Lane Tech College Prep High School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Albert Grannis Lane Technical College Preparatory High School |
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The clock tower at Lane Tech
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| Address | |
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2501 W. Addison Street
, 60618
United States
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| Coordinates | 41°56′43″N 87°41′27″W / 41.9454°N 87.6907°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public Secondary Magnet |
| Motto | Wherever you go, whatever you do, remember the honor of Lane |
| Opened | 1908 |
| School district | Chicago Public Schools |
| CEEB code | 140640 |
| Principal | Edwina Thompson |
| Teaching staff | 235.00 (on a FTE basis) |
| Grades | 7th–12th |
| Gender | Coed |
| Enrollment | 4,517 (2018–19) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 19.22 |
| Campus size | 33 acres (13 ha) |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Myrtle Old Gold |
| Fight song | Go, Lane, Go |
| Athletics conference | Chicago Public League |
| Nickname | Champions |
| Accreditation | AdvancED Higher Learning Commission |
| Newspaper | The Lane Tech Champion |
| Yearbook | Golden Years |
Lane Tech College Prep High School (often called Lane Tech) is a large public high school in Chicago, Illinois. It is a special kind of school called a selective enrollment magnet school. This means students need to take a test and score well to get in. Lane Tech is one of the oldest and biggest high schools in Chicago, with over 4,000 students. It is known for being a diverse school, welcoming students from many different backgrounds. In 2019, Lane Tech was ranked as one of the best public high schools in Illinois and the entire country.
Contents
School History
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Founding and Early Years
Lane Tech is named after Albert G. Lane, who was a principal and superintendent for Chicago Public Schools. The school first opened in 1908 as the Albert Grannis Lane Manual Training High School. Its first building was located on Sedgwick Avenue and Division Street.
In its early days, Lane Tech was a manual training school just for boys. Students learned many hands-on skills. Freshmen learned about carpentry and making wooden cabinets. Sophomores practiced working with metal in a foundry and forge. Older students could take classes in machine shops and advanced electric shops.
Growth and New Campus
By the 1930s, Lane Tech had grown very large, with over 7,000 boys. The original building was too small. So, a new, bigger school building was designed. On September 17, 1934, over 9,000 boys and their teachers walked from Wrigley Field to the new campus to celebrate its opening.
Because of its huge size, classes at the new school were held in three shifts. In 1934, the school's name changed to Albert Grannis Lane Technical High School to show its wider range of subjects. Everyone just called it "Lane Tech." In 2004, its name changed again to Lane Technical College Prep High School. This new name showed that the school was now focused on preparing students for college.
Admission Changes
In 1958, Lane Tech started only admitting top-scoring students. This change happened during the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Lane Tech wanted to help the U.S. stay ahead in science and technology.
Later, in 1971, the school decided to admit girls for the first time. This helped solve a drop in student numbers and gave girls more chances to study technical subjects. Girls were welcomed as students, making Lane Tech a co-ed school.
Campus Features
Lane Tech's campus covers 33 acres in Chicago. It includes the main school building, Lane Stadium, Kerry Wood Cubs Field, a turf soccer field, and a parking lot.
Lane Stadium
Lane Stadium is an important part of the campus. In 2007, parts of the stadium were found to be unsafe due to its age. This meant some events, like graduation ceremonies, had to be moved. However, Lane Stadium reopened on September 7, 2007, after getting a new turf field and a new track for sports.
Memorial Garden
The Memorial Garden is a special place on campus. It has a flagpole and a granite monument. This monument lists the names of Lane Tech students who died in the Vietnam War. The garden was rededicated in 1995. A special plaque was added in 1998 to explain the garden's meaning to the school and its students.
Academics
Lane Tech offers many challenging classes for its students.
- Advanced Placement (AP) Courses: These college-level courses are available in subjects like English, history, math, science, art, music, computer science, and world languages.
- JROTC: Students can join the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) instead of regular physical education. This program helps students develop leadership skills.
- Aquaponics: Lane Tech is the only public school in Chicago that offers classes in Aquaponics, which combines raising fish and growing plants.
- Computer Science: Lane Tech has the biggest computer science program in Chicago Public Schools and is considered one of the best in the U.S.
In 2018, 94% of Lane Tech students took at least one AP class. Also, Lane Tech has a very high graduation rate of 94%. Many Lane Tech graduates go on to earn PhDs, which are advanced university degrees.
Athletics
Lane Tech has a wide variety of sports teams. Students can play baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross-country, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling, women's rugby, and water polo.
The school's teams win many city championships each year, usually between 7 and 10. Since 1908, Lane Tech has won 16 state championships. Many athletes from Lane Tech have gone on to play sports in college and even professionally. In 1934, the NFL team, the Chicago Bears, even practiced at Lane Tech!
Notable Alumni
Many successful people have graduated from Lane Tech. Here are just a few:
- Tony Alcantar is an actor and acting teacher.
- Edgar Bergen was a famous ventriloquist and actor, known for his puppet, Charlie McCarthy.
- Aimee Boorman is a gymnastics coach who coached the "Final Five" at the 2016 Summer Olympics, including Simone Biles.
- Phil Cavarretta was a Major League Baseball player and manager for the Chicago Cubs.
- Bill Daily was an actor in TV shows like I Dream of Jeannie and The Bob Newhart Show.
- Godfrey is a well-known comedian and actor.
- Frankie Laine was a famous singer, songwriter, and actor.
- Justina Machado is an actress known for TV shows like Six Feet Under and One Day at a Time.
- Rachel Barton Pine is a talented violinist.
- Fritz Pollard was a football legend, the first African-American head coach in the NFL.
- Joey Soloway is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning producer and writer.
- Genndy Tartakovsky is an Emmy Award-winning animator who created shows like Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack.
- Johnny Weissmuller was an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer who later played Tarzan in movies.
- Steve Wilkos is a talk show host.
- Adrian Zmed is an actor known for TJ Hooker.
