It may not be New Trier or Evanston, or even one of the newer upstarts like St. Charles, but Bartlett High School has come of age.
The newest District 46 high school opened four years ago with approximately 1,200 students, including 750 freshmen and 450 sophomores who attended Streamwood or Elgin High School the year before. No varsity sports were held. Counselors weren’t talking about scholarships or colleges because most of the students were still trying to figure out what high school was all about.
Many of school’s administrators and secretarial staff were hired in new jobs without descriptions. There were no mentors telling them what to do.
“I was probably the closest of all the administrators and secretarial staff in terms of being in a job that was somehow connected to working in a high school,” said Rick Hoy, principal.
“I was working in a middle school before this job and I was appointed a year before the new school opened. When we started, we didn’t even have the proper forms here for medicals or things like athletic eligibility. People weren’t sure about their role.”
All that has changed. Bartlett has grown to 3,000 students. Classes are conducted throughout the main building as well as in 20 mobile classrooms at the east end of campus.
Dean of students Jim Juliano said that while “the Shangri-La of having only 1,200 students in the building is over” the early days of meeting with kids to set expectations and goals for their school has paid off.
“We met with students four years ago and asked them what they wanted, what their wishes were and we’ve created policies that hopefully reflect those ideas and what we call the climate of `mutual respect’ we promote in our building,” Juliano said.
“Our school is clean, our bathrooms are smoke free and even though we’ve nearly tripled in size, there’s still a carry-over from those first days. It’s still just as exciting to come here as it was when we opened.”
Logic dictates that as Bartlett’s population grew, there should have been a proportional rise in discipline problems, from attendance issues to behavior referrals, yet Juliano said his duties as dean have not significantly increased.
“During our first year, some of our students who came from Streamwood or Elgin told us, `We didn’t do things that way,’ in terms of attendance or discipline issues,” he said.
“By the second year, we heard that less and less, and now it’s disappeared.”
Wanda Iverson who has taught health and physical education since the school opened confirmed the changes in student behavior.
“There were a group of kids from other district schools that represented sort of an `element’ here at Bartlett,” Iverson said. “They told us they were used to a certain way but we had a different approach. We gave kids more freedom here but were stricter if they violated those freedoms. A lot of them couldn’t see our way was better.”
Juniors and seniors are allowed to go to lockers and option areas like the library without passes, as long they carry their ID. Some students have schedules with early release times or late arrival and parking passes are given to virtually anyone who drives a car. There are some unbreakable rules.
“You can’t ditch a class around here, go off campus or smoke in the bathrooms,” Iverson said. “If you do, you’ll get caught and there are consequences.”
School pride in athletics and activities has also come of age, as the Bartlett Hawks field squads with athletes that have come through the school ranks. Athletic director Dan Kallenbach said the enthusiasm generated years ago over freshmen, sophomore and junior varsity teams laid an excellent foundation for the athletic program.
“We did the pep rallies and spirit assemblies–the whole shot for the lower-level teams, which in most schools are kind of laid back,” Kallenbach said. “The kids, the coachesand the community still had high expectations. By our third year, we were fielding varsity teams with kids who had been here two years and our goal was to be .500 across the board. We pretty much did that.
“The parents’ booster club has been tremendous. There’s been a lot of creativity and energy. They did the artwork in our main gym. We have a new scoreboard and dugouts at our ballfields and we’ve recently received $4,000 in donations from them to upgrade our soccer field. And the kids’ interest couldn’t be higher–our numbers are up in every sport.”
Students carry the Hawk flag around the football field to celebrate touchdowns and pep assemblies find every student standing up and singing the school song.
“The traditions here are beginning and the kids are proud of what they’ve done,” Kallenbach said. “They’re building some positive memories.”
In spring, senior Maggie Kengott will graduate as a member of the first class to complete all four years at Bartlett. She has been on the volleyball team each year and plans to participate in a fourth season of softball this spring. Kengott said she noticed changes in the sports program and believes having senior leadership is important.
“With volleyball, we now have camps for the junior high kids so they can learn some skills and find out what the high school program is like,” she said. “Having seniors and varsity athletes has certainly made a difference. We seem more like a high school now. Last year’s seniors provided some leadership and started some traditions here. It’s up to us now to keep those going.”
Staff members credit Hoy with sowing the seeds of success by placing an emphasis on school climate.
“When I was building my administrative team, the first thing we wanted when we came together was a positive school climate. That was our foundation, our guiding light,” Hoy said. “We researched schools that had it, we hired people we felt would promote it. When you start a school, you don’t look at your endpoint–you have to build a good foundation and let things grow from there.”
Hoy said when the school opened, a freshmen/sophomore curriculum was in place, but that the new building offered some unique opportunities.
“With the school’s new wiring, we could do some things with technology and we also started our `Academy’ which contains 200 students from throughout the district who are enrolled in a special science and engineering program,” Hoy said.
“These are some of the brightest and best minds in the district and it’s one of the most unique programs in the country.”
Bartlett has entered its five-year North Central Association of Colleges and Schools’ evaluation and improvement plan, which will focus on three goals: school climate, using technology, and improving students’ communication skills. Hoy said the emergence of new leadership and maturing of the school will be important as Bartlett faces its future.
“We finally will have a graduating class that’s come through all four years here,” Hoy said.
