Crystal Lake South High School
| Crystal Lake South High School | |
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| File:GatorHead.gif | |
| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Established | 1978 |
| Oversight | Community High School District 155 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 1916 |
| Color(s) | Green and gold |
| Mascot | Gators |
| Newspaper | South Side Story |
| Website | [1] |
Crystal Lake South High School, often referred to as "South," is one of three high schools in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and has a body of 1916 students. The school was founded in 1978 due to the pressures of the population growth in the communities it serves, Crystal Lake, and part of Lake in the Hills. It was the Crystal Lake's second high school, as the city had been served completely by Crystal Lake Community High School since 1924. After South was founded, Crystal Lake Community High School changed its name to Crystal Lake Central High School, nicknamed "Central." For a long time, Crystal Lake South and Crystal Lake Central shared a cross-town rivalry. Lately, Crystal Lake South's rivalry with neighboring Cary-Grove High School, which serves Cary and Fox River Grove, has intensified due to vastly increased competition in football games between the two schools.
As time progressed, and the city of Crystal Lake continued to grow rapidly; the school reached its structural capacity in 2002. A new addition opened for the 2003-2004 school year, with several dozen new classrooms. However, due to the phenomenal growth experienced by the cities served by the school, this new addition was already obsolete by the 2005-2006 school year. For example, the graduating class of 2004 consisted of approximately 350 students, the class of 2006 consists of 435 students, and the class of 2009 contains approximately 540 students. To accommodate this rapid growth, a new addition is scheduled to open for the 2006-2007 school year.
Famous alumni
- Jim Verraros - singer/actor of American Idol fame
- Scott Hode - baseball infielder for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, 24th-round MLB draft pick, Chicago Cubs infielder
- Scott Olsen - pitcher for the Florida Marlins
- Tawnee Stone - Lightspeed Media Corporation pornographic model and actor