History
The history of Wheaton Warrenville High School can be traced back to the original high school in Wheaton, Wheaton High School, which opened in 1876. In 1925, the school was relocated to a new building which would eventually become Hubble Middle School, and changed its name to Wheaton Community High School.
In October, 1946, the school's cafeteria was largely destroyed by a fire that was blamed on a recently installed Coca-Cola vending machine.
In 1964, with the completion of its sister school, Wheaton North, the school was again renamed, Wheaton Central High School.
By 1967, overcrowding became an issue at Wheaton Central. In late 1967, the school board proposed a redistricting move that would send all Warrenville students to the newer Wheaton North building. In January, 1968, the board approved bussing underclass students in Warrenville to Wheaton North, and allowing upperclassmen the choice of either school.
The current building that houses Wheaton Warrenville South was opened in 1973, and operated as Wheaton-Warrenville High School from 1973—83. By 1982, it was clear that the high school population in the district was shrinking, and there would be a need to close either the older, tradition rich Wheaton Central, or the newer, but smaller Wheaton-Warrenville South. In June, 1982, the school board voted 6–1 to close Wheaton-Warrenville South, effective at the end of the 1982—83 school year. In response, there was a request to for a mass transfer of all students from Wheaton-Warrenville South students to either of the two other schools, and make appropriate forcing more changes at the other schools. When the request for the mass transfer was not granted by the board, a group of Warrenville parents began threatening to secede from the district. In January, 1983, the parent group presented a petition signed by over 75% of the registered voters of Warrenville to approve detaching from the district. The movement to split from the district eventually moved to the courts. Without even hearing the school board's argument, the judge ruled against the parents group. The issue finally came to an end when the DuPage Valley Regional Board of School Trustees voted 5–2 to reject the secession bid.
In 1983, the original Wheaton-Warrenville High School became Wheaton Warrenville Middle School, reflecting a shrinking high school population and an increasing population of younger students.
In 1988, with Wheaton Central aging, the board moved to renovate Wheaton Warrenville Middle School in preparation for opening it again as a high school, when Wheaton Central would need to eventually be closed. In October 1989, the school board formally proposed moving high school students from Wheaton Central back to Wheaton-Warrenville Middle School, and converting the older Wheaton Central building to a middle school. On May 9, 1990, the board officially voted to make the change, ending a situation that had again "divided residents". Even after the decision was made, there was debate over the naming of the school. In 1992, with an increase in the district's high school population, there was a need to move the high school population from the older 1925 building to the newer, larger 1973 building. The 1925 building became Hubble Middle School, and upon moving, Wheaton Central High School became Wheaton Warrenville South High School. Thus, the original Wheaton-Warrenville High School is considered the forerunner of the current Wheaton Warrenville South High School (not the same school). This can be seen in the evolution of the school seal which came from WCHS. The school colors, mascot, and nickname are continuations of Wheaton Central, while the current school's Wolverine Hall, with a green and gold color scheme, honor the earlier Wheaton-Warrenville High School from 1973—83.
It is proper to write the name of the earlier school as Wheaton-Warrenville High School, with a hyphen. When the school was renamed, the hyphen was dropped to symbolize a lack of division.
The 1925 building housing Hubble Middle School was closed at the end of the 2008—09 school year. A new Hubble Middle School was constructed, and the site is awaiting final disposition.
Read more about this topic: Wheaton Warrenville South High School
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