Honor the Past

District 230 firmly believes that we must honor the past in order to embrace the present and create the future. We have a rich history which begins with Miss Dorothy Emily Davis, a graduate of the University of Chicago, who came to Orland and Palos Townships in 1919 in order to organize an accredited Chicago high school for the students in the area who were unable to attend the Chicago high schools. The Orland High School was established through a provision in the Community High School Law of 1917, making it possible to secure funds for all costs except building and equipment from the non-high school district revenue of the State of Illinois.

Miss Davis and the first 13 students of Orland High School had classes in one room located on the second floor of the old village hall in Orland Park. In March of 1920, the high school was accredited by the State, making graduates eligible to enter the Chicago high schools without entrance examinations and providing full credit for courses taken at the Orland High School.

The next year, Miss Davis and 28 students moved into two rooms in the new bank building. At the end of that school year, the original 13 students were graduated.

The school occupied the old Park School building for the first part of its third year. The brick part is the oldest part of the building, being built around 1922. The limestone section of the school was later constructed in 1940 from Joliet limestone and served as a gymnasium. During the second part of that third year, Miss Davis and 31 students moved to a new five-room school building designed by Mr. Pashley and built by Mr. Mahaffy of Palos Park. In June, 1921, another 13 students graduated.

For the next 30 years, makeshift facilities were used to house the expanding high school enrollment. In the 1940’s classes were held in the basement of the grammar school building, in the basement of the Lutheran Church, and in two abandoned stores in the Village of Orland Park. By this time, students were graduating from a fully accredited four-year high school. On May 5, 1952, the voters of Palos and Orland Townships voted to create a new high school by combining High School Districts 221 and 222 in Consolidated High School District 230. A year later, the voters held an election to select the site for the new high school as well as to vote the necessary bonds to construct the building.

Benjamin Franklin High School

From 1993 to 1998, District 230 operated Benjamin Franklin High School, a small laboratory school enrolling approximately 150 students. Franklin was established to be a center for staff development, a catalyst for school restructuring, and an alternative to the traditional high school experience. Students from each of the district's comprehensive high schools volunteered to attend Franklin.