Thornridge High School - Piper Yearbook (Dolton, IL)

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si at - ple gg if his ' Q5 -X Mixture of people creates balance School opened to 2l25 students, and whether a freshman or a senior, all were part of the people of Thomridge. But who were these people? Where did they attend school before here? Where did they live? Having a mixture of races was a part of nonnal every- day life. Of the student body, 50 percent were Cau- casion, 45 percent were Black, and 5 percent were Hispanic. A multiracial school provided students with the opportunity to ad- just to differences that they would face later, said Dr. Steve Humphrey, assistant principal. 'llt communicat- ed the idea that we were all in this together regardless of race or cultural back- ground. Thornridge had many feeder schools, but the schools that had the lar- gest number of graduates attending were Dirksen, St. Jude, Mcliinley, Lincoln, St. Mary's, St. John's, and Brooks. l never realized exactly how many different schools people came from until l looked around and saw so many unfamiliar faces, said Jake Living- stone, freshman. Serving seven communi- ties, the school break-down of students attending was from Dolton 4l percent, Har- vey 50 percent, South Hol- land ll percent, Phoenix 9 percent, Bumham 4 per- cent, Calumet City 2 per- cent, and Markham 2 per- cent. 'Sometimes having friends from school could be a leaming experience due to the fact that people came from so many differ- ent areas, said Michelle Broski, senior. Students made up a ma- jor part of the school: how- ever, teachers, administra- tors, maintenance crews, cafeteria staff, secretaries, and the school board mem- bers completed the balance of school life when taking a closer look. People 169

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While at a pep assembly, students A enjoy the time to get rowdie with- out getting in trouble. 168 People we f 'N

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Curl ess retires after 20 Most faculty or adminis- trators work in only one school, but Dr. Jack Cur- less, superintendent, super- vised all three schools in District 205. He retired at the conclu- sion of the school alter twenty years of service, sev- en years as superintendent and thirteen as assistant superintendent. Previously, he was a fifth grade teacher, a data processing teacher in a high school, and a fi- nance instructor on the uni- versity level. Dr. Curless reflected on his years here. l will miss the community, the stu- dents, and the staff working years through the common goal of excellence, he said. Some events stood out in his mind during his tenure in the district. He cited the back-to-back .state cham- pionship wins of the Thom- ridge basketball team - one year they had one loss, the next they had none, the passage of the referendum to build and construct Thomwood High School, and what we have done the last one and a half years for curriculum. Dr. Curless is a dedicated educator who could look fonivard to a time for special projects and relaxation. Above: District 205 School Board: Front Row: Mr. Frank Russo, Mrs. Lyndell Beckham, Mrs. Sharon Vo- liva: Back Row: Mrs. Blanche Fox- worthy fsec.J, Mr. George McNally fpres.J, Mr. James Veld, Mr. John Mooney Jr. Left: District 205 Administration: Front Row: Miss Kamala Buckner, 170 Administration director of state and funded grants, Dr. Richard Taylor, admin- istrative assistant, Back Row: Dr. Jack Curless, superintendent, Mrs. Cheryl Gansauer, director of staff development and vocational edu- cation, Dr. David Ely, assistant su- perintendent run-'- T, Dr. Jack Curless, superintendent of schools Cs tt, S ff -I