MacArthur High School (Decatur, Illinois)

Douglas MacArthur High School
Address
1499 W Grand Ave Decatur, Illinois 62522 United States
Coordinates	39°51′11″N88°58′46″W / 39.85313°N 88.97949°W / 39.85313; -88.97949
Information
Type	Public
School district	Decatur Public Schools District 61
NCES District ID	1711850 [1]
NCES School ID	171185001411 [2]
Principal	Cordell Ingram
Teaching staff	53.00 (on an FTE basis) [2]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Co-ed
Enrollment	1,042 (2023-2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	19.66 [2]
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Royal Blue   Silver
Athletics	IHSA
Athletics conference	Central State Eight Conference
Team name	Generals
Rival	Eisenhower High School
Newspaper	General Gazette [3]
Website	www.dps61.org/mhs

Douglas MacArthur High School is a public high school located in Decatur, Illinois. The school serves about 1,042 students from grades 9 to 12 in Decatur Public Schools District 61. ^[2]

History

Built in 1957, MacArthur High School was named for General Douglas MacArthur, an American army officer. Correspondingly, the school's sports teams' nickname is the Generals.

Demographics

As of the 2020 school year, the enrollment was 1,090 students. The racial makeup of the school in 2020 was 54.5.7% African American, 37.3% White, 5.5% Hispanic, 1.4% Asian, 0.7% Two or more races 0.3% Native American, and 0.3% Pacific Islander. 66.3% of the student population are low income students. ^[4]

Academics

In 2008, 36.8% of the student population met or exceeded in all subjects. The school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by federal and state laws in 2008. In 2008, the high school graduation rate was 92.3%, up from 76.6% in 2007. The dropout rate lowered from 10.8% in 2007 to 2.5% in 2008. ^[5]

Athletics

MacArthur High School is a member of the Central State Eight Conference. MacArthur fields teams in Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball and Wrestling.

Notable alumni

• Brian Culbertson, musician, funk-based instrumentalist, jazz artist (Class of 1991)
• Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist, author, television personality (Class of 1965)
• L. Douglas Hagen (1946 - 1971), US Army Special Forces Green Beret and Medal of Honor recipient (Class of 1964)
• Steve Hunter, musician, guitarist, played with Mitch Ryder, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel and others (Class of 1966)
• David Joyner, actor
• James W. Loewen, (1942-1921) sociologist, historian and author (class of 1960) ^[6]

References

1. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Decatur SD 61". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
2. "Search for Public Schools - MacArthur High School (171185001411)". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved January 12, 2025.
3. Official Decatur Public Schools page. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
4. School Profile Interactive Illinois Report Card. Retrieved on 2021-5-01.
5. About Students Interactive Illinois Report Card. Retrieved on 2009-10-04
6. "Macarthur High School Class of 1960". macarthur60.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022.