Waukegan High School

Pretty decent school, although reputed as a terrible school, and for variouss reasons Waukegan H.S. has ended up in the news for pretty bad reasons. Nonetheless, I feel like I was given a good ‘educational startup’ before graduating. I do recall many great faculty and staff who put out 100% of their effort on the student body. I am pretty grateful for those handful of teachers who kept giving their best day in and day out to not give up on us, and being very honest with us.
In all honesty, the programs offered then and now are very very different, but from what i’ve heard it’s for the better now. Anyhow, not to get to caught up in memory lane, I will continue with describing the building in itself, and the little details along with it. The building itself is quite large, mostly because of the three stories (If I remember correctly) inhabiting it. The basement level contains the classic indoor track, with renovated weight rooms, and the former shoot putting cage at the lowest level has been turned into an added weight room in the style of crossfit businesses.
The basement in itself has not changed much, other than the artwork on the walls. Then two stairways up you have the student locker rooms, the pool area (which also hasn’t changed much), the cafeteria (which has received a fresh coat of paint and some minor renovations), the library (not changed), all in all not to get too lost in memory lane Waukegan H.S. has made some renovations, and a few additions to the building but not much has changed.
Although I have to say I did have some bad memories and mostly due to the ignorant crowd that attached itself like a leech with the gangs, drugs, violence, and what-​not, but it was a concerted effort of those few staff members that cared that helped pull us through our education!
I agree with the reviewers before me, if you can, have your student enroll in the CSP or any program that entails college studies, or even technical school classes (which were offered while I was in for EMT classes, FF, etc.). Your ticket for success is going above and beyond the classes, and standing out.
Yes, WHS was rough on me because of my surroundings, but you must push on through! I’ve had terrible careless teachers, students, and the like but in the end it only made me a better man of God!

a pure shit hole. went here for 9^th and 10^th grade 1994 – 1996. Thought I was in Mexico city. Nothing but low life pond scum, drugs and gangs.

This review is for the College Studies Program:
Like all other educational opportunities, CSP is what you make of it. I graduated in June 2003. While I was there, they offered AP French and AP Spanish, AP Calculus and AP Statistics. There was no offered AP Bio, AP Chemistry, or AP Physics. (College of Lake County is about a twenty-​minute drive west up Washington St., so if you really want to get those sciences down, you can easily take the majors level courses there.) I can’t remember if our senior English Lit class was technically AP, but we were eligible to take the AP English exams anyway, and many of us did.
I cannot remember ever having felt «short-​changed» in my education. I had an amazing Statistics teacher — I would take his class again, just for the fun of it. My classmates were bright, talented, and motivated. One of them became one of only a handful of students annually accepted into an outstanding screenwriting program in California; another became one of the youngest actors now performing with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
My advice for high school students preparing for college: don’t be afraid to do what works for you. For some students, it might be better to take gen ed courses at CLC and transfer into a 4-​yr college later. It is certainly more cost-​effective, and makes an easier transition from high school to college.

A good place to go to high school — decent sports programs, ethnically diverse population, dedicated teachers. Try to get your student in the College Studies Program, if possible. It made a big difference in my life.