Dundee-Crown High School

Dundee Crown High School
Address
1 Charger Country Carpentersville , Illinois United States Of America
Information
Type	Public secondary
Established	1874
Oversight	Community Unit School District 300
Dean	Julio Lopez
Principal	Lynn McCarthy
Grades	9-12
Number of students	2,529
Color(s)	Red and Blue
Mascot	Chargers
Newspaper	D-C Times
Website	[1]

Dundee-Crown High School is a high school located in Carpentersville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Dundee-Crown High School was made from Dundee Community High School and Irving Crown High school in 1984. It is a AAA school for IHSA sports. Dundee-Crown boasts a 2,529 population and is one of three High Schools in community district 300.

The school serves people from East Dundee, West Dundee, Algonquin, Carpentersville, Sleepy Hollow, and Huntley.

Dundee-Crown History

Dundee Community High School was opened in the late 1874 to serve members of the Dundee community settlement in Northwest Illinois. This school would hold the only State Champion team in the combined school history in 1938 with its boys basketball team under Coach Eugene de Lacey. The school moved from its original location in what is now West Dundee to the building that later became Carpentersville Middle School. The school would remain at the location from 1953 to 1983

Irving Crown High school was made when the communities being served grew too large for one school to hold. The Irving Crown Vikings were housed at the building that is now Dundee-Crown.

In 1983, both schools closed their doors due to a drop in student populations and the once rival Cardunals and Vikings became the Chargers beginning in 1984.

Dundee-Crown Today

Dundee-Crown is currently located at 1500 Kings Road, Carpentersville, Illinois. The pseudo address of 1 Charger Country is more commonly used, however. The school accommodates the part of Algonquin that is left out by Harry D. Jacobs High School as well as a majority of Carpentersville, East Dundee, and West Dundee. Demographically there is a large diversity of students.

The current administrative staff of Dundee-Crown High School includes the following:

• Lynn McCarthy - Principal
• Michelle Buhrow - Assistant Principal
• Janine Glenn - Assistant Principal
• Julio Lopez - Dean of Students
• Eberto Mora - Assistant Principal
• Basilio Salazar - Assistant Principal
• Dick Storm - Assistant Principal, Athletic Director

News Flash: Dundee-Crown belongs to a district of incompetence

On the sixth day of February 2008,(coined "The Day of the Catastrophic Snow Storm"), District Superintendent Ken Arndt called schools into session. With much ignorance to the horrendous weather conditions Ken Arndt ignored the safety, and well-being of the community by encouraging them to take on mother nature, and rough the storm. Although the majority of local schools had enough compassion in their hearts to take human safety into consideration, and close down, students, and parents resorted to desperately pushing their vehicles (that were lodged in the snow) up the monstrous hill leading to the school. The scene has been compared to the events occurring in "The Day After Tomorrow". District 300 members are appalled by the blatant disregard of human safety that Ken Arndt displayed.

Block Scheduling

Dundee Crown is known for its block scheduling system as opposed to a traditional class scheduling system. Students surpass most traditional high school credit totals because students can earn up to 32 high school credits upon graduation. Students attending Crown have three to four classes per day, each of a ninety minute duration, with a forty minute 'Flex Block' designed for students to eat lunch in addition to acting as an interim resource class. 'Flex-Block' allows students to participate in a plethora of clubs and activities during the school day and participate in sports and extracurricular activities after school. Financial problems with the school district nearly caused a switching of this program, but a 2006 referendum averted this. It is unfortunate however, that due to the general lack of competence on the districts level, the school has not met the average yearly progress quota. Included with this is the schools inability to provide a "clean, safe, orderly, and respectful environment that is conducive to learning". Due to this failure, the administration has decided to "experiment" with a new schedule. The new schedule will consist of block one, followed by "Charge it up time"(displays characteristics of a study hall), and immediately followed by second block, an A-B-C lunch system which takes place during third block,and fourth block. The passing periods will be reduced to a meager seven minutes, rather than the ten minutes that students have grown accustomed to. There has been much controversy over this issue due to the fact that the block schedule requires classes to remain in session for prolonged periods of time. It has been argued that the diminishing of the passing period will cause much undue stress to the vast majority of students that use the time to prepare for the next prolonged class period by refocusing themselves by doing activities such as walking around, standing, stretching, socializing, and using the restroom facilities. Students have been extensively outspoken about the issues that rushing them to class will bring. Among the highest of quotes has been "We need a break in order to focus on our next class." Other prevalent comments have been, "the school is so large that I will not have enough time to get to my class without rushing to and from my classes." But let there be no mistaking that the "experiment" will only affect stress, and focus levels of students racing to class in the school. High school students wishing to further progress their studies on a higher level by partaking in classes at the Elgin Community College during school hours will have a much more perilous journey rushing to arrive from Dundee-Crown to Elgin Community College. The "experiment" schedule will allocate for a far shorter driving time to arrive safely at their designated college class due to the fact that they will not be able to leave as early. A great deal of students partaking in the program have expressed concern about the issues that this will bring about. An appalling temperament swept through the minds of these students as they understood that they will have to speed(and increase fatality chances)in order to progress their education. Other criticisms with the new system include the feeling that the along with the A-B-C lunch system that will separate the student population into thirds as if it were a slice of beef, will come the loss of the fantastic sense of community that has been established over the years. Students around the school are outraged about the changes that are being made due to the administration blaming the failing test scores, and lack of learning on the schedule.

School Organizations

Below is an incomplete list of organizations and student clubs of Dundee Crown.

Orchestra And Band These two are a part of a very exceptional music program. The Orchestra led by Mr. Mark Bettcher and The Band by Mr. John Gorman. The Orchestra is one of the best High School Orchestra/Music Programs around.(and yet it was the only organization not in bold until now)

Amnesty International This club focuses on the advancement of human rights and promotes awareness of national and international atrocities. This club is very vocal and productive. Some recent achievements are: continuation of the 'Clothesline Project' to raise awareness on Domestic Abuse, production of The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness on women's rights, and chalking to help spread awareness of the genocide in Darfur. The club also participates in frequent letter writing campaigns and petition signings.

Art Club The club meets two to four times per month to offer extra activities in the visual arts field. Students participate in workshops, field trips, and community activities. The club elects a management board that selects activities and organizes all the membership. This past year, the club has presented workshops at the Township Library, Westfield Community School, Art in the Park, and Little League events. Additional projects included: field trips, homecoming hall decorations, window painting, and floats, as well as

Beta Club BETA is a service and social club for above average students in grades nine through twelve. Recognition is given to students' academic achievement. Provides an opportunity to serve the school as well as the greater community through service projects. DC Betas attend State Conference of Betas held inSpringfield. There they compete in academic, talent, and arts competitions. Some winners are invited to the National convention in June. During the school year, Betas choose their service projects from a variety of possibilities. Each year, the two officers and the members decide the course of the years activities.

French Club To further explore and enjoy the French culture. Activities include cooking, crafts, music, and field trips to French restaurants as well as related art exhibits.

National Honor Society The Dundee-Crown Chapter of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools has several goals: to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of character. Meetings are held in the morning at 7:00 AM in the auditorium once a month. Activities include: fund-raising, teacher appreciation projects, service projects, ushers for spring musical, and many other projects. Fund-raising is done in order to allow NHS to offer several scholarships for senior members. Open to members of the Junior and Senior classes. The membership process begins in the spring of each school year. Sophomores and Juniors who have achieved a minimum GPA of 3.5* will be invited to apply for membership. These scholastic levels of achievement will be the minimum scholastic level of achievement for admission to candidacy. All students who can rise in scholarship to or above this standard may be candidates for selection to membership. Eligibility is also considered based on service, leadership, and character.

REACH: Responsible Educated Adolescents Can Help "R.E.A.C.H. America" is an organization of young people from across the United States who are educated about the hazards of drug and alcohol use and are willing to help educate their peers as well as younger students. R.E.A.C.H. members must complete a training program and be available for field trips during the school year to present our program to the elementary schools as well as designated Saturday Snowflake programs.

Rotary Interact Rotary Interact is an organization of service as well as a social club for young people in high school. The club involves itself in school, community, and international projects. Through these projects, the club hopes to foster leadership and responsible citizens. Meetings are twice monthly, and the day of the week is determined each year.

SADD: Students Against Destructive Decisions The purpose of this organization is to enable students to become leaders while encouraging adoption of a no-use-lifestyle. Its goal is to equip the students with skills, such as positive peer pressure, in order to withstand destructive behaviors such as drinking and drug abuse. The club is responsible for Red Ribbon Week and Pre-Prom program as well as Graduation and contract for life.

Scholastic Bowl Scholastic Bowl is an IHSA Team activity. Meets pit five players from two schools against each other to answer questions. With respect to the format, there are toss up and bonus questions that students have the opportunity to respond to both individually and collectively as a team. The season runs from the first Tuesday in December to the second Tuesday in March. Scholastic Bowl is fun. A little bit of knowledge with respect to a variety of topics is the only requisite.

Spanish Club To enhance the learning of the Spanish language as well as the enjoyment of the Spanish culture. Activities include related foods, performances as well as visiting the Mexican Fine Arts Museum.

Student Congress Students debate approximately 24 bills, both pro and con, each month. These are written by students and debated like bills in the Congress. Students can win trophies for writing legislation, acting as presiding officer and being voted as the best speaker.

Student Council The purpose of this organization is to provide for the expression of student opinion, to serve as a link between the school's student body and its administration, to promote a spirit of good will within the school and community. Annual Projects include: Homecoming, Spirit Week, Homecoming Dance, Adopt-A-Family at Christmas, Teacher Appreciation Week, Blood Drive, Battle of the Bands. (profits donated to a local charity)

WYSE: Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering Students compete in contests consisting of tests in seven areas related to engineering: English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, graphics, and computer science.

Athletics

Dundee-Crown sports include Wrestling, Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Volleyball, Golf, Tennis, Football, Poms, Drill Team, Cheerleading, Track & Field, and Swimming. They compete in AAA where applicable.

The mascot is called to a charger, however there is a misconception common on this point. The charger is the horse of the mascot, the knight was added to show a difference from such teams as the Mundelein Mustangs. While the boys and girls teams are called the chargers, Lady Charger is often used for girls teams, especially in newspaper articles and in Cross Country.

Dundee Crown has been said to have a strong tradition in basketball but has been very weak in football in recent seasons. Wrestling has also held a very strong tradition at the school. In 2007 they clinched their 7th straight Fox Valley Conference title under coaches Al Zinke and Gus Silva.

Between 2006 and 2007, Dundee-Crown gymnast Roger Pasek won 5 state gold medals in the Varsity Gymnastics athletic program.

Also in 2007, the boys varsity baseball team clinched their second straight Fox Valley Conference title on their way to the IHSA Class AA State Finals for the second time in seven years. Led by their coach, Fred Bencriscutto, the team also tied the school record for wins in a season with 28.

Programs at Dundee Crown

Dundee Crown has gained attention for many programs it supports. The environmental department has won various awards from the EPA and National Water Works for their recycling programs. They also network with Friends of the Fox River and work to restore places like Raceway Woods.

Dundee-After Hours has also become popular. It has made school technology available to students who may not have access at home while also providing entertainment and a place to do group projects.