Stephen Tyng Mather High School (commonly known as simply Mather) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
4–year
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
located in the West Ridge neighborhood on the north side of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, United States. Opened in 1959, Mather is operated by the
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles.
...
(CPS) district. Mather is named in honor of
Stephen Mather
Stephen Tyng Mather (July 4, 1867 – January 22, 1930) was an American industrialist and conservationist who was the first director of the National Park Service. As president and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company he became a million ...
, an industrialist and conservationist who became the first director of the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
.
Background
Campus and Faculty
Mather is a neighborhood
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
with a
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
preparatory emphasis. More than 75% of students speak a language other than English at home. Mather's Bilingual/English as a Second Language (
ESL
English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
) program is central to the school's
curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
. The faculty and staff reflect the multicultural backgrounds of Mather's students and serve as translators, role models, and mentors. Mather is committed to creating an environment that fosters student achievement. Honors-level classes are available for qualified students. The school campus shares two acres (56,000 m2) with adjacent Mather Park. The school has teachers fluent in languages such as Chinese,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
Illinois High School Association
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 Fe ...
(IHSA). The school sport teams are nicknamed the Rangers. The boys' baseball team were public league champions in 1966–67. The boys' cross country team were regional champs in (2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16)The girls' soccer team were public league champions in 2000–01. During the 2000–01 season, The girls' softball team were Class AA and public league champions. The girls' volleyball team were Class AA and public league champions twice (1995–96, 2001–02). The school's chess team were Class AA champions in 1991–92. The boys' soccer team were public league champions five times (1983–84, 1985–86, 1988–89, 2000–01, 2011–12) and State champions once (2011–12). The boys' golf team were public league champions in 1974. The boys' tennis team were public league champions twice (1973–74, 1974–75).
Notable alumni
*
Robert Berland
Robert "Bobby" Berland (born November 5, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American judoka who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and in the 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Oly ...
(1980) – judoka and coach who became the first American to receive as high as a silver medal in Olympic judo, winning the silver medal at the 1984 Olympics.
* Mun Choi – Current President of the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
*
Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to:
Entertainment
*Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor
* Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist
Sport
*Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer
*Steve Ellio ...
(1990) – brother of William Elliott and author ('' Happy Baby'').
* Noah Falstein (1975) – Pioneer game developer of games such as ''
Sinistar
''Sinistar'' is a 1983 multidirectional shooter arcade game developed and manufactured by Williams Electronics. It was created by Sam Dicker, Jack Haeger, Noah Falstein, RJ Mical, Python Anghelo, and Richard Witt. Players control a spacecraft ...
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
.
* Qudus Lawal (2012) - Professional soccer player who led Mather to state and city championships.
*
Max Levchin
Maksymilian Rafailovych "Max" Levchin ( uk, Максиміліан Рафаїлович Левчин; born July 11, 1975) is a Ukrainian-American software engineer and businessman. In 1998, he co-founded the company that eventually became PayP ...
(1993) – internet entrepreneur who founded
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...