History of D102

The first school in the Township or in Lake County was begun in 1836 with one teacher, Laura B. Sprague. The log schoolhouse was also used for church services and located in Half Day which is now known as Lincolnshire, Illinois. Another town was developing nearby at this time and was called Aptakisic. It was named after the Indian Chief Aptakee. Aptakee in the Indian language means “Sun at the meridian/High noon/half day.” Reference: Foundation of Education paper by Florence Dulak, July 17, 1985.

In April 1842, the School Board of Trustees for Vernon Township divided the township into multiple school districts. Between 1842 and 1867 the boundaries of these school districts changed many times to reflect the growing communities. In 1902, the districts were reduced to two, Aptakisic District 102 and Tripp District 104. On April 22, 1955, District 102 and 104 consolidated into Aptakisic-Tripp Community Consolidated School District 102. On April 14, 1956, a referendum was held for $150,000 to build a six-room schoolhouse. The school opened in September 1956.

school building

Links

“Tripp School” – Lake County historian

“Tripp School History” – Illinois Digital Archives

By the following summer, the community continued to grow so that it was necessary to rent additional space for the seventh and eighth grades. The new Aptakisic-Tripp School opened on September 3, 1957. For the next fifteen to twenty years the community retained its rural quality and the population stabilized. Beginning in the late 1970’s, the community began to expand rapidly as the suburbs began moving northwest. In September 1978, the district rented Miner Junior High School in Arlington Heights to house its sixth through eighth grades while housing kindergarten through fifth grade at the Aptakisic School on Weiland Road.

During 1979, the district held a referendum asking the community to build a thirty-classroom elementary school to support the rapidly growing enrollments. That building known as Pritchett School opened in the fall of 1981. While waiting for the building to be completed in September of 1980 the district found it necessary to change its configuration and rent Carl Sandburg Elementary School in Wheeling to house students from kindergarten to fourth grade. The Aptakisic School located on Weiland Road now was set to service grades five through eight. Growth continued and in 1987 the community once again came together to support the building of a second elementary school, Tripp School located on Highland Grove, and the major expansion of Aptakisic School located on Weiland. The renovation and addition to the junior high school doubled in size from 75,000 to 150,000 square feet. Finally, in 1993, the voters in the community approved the construction of the Meridian Middle School located in the Northwest section of the district on Brandywyn Lane.

Up until the 2017-18 school year, the district housed two kindergartens through fourth-grade buildings (Tripp and Pritchett Elementary Schools), Meridian Middle School, serving grades five and six, and Aptakisic Junior High School, serving grades seven and eight. In addition, Pritchett housed the Early Childhood program. Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 covers approximately seven square miles in southern Lake County, Illinois. Our students live in Buffalo Grove, Prairie View, and unincorporated sections of Deerfield and Wheeling, and attend Adlai E. Stevenson High School.

As a result of a growing student population during 2018 and beyond, Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 would need more educational space. The District engaged Wight & Company to assist them in adapting their four school buildings to accommodate both the increasing number of students and the evolving educational needs of 21st-century learners.

In order to create much-needed space at Tripp Elementary School (serving K-4 until June 2018) and Pritchett Elementary School (serving Early Childhood – grade 4 through June 2018), Early Childhood and grade 4 were moved to Meridian, a 5-6 building until June 2018. An addition was added to Meridian to accommodate a growing early childhood population and maintain a best-practice blended program for our early learners. Sixth grade was moved from Meridian to Aptakisic for the opening of the 2018-2019 school year, making Meridian a grade 4-5 and EC school. In order to convert Aptakisic from a 7-8 building to a 6-8 building, the District Office purchased and moved the DO to a building next to Aptakisic (1351 Abbott Court, Buffalo Grove) so that the old office space could be renovated into updated classroom learning spaces. A large Fine Arts addition was a significant part of the Aptakisic project. This addition included a new band, music, art, orchestra, and multi-purpose room, which vacated classroom spaces in Aptakisic that were converted into an expanded cafeteria, classrooms, and a project space.

In the fall of 2017, the District began construction on the addition to Aptakisic Junior High. In February 2018, construction began on the addition to Meridian called the Early Learning Center that would house the Early Childhood program. Read more about the specific details of BUILD102. The Board of Education voted to change the name of Meridian Middle School to Meridian School effective July 2018.

The majority of the project was completed for the opening of the 2018-2019 school year.