Thornton Fractional North High School

Thornton Fractional North High School (T.F. North, TF North, TFN; formerly Thornton Fractional Township High School) is a Public Secondary school in Calumet City, Illinois. It first opened its doors in March 1926.^[9]

Thornton Fractional North High School
Address
755 Pulaski Road Calumet City , Illinois 60409 United States
Coordinates	41.6146°N 87.5452°W / 41.6146; -87.5452
Information
Former name	Thornton Fractional Township High School
School type	Public Secondary
Motto	"Hardworking, Caring, Responsible, and Respectful."
Established	1926
School district	Thornton Fractional HS 215
Superintendent	John Robinzine[1]
CEEB code	140475[2]
Principal	Brian Rucinski[3]
Faculty	142[4]
Teaching staff	207
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coed
Enrollment	1,259 (2020-21)[5]
• Grade 9	339 students
• Grade 10	301 students
• Grade 11	316 students
• Grade 12	303 students
Average class size	21.5[6]
Campus size	3 Acres
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Purple   Gold[7]
Athletics conference	South Suburban Conference[7]
Mascot	Meteor-Man
Nickname	Meteors[7]
Rival	Thornton Fractional South High School
Accreditation	Illinois State Board of Education
Newspaper	Thorntonian[8]
Yearbook	Chronoscope[8]
Communities served	Calumet City Burnham
Feeder schools	Burnham Elementary School Lincoln Elementary School Schrum Mem. Middle School Wentworth Jr. High School
Website	http://TFD215.org/North

The school serves Calumet City and Burnham. T.F. North also serves over 1,700 students in grades 9–12. The school's boundaries are the City of Chicago on the North, Torrence Avenue on the West, the Indiana state line on the East, and the Little Calumet River to the South.^[9]

History

Due to growth in the Calumet City–Lansing area, Thornton Fractional South High School was opened in 1959. The original high school that first opened in 1926 was renamed Thornton Fractional North High School. In 1963 and 1964, expansions to the 1936 building were completed.^[9]

Academics

In 2010, T.F. North had an average composite ACT score of 18.0, an average class size of 21.6 Students, a 20.5 Student to Teacher Ratio, and graduated 92.8% of its Senior class.^[6] T.F. North has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test used in Illinois to fulfill the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.^[6] Overall, the school has not exceeded minimum expectations in reading, mathematics, and science.^[6] It has far exceeded graduation expectations with an 87% graduation rate.^[6]

Athletics

The Athletics Director is Mr. DeVale Stubbs.

T.F. North competes in the South Suburban Conference and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the body which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Meteors. School colors are Purple and Gold.

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for male and female students in badminton, baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, dance team, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling.

Activities

T.F. North offers various extracurricular activities. Some of these have won Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championships in the past, such as the Drama Club.

Other activities and clubs include: Adventure Club, Auto Collision, Auto Mechanics, Chess, Concert Band, Creative Arts Magazine, Cultural Diversity, Foreign Language Club, Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), Integrated Cooperative Education (ICE), J.I.L.G., Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Choir, Marching Band, Mathletes, National Honor Society (NHS), Newspaper, Peer Mediators, Pep Club, S.A.D.D., Speech Team, Radio/TV Productions (Meteor Productions), Visual Arts, and Yearbook.^[10]

The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective state championship competitions sponsored by the IHSA:^[11]

• Debate: 2nd Place (1941–42, 1957–58)
• Speech (Individual): State Champions (1958–59)
• Speech (Team): State Champions (1943–44, 1957–58, 1958–59); 2nd Place (1940–41); 3rd Place (1941–42)

Notable alumni

• John Jurkovic, Former NFL Defensive Lineman for the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Cleveland Browns. Currently an ESPN Radio 1000 afternoon drive host in Chicago, Illinois. Class of 1985.^[12][13]
• Mirko Jurkovic, All-American football player
• Mary Matalin, Well Known Political Commentator and former campaign aide to Senator Fred Thompson and President George H. W. Bush. Class of 1971.^[14][15]
• Gene Ollrich, former NBA player for the Waterloo Hawks
• Mike Tomczak, Former NFL Quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers. He is a Super Bowl winning quarterback for the 1985 Chicago Bears season and currently a sportscaster in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Coached at TFN by Ron Tomczak and partner Jerry Munda. Class of 1981.^[16][17]
• Tim Walberg, Republican Representative of Michigan's 7th congressional district since 2011.
• Steve Wojciechowski, Former pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Class of 1988.^[18]

References

1. "FROM THE DESK OF SUPERINTENDENT ROBINZINE". Thornton Fractional Dist. 215. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
2. "High School Code Search". College Board. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
3. "Mr. Brian Rucinski - Principal". T. F. North HS. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
4. "Staff Directory". Directory. Thornton Fractional North High School. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
5. "Thornton Fractnl No High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
6. "Illinois School Report Card" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
7. "Calumet City (TF North)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). November 17, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
8. "Clubs & Activities". T. F. North HS. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
9. "Thornton Fractional North".
10. "Clubs & Activities". Thornton Fractional North High School. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
11. "School Directory | IHSA". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
12. "John Jurkovic". Football Database.com. 2011. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011. High School: Thornton Fractional North (Calumet City, IL)
13. Foltman, Bob (May 3, 2001), "WMVP shuffles afternoon lineup: Low ratings cost Simonson-Canellis", Chicago Tribune, retrieved May 11, 2011, Jurkovic, who played with the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars before retiring in 1999, was voted the NFL's funniest player in a Sport Magazine poll in 1998. He is a Calumet City native and a graduate of Thornton Fractional North High School.
14. "Mary Matalin". Notable Personalities Born, Raised, or Became Famous in Lake, Porter Counties Indiana and Surrounding Illinois Communities. LakeNet. Retrieved May 11, 2011. She graduated from T.F. North High School in Calumet City and was elected homecoming queen in her junior year, 1970.
15. Williams, Marjorie (2008), Reputation: portraits in power, New York, NY, USA: PublicAffairs (Perseus Books), ISBN 978-1-58648-679-2, (p 134) ...growing up, almost all the kids in the neighborhood were boys, so Mary was a tomboy. At T.F. North High School in Calumet City, she was both the pretty, "good" girl -- homecoming queen and pom pom girl -- and also the family rebel ...
16. Hamnik, Al (September 11, 2010), "Cal City's Tomczak won't ever forget 'miracle' ride", Northwest Indiana Times, retrieved May 11, 2011, They had accepted Tomczak, the rookie, and occasionally he was allowed to play among them. "It was a miracle ride for me," the T.F. North grad and former Ohio State star said.
17. Myslenski, Skip; Kay, Linda (September 17, 1986), "Planning ahead: Mike Tomczak reached inside the breast...", Chicago Tribune, retrieved May 11, 2011, Both Jo Ann and Ron Tomczak, who coached Mike at Thornton Fractional North, dashed the theory that their son had a case of the jitters Sunday.
18. "Steve Wojciechowski". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved May 11, 2011. High School: Thornton Fractional North High School (Calumet City, Illinois)

External links

• Official website