Athletics
Edwardsville High School competes in the Illinois Southwestern Conference. The associated sports include: boys and girls basketball, boys baseball, boys and girls bowling, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girls golf, boys and girls ice hockey, girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, girls softball, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls wrestling, girls cheerleading, girls dance team, girls field hockey, girls flag football, boys and girls bass fishing.
The school has won a number of state championships:
Boys Baseball: 1990, 1998, 2019, 2022, 2023
Boys Track and Field: 2015, 2017, 2024
Boys Soccer: 2000, 2014
Incidents
The school has been the target of several bomb and shooting threats, most notably in 2004, [6] 2010, [7] 2014, [8] and 2018. [9]
In November 2019, several fights broke out following the circulation of racially charged posts on Snapchat that led to school disruptions and increased security measures. [10] [11] The incidents began when inflammatory statements targeting African-Americans were shared across several social media platforms, primarily Snapchat, which triggered a series of physical altercations between groups of students on and off of the school's campus. [11] In the week following the spread of the offensive post, a number of white male students engaged in further provocative behavior, most notably when a student inscribed several anti-African American slurs onto the side of his pickup truck, and paraded the message around the school's parking lot and surrounding neighborhoods. [11] The situation escalated to the point where a student created a social media post threatening to bring a gun to the high school, though this threat was later determined to be false. [11] School administrators responded by implementing a temporary increased police presence at the high school to ensure student safety and manage the emerging tensions. [11]
In May 2023, Edwardsville High School was involved in controversy after another racist Snapchat post, allegedly created by a student, was reported to school administrators. The post contained offensive content and led to an investigation in coordination with the Edwardsville Police Department. [12] [13]
Both the 2019 and 2023 incidents were part of a broader pattern of reported racial harassment that continued in subsequent years, as highlighted by community members during school board meetings. [14] Parents, including Scott Ahart, a 1985 alumnus, and Donna Charleston, openly criticized the persistence of racist behaviors among students, describing incidents such as students being called racial slurs, being referred to as "slaves," and experiencing racially offensive social media posts. [15] Despite existing policies prohibiting racial harassment in the student handbook and district strategic plan, community members continued to call for more robust enforcement, clearer consequences, and comprehensive education about racial harassment. [15]
In response to the 2023 incident and related concerns, Superintendent Jason Henderson stated that educational strategies to address racism were being developed, potentially including the formation of an Equity Task Force. [14] These strategies included equity-focused training for staff and students, as well as updates to school policies to promote a more inclusive environment. District officials emphasized that these changes were part of ongoing efforts to address racial and gender-based discrimination in the school system. [16]
The 2023 incident also resulted in increased police presence at Edwardsville High School, with law enforcement working to ensure safety and manage disruptions following community tensions. [17] Reports noted that the school community experienced significant disruption, including heightened concerns about student safety. [18]
Community dialogue and media coverage reflected the seriousness of the situation, with further calls for transparency and long-term commitments to addressing systemic discrimination. [19] Videos shared by local outlets documented the school board's response and the growing pressure from the community to ensure meaningful change. [20]
This controversy reflects larger systemic issues that extend beyond the school district, particularly in the intersection of technology and equity. Social media platforms, such as Snapchat, have been criticized for enabling the rapid spread of harmful or discriminatory content. [21] These systems often lack mechanisms to prevent misuse, which can amplify bias and disproportionately harm marginalized communities. Technological tools and institutional structures must account for societal inequities to avoid reinforcing existing power imbalances. Edwardsville High School’s experience serves to highlight the issues that educational institutions face in addressing systemic discrimination. The school’s response, which included policy changes and training initiatives, aligns with broader calls for systemic reform to confront inequity in schools, technology, and society.
On May 23, 2023, former EHS assistant principal Erin Hamilton-Foley was arrested for sexual assault, a Class 1 felony. Hamilton-Foley was accused of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old student. The Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 website listed Hamilton-Foley as the person in charge of the 11th grade students. On July 21, 2023, she effectively resigned from her position, the school board accepting it 3 days later. [22]
Hamilton-Foley was originally charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault. Court filings detail two separate acts: one count alleged sexual penetration between her sex organ and the victim’s sex organ; the second alleged sexual penetration between her mouth and the victim’s sex organ. Hamilton-Foley initially pleaded not guilty on May 31, 2023. Bond in the case was set at $250,000, and Hamilton-Foley was released on May 25 after posting $25,000 cash bail, according to court records. As a condition of release, she was ordered to have no contact with the victim, stay at least 500 feet away, and not harass or intimidate him. On July 20, 2023, prosecutors filed a motion to compel Hamilton-Foley to provide the passcode to a new cellphone she obtained after her first phone was seized after finding out the 17-year-old contacted Hamilton-Foley multiple times after her arrest and sent her a video which police determined was child pornography under Illinois law. [23]
On September 22, 2025, Hamilton-Foley pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault from a plea agreement and was sentenced to four years in prison. She will also receive four years of mandatory supervised release once her prison sentence ends. Hamilton-Foley was also ordered to surrender her passport and her 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. Hamilton-Foley is also required to register as a sex offender. Her prison term will be served in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. [22]
In September 2025, The Edwardsville School Board suspended superintendent Patrick Shelton with pay following a pending investigation with a unanimous vote. Following this decision, assistant superintendent Allen Duncan is to fill the role as acting superintendent while the investigation continues. The district’s spokesperson declined to comment on the reason for Shelton’s suspension. [24]
