According to "The Educational History of Illinois", private subscription schools were taught by various teachers on the East Side of Aurora starting in 1834. The first class from East Aurora High School - four girls - graduated in 1867. The first high school was built on Center Street, and torn down in the 1960s.
In August 1912, East Aurora High School opened a new, larger building on Jackson Street. The dedication ceremony was attended by the U.S. Commissioner of Education and Illinois Schools Superintendent Francis G. Blair. The total cost of the structure was $225,000, including $25,000 to buy the land. That building is now K.D. Waldo Middle School.
The present East Aurora High School campus opened in 1957. The address for East Aurora High School is 500 Tomcat Lane, in Aurora, IL. Additions were made to the new high school sometime after 1989 school year, adding three stories to the East side of the school for math, science and English. Previous to 1989 there were three stories however a new addition was not put on until after 1988. The new addition is now the freshman classrooms, gym and cafeteria. Currently, construction is being done on the west side of the campus, where the Roy E. Davis stadium will replace the original field.
Tomcats nickname
Through the 1920s, the East High teams did not have an official mascot or nickname. The teams were often referred to as the “Red and Blacks", “East Warriors” or simply “East High”. But by 1934, the high school yearbook referred to the football team as the “Tomcats”. By 1945, all the high school teams had adopted the name.
An article in the September 30, 1931, East High Auroran hints that the name was in honor of legendary varsity football coach Glen Thompson, who was known more often as “Tommy”.
Thompson had come to East Aurora High School in 1925, and proceeded to resurrect the football team. He was a successful basketball and track coach, and his football teams regularly won conference championships.
For decades, the high school teams have been known as the Tomcats and nearly all the East Aurora middle and elementary schools use some sort of cat for their logo and nickname.
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Academics
There are Honors and Advanced Placement classes offered in one or more of the following subjects: foreign language, math, science, language arts, social studies and fine arts.
According to the 2012 Illinois State report card, East Aurora had an average composite ACT score of 16.6 and graduated 60.1 percent of its senior class. The average class size is 22.8 students. East Aurora has not made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act.[4]
The staff is 178 teachers, of whom 60 percent hold an advanced degree. Approximately 250 semester courses by eight major departments are taught at East Aurora.[5]
Athletics
East Aurora has 23 athletic teams - 11 for boys and 12 for girls - which compete in the Upstate Eight Conference and Illinois High School Association. East Aurora's mascot is the Tomcat. Teams include football, tennis, badminton, baseball, softball, bowling, cross country, volleyball, track and field, basketball, soccer and cheerleading.
The following East Aurora teams have finished in the top four of an IHSA-sponsored state tournament or meet:[citation needed]
Basketball (Boys): 4th Place (1969); 3rd Place (1972)
Basketball (Girls): 4th Place (1982)
Debate: 3rd Place (1966)
Track and Field (Boys): State champions (1898)
Wrestling (Boys): 3rd Place (1964)
The rivalry between the East Aurora and West Aurora High School football teams is considered the oldest football rivalry in the state, and the sixth-oldest in the nation.[citation needed] The teams first met on November 18, 1893. East High won the game 28-0. By 1895, the game was drawing 2,000 fans to Hurd's Island, the neutral area of the Fox River where the two teams played. The game was not played in 1894 or 1897, but the teams met twice in 1896 and 1898. Through 1951, the teams traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day.
The 1938 Tomcats football team is considered the school's best ever. That year, the team went 9-0, and outscored opponents 188-6. West High was the only team to score against East that year.
Activities
East Aurora offers dozens of opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities. Activities include art club, book club, card club, chess club, conservation club, computer gaming club, cooking club, drama, film club, Gay-Straight Alliance, guitar club, heavy metal club, key club, literary magazine, mathletes, music club, National Honor Society, photography, Peace Jam, Scholastic Bowl, student council, Speculum (yearbook), The Auroran (school paper),
The school also offers a wide spectrum of clubs and organizations, including: Literary Magazine, GSA (Gay Straight Alliance), NHS (National Honor Society), GHS (German Honor Society), Music Club, Art Club, FCCLA and DECA.
NJROTC
Navy JROTC Insignia
East Aurora is well known for its involvement in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or NJROTC. The high school has more than 900 students enrolled in the program, making East Aurora largest in the nation.
East Aurora's NJROTC has been the Area 3-West Champions for the past several years. East Aurora has gone to Navy Nationals held in NAS Pensacola, Florida, for the past seven years. East Aurora has won many honors including, Distinguished Unit and 2006 National Color Guard Champions. The East Aurora NJROTC Rifle Team has also had successful years traveling and competing in Colorado, Tennessee and Ohio.[citation needed]
Linda Chapa LaVia, class of 1984, member of Illinois House of Representatives, representing 83rd District since 2003
James Compton, class of 1954, president of the Chicago Urban League 1978-2006
Slade Cutter, class of 1929, recipient of four Navy Crosses for sinking second-most Japanese ships in World War II; All-American football player at U.S. Naval Academy
Michael J. Davis, class of 1965, Senior U.S. District Judge for the District of Minnesota
Roy Solfisburg, class of 1903, Illinois State Supreme Court Chief Justice from 1962–63, 1967-1969
Robert Strotz, class of 1938, Professor of Econometrics and President of Northwestern University, 1970-1984; also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
