opposing campaigns gained national attention.