Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School
Lyons Township High School North Campus
Address
100 South Brainard Avenue La Grange , Illinois 60525 United States
Coordinates	41°48′44″N 87°52′49″W / 41.812155°N 87.88028°W / 41.812155; -87.88028 (North campus) 41°48′04″N 87°53′28″W / 41.801247°N 87.89101°W / 41.801247; -87.89101 (South campus)
Information
Other name	Lyons Township LTHS LT
School type	Coed Public
Motto	Vita Plena (The quest for the fulfilling life)
Opened	1888
School district	Lyons Township High School District 204
Superintendent	Brian Waterman
Principal	Jennifer Tyrrell
Staff	250.99 (FTE) (2018–19, NA for 2020–21)
Grades	9–10 (South) 11–12 (North)
Enrollment	4,037 (2020–2021)
Average class size	18.8
Student to teacher ratio	16.14 (2018–19, NA for 2020–21)
Campus	Suburban
Campus size	106 acres over two campuses
Colour(s)	royal blue   gold
Fight song	Gold & Blue, based on My Illinois
Athletics conference	West Suburban Conference
Mascot	Nessie and Noil
Nickname	Lions
Accreditation	North Central Association
Newspaper	Lion
Yearbook	Tabulae
Nobel laureates	Ben R. Mottelson 1975-physics
Website	www.lths.net

Lyons Township is a co-educational high school and serves grades 9–12 for Lyons Township High School District 204. Students from the communities of La Grange, Western Springs, Burr Ridge, La Grange Park, Countryside, Indian Head Park, Hodgkins, and parts of Brookfield, Willow Springs, and McCook attend Lyons Township. Lyons Township High School is the 8th-largest public high school in Illinois and the 46th-largest public high school in the United States. Freshmen and Sophomores attend class at South campus, located at 4900 S. Willow Springs Rd. in Western Springs, while Juniors and Seniors attend class at North campus, located at 100 S. Brainard Ave. in La Grange, which also houses the district offices. Sports facilities at Lyons Township include swimming pools, field houses, theatres, a turf football field (south campus), soccer fields, baseball fields, a gym, outdoor tracks, basketball courts, and volleyball courts. The two campuses are about a mile apart. Activity buses run after school between the campuses, along with buses that run at the end of 1st period and beginning of 8th period to commute Freshman & Sophomores from North Campus to South Campus and to commute Juniors & Seniors from South Campus to North Campus.

Lyons Township High School was opened on September 4, 1888. The enrollment included 39 students. An athletic field named Emmond Field was constructed in 1888, and a 1924–1929 expansion included the erection of a clock tower, auditorium, offices, library, and a gym. Leonard H. Vaughan (president of a seed company and former school board president,) funded the erection of the Vaughan Building; it was constructed in 1949 for sporting events and classes. In 1956, South Campus was opened about a mile south-west in nearby Western Springs to accommodate the community's growing population. The Corral was constructed in 1944 as a social place for all students to spend time with each other after school hours. In 2005, a performing arts center, a field house, and a pool were added to the South campus to complement the facilities at the North campus.

At Lyons Township High School, boys compete in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. The Lyons Township Hockey Club is associated with the Township of Lyons, not LTHS. Girls compete in badminton, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. Other sports that are present at LT and not limited to any one gender are Competitive Cheer, Competitive Dance, Special Olympics Basketball, and Special Olympics Track. There are also some non-athletic clubs that are still affiliated with IHSA (e.g. Speech, Debate, Scholastic Bowl, Chess, etc).

The following teams have won their respective IHSA state championship tournaments:

• Baseball: 1967, 2003, 2011
• Baseball (Summer): 2002, 2004, 2006, 2012
• Basketball (boys): 1953, 1970
• Basketball (Special Olympics): 1995, 2005
• Cross country (boys): 1951, 1955, 1956
• Golf (boys): 1938, 1939
• Gymnastics (boys): 2021
• Gymnastics (girls): 2013, 2014
• Soccer (boys): 2009
• Swimming and diving (boys): 2016, 2017
• Tennis (girls): 1990, 1991, 1992
• Track and field (boys): 1914, 1915, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1961, 1971
• Volleyball (girls): 1976, 1989, 2010
• Water Polo (boys): 2012, 2015
• Water Polo (girls): 2010
• Speech: 1953

The LION newspaper is the student publication of LTHS. The LION is a member of the High School National Ad Network. The newspaper has won multiple awards:

• Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press Association: 1st place nationally in 16+ page category in 1999
• Scholastic Press Association: 1st place (national overall newspaper award)
• Northern Illinois School Press Association: Golden Eagle Award: Best of Class 2009, One Honor Scholarship, 13 individual Blue
• The red stripe award for journalistic excellence ribbons, and 47 Honorable Mentions
• National Scholastic Press Association and Journalism Education Association: Two individual Awards of Excellence and one Honorable Mention
• American Society of Newspaper Editors and Quill & Scroll: Four national 1st place awards
• Illinois Men’s Press Association: A 2nd place award in Column Writing and an Honorable Mention in Sports Writing

LTHS is the license holder of WLTL-FM, a Class A non-commercial radio station which broadcasts from North Campus on 88.1 FM. WLTL has won several national and local awards, including the Service to Young Children award. The station is student-run, with new student managers selected each year.

WLTL is the recipient of more than 25 awards of excellence, including the John Drury award for "Best High School Radio Station in the Nation" and has had 10 consecutive years winning the Communicator Award. WLTL has also been recognized nationally for the quality broadcasting that it provides by the National Association of Broadcasters. Several current media figures got their start at WLTL, including Mike Murphy of WSCR, Dave Juday of WMVP-AM, Ryan Arnold and Emma McElherne of WXRT-FM, and Phil LeBeau of CNBC.