High school secret societies are a type of secret society founded at, or featuring students associated with, a particular high school, primarily in the United States. While American universities have a long tradition of secret societies, initially started within East Coast colleges, societies at the high school level are relatively uncommon.
Two documented examples include an outgrowth of Phillips Exeter Academy's fraternity system, and within the public high schools of suburban Chicago, both in the first half of the 20th century.
Kappa Epsilon Pi (KEP) was founded at Phillips Exeter Academy in 1891, and was one of several fraternities at Exeter. Fraternities first appeared at the school in the 1870s, were banned in 1891, unbanned in 1896 and then again in 1942. [1] The meeting house was located at 8 Elliot Street and is today a faculty residence. [2] Its emblem is gold with a skull and laurel wreath creation, incorporating seed pearls, rubies and emeralds.
By 1900, high school secret societies were a recognizable feature within the school systems in metropolitan Chicago, and Otto C. Schneider, President of the Chicago School Board of 1908, took an active role in stopping their influence within secondary schools. [3] Initial growth in the Midwest may have been fueled by competition with East Coast high school athletics teams.
Battles over whether secret societies within the village of Oak Park, Illinois could be banned by the schools was taken to the Illinois Appellate Court. [4]
William Fremd High School, or Fremd, is a public four-year high school located in Palatine, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 211, which also includes James B. Conant High School, Hoffman Estates High School, Palatine High School, and Schaumburg High School. Academically, Fremd High School has also been recognized by Newsweek as one of "America's Best High Schools" and by U.S. News & World Report as one of 99 outstanding high schools in the United States with the average AP test taker in the class of 2018 taking 5.4 exams. Fremd serves the portion of Palatine that is southwest of the UP NW Line railroad tracks as well as north Hoffman Estates, west Rolling Meadows, north Schaumburg, east South Barrington and southeast Inverness. Feeder schools include Plum Grove Junior High, Carl Sandburg Junior High, Walter Sundling Junior High and Margaret Mead Junior High. Feeder elementary schools are Pleasant Hill, Paddock, Hunting Ridge, Central Road, Willow Bend, Thomas Jefferson, Marion Jordan, Fairview, and Frank C. Whiteley.
Neuqua Valley High School (NVHS) is a public four-year high school located near the corner of Illinois Route 59 and 95th Street in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Neuqua Valley is the counterpart to Waubonsie Valley High School and Metea Valley High School, in Indian Prairie School District 204. Classrooms can be rented for other district approved teachers to use after school.
Naperville North High School is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Mill Street in the northern-central part of Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It’s a part of Naperville Community Unit School District 203. Naperville North is fully recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education and is a member of the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling.
The Upstate Eight Conference is an organization of ten high schools in northeastern Illinois, representing ten communities in Chicago's suburbs. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School Association.
Deerfield High School is a comprehensive public high school in Deerfield, Illinois, United States. It is part of Township High School District 113, which also includes Highland Park High School. DHS opened in 1959, and graduated its first class in 1963.
Morgan Park Academy (MPA) is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent day school serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It is located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1873, Morgan Park Academy was formerly known as Mt. Vernon Military Academy, Morgan Park Military Academy (MPMA), briefly as the Illinois Military Academy, and Morgan Park Academy of the University of Chicago. Between 1892 and 1906 MPA had a very close connection with the University of Chicago, with its graduates being specifically groomed to enter the recently founded university.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The IHSA regulates 14 sports for boys, 15 sports for girls, and eight co-educational non-athletic activities. More than 760 public and private high schools in the state of Illinois are members of the IHSA. The Association's offices are in Bloomington, Illinois.
The Independent School League (ISL) is an athletic conference comprising 9 private secondary schools in the Chicago metro area. All but one of the schools are also full members of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for most high school athletics and competitive activities in the state. The schools are all relatively small, most belonging to the smaller classes of competition offered by the IHSA.
Schaumburg High School, also known as SHS, is a public four-year high school located in Schaumburg, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, United States. The school is part of Township High School District 211, which also includes William Fremd High School, Hoffman Estates High School, Palatine High School, and James B. Conant High School.
Oak Forest High School is a public high school located in Oak Forest, Illinois. It is part of Bremen Community High School District 228 which also includes Tinley Park High School, Hillcrest High School and Bremen High School. It serves most of the community of Oak Forest, as well as portions of Midlothian and Crestwood in Bremen Township in the south suburbs of Chicago in Cook County.
Neal F. Simeon Career Academy, locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational high school located in the Chatham area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Simeon is a part of the Chicago Public Schools district. Opened in 1949, The school is named for African-American Chicago Public Schools educator and administrator Neal Ferdinand Simeon.
Tinley Park High School, TPHS or simply Tinley is a public high school located in Tinley Park, Illinois, approximately 30 miles southwest of Chicago. It is part of Bremen Community High School District 228 which also includes Oak Forest High School, Hillcrest High School and Bremen High School.
Hyde Park Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1863, Hyde Park is operated by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district and is located south of the University of Chicago. In 2012, Hyde Park became the fourth Chicago public high school to become an International Baccalaureate school.
Wendell Phillips Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in September 1904, Phillips is part of the Chicago Public Schools district and is managed by the Academy for Urban School Leadership. Phillips is named for the American abolitionist Wendell Phillips. Phillips is known as the first predominantly African-American high school in the City of Chicago. Phillips' building was designated a Chicago Landmark on May 7, 2003.
Fraternities and sororities exist for high school students as well as college students. Like their college counterparts, most have Greek letter names. Although there were countless local high school fraternities and sororities with only one or two chapters, many secondary fraternities founded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the United States grew into national organizations with a highly evolved governing structure and regularly chartered chapters in multiple regions. Many of the local chapters of these national fraternities were not tied to individual high schools but were instead area-based, often drawing membership from multiple high schools in a given area.
St. Viator College was a Catholic liberal arts college in Bourbonnais, Illinois. It is no longer in operation. Today, the site is home to Olivet Nazarene University.
Palatine High School, or PHS, is a public four-year high school in Township High School District 211. Located at 1111 N. Rohlwing Road in Palatine, Illinois, United States, a northwest suburb of Chicago, it serves primarily all of and only those areas of Palatine northeast of the UP NW tracks, but also serves small portions of Arlington Heights and Barrington. In addition, PHS is a magnet school for the entire district's special education program. Feeder schools include Winston Campus Junior High and Sundling Junior High. Elementary schools in the attendance area include; Winston Campus, Lake Louise, Jane Addams, Virginia Lake, Lincoln, Sanborn and Paddock.
Thornridge High School is a public four-year high school located in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb about 20 miles south of Chicago. The school is part of Thornton Township High School District 205. Thornridge High School first opened to the public in 1960 after completing construction of the current building. It serves the cities/villages of Dolton, Harvey, South Holland, Phoenix, Burnham, Calumet City, and Markham.
The Southwest Suburban Conference is an athletic and competitive activity conference consisting of public secondary schools located in the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
Austin College and Career Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Austin neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Operated by the Chicago Public Schools, Austin opened in 1876 and was named in honor of Henry W. Austin, a Chicago real estate developer.