Independent School League (Illinois)

This article is about the high school athletic conference in Greater Chicago. For the high school athletic conference in Greater Boston, see Independent School League (New England). For the high school athletic conference in Greater Washington D.C., see Independent School League (Washington, D.C. area).

Independent School League (Illinois)

Conference	IHSA
No. of teams	9
Region	Chicago metro area, 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.

Members

School	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Team Name	Colors	IHSA Classes 2/3/4	Reference
Francis W. Parker School	Chicago	1901	944	Colonels		A/1A/2A	[1]
Lake Forest Academy	Lake Forest	1857	435	Caxys		[note 1]	[2]
Latin School of Chicago	Chicago	1888	1,175	Romans		AA/1A/2A/3A	[3]
Northridge Preparatory School	Niles	1976	250	Knights		A/1A/1A	[4]
North Shore Country Day School	Winnetka	1880	535	Raiders		A/1A/2A	[5]
Regina Dominican High School	Wilmette	1958	508	Panthers		A/1A/2A	[6]
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools	Chicago	1896	2,015	Maroons		AA/2A/3A	[7]
The Willows Academy	Des Plaines	1974	250	Eagles		A/1A/2A	[8]
Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart	Lake Forest	1858	145	Wildcats		A/1A/2A	[9]

Other conference affiliations

• North Shore Country Day was the last school to support a football program. It played in the Great 8 Conference (Wisconsin) for the 2015 and 2016 seasons and discontinued the football program in 2017.
• Northridge Prep, Francis W. Parker School, Latin School, and Woodlands Academy are the only schools to sponsor a Scholastic Bowl team.

History

The ISL was founded in 1967. ^[10] The league initially comprised eight teams: Chicago Lab, Elgin, Latin, Morgan Park, North Shore, Francis W. Parker, Harvard-St. George, and Glenwood.

Harvard-St. George closed in 1993, and Glenwood closed its high school in 1979. Lake Forest Academy left the ISL in 2008 and rejoined in 2021. ^[11] Regina Dominican High School joined in 2022. ^[12] Morgan Park Academy left the ISL in 2023. ^[13] Elgin Academy closed in 2024. ^[14]

Membership timeline

Full members

IHSA State titles

• Chess: Chicago Lab (1973–74) ^[15]
• Scholastic Bowl: Latin School (1993–94, 97–98, 2001–02, 03–04, 04–05, 05–06, 08–09) ^[16]
• Track & Field (boys): Chicago Lab (1908–09, 09–10, 10–11, 13–14, 18–19) ^[15]
• Golf (boys): North Shore Country Day (2011 and 2012)
• Tennis (boys): Latin School (2020–21, 21-22)
• Tennis (girls): Jerricka Boone, Morgan Park Academy, singles champion (2009, 2011), North Shore Country Day (2017, 2018) ^[17] Noelle Lanton and Addison Lanton, Elgin Academy, doubles champion with a perfect season record (2022)
• Soccer (boys): Latin School (2016–17), Chicago Lab (2019–20), North Shore Country Day (2023–24)
• Soccer (girls): Latin School (2005–06) ^[16]

References

1. "Chicago (F.W. Parker". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
2. "Lake Forest(L.F. Academy)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
3. "Chicago (Latin)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
4. "Niles (Northridge Prep)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
5. "Winnetka (North Shore Country Day)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
6. "Wilmette (Regina Dominican)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
7. "Chicago (University)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
8. "Des Plaines (Willows Academy)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
9. "Lake Forest (Woodlands Academy)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
10. Leo, Ralph (September 8, 1966), "Prep Football Coaches Predict 1966 Title Winners :Majority Hope to Repeat as League Champs", Chicago Tribune, pp. K16, Marty McCarty, North Shore Country Day, winner of the last year's Private School league White division, which this year is competing in the newly formed Independent School league ...
11. Miglani, Rohan (April 2, 2021). "Lake Forest Academy Rejoins the ISL". The Spectator.
12. Carlino, Martin (March 3, 2021). "Regina Dominican athletics will move to Independent Schools League in 2022-23 school year". The Record North Shore.
13. O'Brien, Tim (January 23, 2024). "MPA makes history, wins first league title". The Beverly Review.
14. Schneider, Sohana (January 10, 2024). "Elgin Academy, a longtime competitor of U-High's sports teams, to close". U-High Midway.
15. "Season Summaries: Chicago (University)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
16. "Season Summaries: Chicago (Latin)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
17. "Illinois high school tennis state finals: Morgan Park Academy's Jerricka Boone bounces back for second title; Hinsdale Central wins 5th in 6 years - Chicago Tribune". Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2013.

1. As an associate member of IHSA, Lake Forest Academy is not eligible for statewide competitions.