Joliet West High School

Joliet West High School, along with Joliet Central, comprises district 204 Joliet Township High School district in Joliet, Illinois. West's mascot is the Tiger.

Joliet West High School
Location
401 North Larkin Avenue Joliet , Illinois 60435 United States
Coordinates	41°31′45″N 88°7′33″W
Information
Type	Public secondary
Established	1924
Principal	Tecara Parker
Teaching staff	177.60 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	3,436 (2023–2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	19.35[1]
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Black   Gold
Mascot	Tiger
Newspaper	Tiger Tales
Yearbook	Alpha Omega
Website	School website

Construction and expansion

Construction of the school began in 1963, with the first classes held in September 1964. It has undergone six additions since. The first, completed in the early 1980s, added a bookstore to the cafeteria, additional space around the maintenance area, a multi-purpose room by the gymnasiums (primarily used for dance and wrestling), six additional classrooms, and a greenhouse. That greenhouse was later torn down.

The second and third additions were completed as two consecutive projects, adding several additional classrooms, a new band room, cafeteria, conference room, dean's offices, and student commons area. The first phase broke ground on November 4, 2001, and was completed the following school year. The second phase began during the 2002–03 year and was open for fall 2003 classes.

A field house was built in late 2007, and additional housing science classes was constructed in 2011.

In 2017, construction began on another smaller section of the building adding a Police Liaison Office, a conference room, and a security entrance. This project would be completed in Spring 2018. The project also added another connection from the main building to the fine-arts building, decreasing hallway traffic congestion.

Separation of schools

During the 2008 - 2009 school year, Central and West began to again divide the schools' athletic programs, allowing the West mascot to become the Tiger once again, leaving Central as the Steelmen. The split began with Joliet's freshman football team dividing. As of the 2010 - 2011 school year, Joliet Central and Joliet West have their own, entirely independent sports programs.

Notable alumni

• Charlie Adams, drummer/percussionist (Chameleon, Yanni)^[2]
• John Barrowman, television and Broadway actor (Doctor Who, Torchwood)^[3]
• Jimmy Chamberlin, drummer (The Smashing Pumpkins)^[4]
• Adrianne Curry - model, TV personality^[5]
• Andy Dick - actor-comedian (The Andy Dick Show)^[6]
• Janina Gavankar - actress, musician (The L Word, True Blood)^[7]
• Randall Kleck - martial artist^{[citation needed]}
• Eric Parker - NFL player for San Diego Chargers^[8]
• Steve Parris - pitcher for four MLB teams^[9]
• Doug Pinnick - musician, King's X^{[citation needed]}
• Anthony Rapp - actor (Rent)^[10]