Westmont High School Class of 2021
Graduates in the Class of 2021: 97
Graduation Speakers: Marina O'Malley, Deniz Barkan, Jackson Cossairt, Zane Thibodeaux and Kayla Sleeper.
People's Resource Center Junior Board of Directors: Deniz Barkan, president; Alyssa Launi, vice president. Westmont was selected as the first high school to serve as a Junior Board of Directors for this outstanding organization that serves neighbors in need in DuPage County.
Academic achievements:
• The Class of 2021 helped Westmont High School earn the DuFour Award as the Best Professional Learning Community in the United States. ($25,000 cash award - best out of over 20,000 schools in the country).
• The GreatSchools.org national ranking system awarded Westmont High School a 10 out of 10 rating.
• Every year Westmont has been named "Exemplary" (highest rating) by the Illinois State Board of Education.
• In the Jay Mathews - Washington Post Challenge Index 2020, featured in the new book "An Optimist's Guide to American Education," Westmont High School ranks number one of nonselective enrollment high schools in Illinois. In a list dominated by selective enrollment and affluent schools, Westmont ranks in the top 1% in the nation while over 30% of our students live in economic poverty. This is the oldest national system that ranks high schools in the United States, and Westmont ranks number 2 overall in Illinois and number 154 in the nation.
Extracurricular achievements:
• Westmont High School's Scholastic Bowl won the National Championship in two different categories.
Theater productions:
• Play: It's A Wonderful Life
• Musical: Two Weeks Going on a Year - musical review written by our students.
Principal's reflections on the Class of 2021:
Westmont High School's Class of 2021 provided leadership, scholarship and service that helped Westmont become the most improved and one of the top performing high schools in the country. In three different national rankings (Washington Post Challenge Index, U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools, and GreatSchools.org) Westmont is the most improved in Illinois. In two of these rankings Westmont is in the top 1% in the United States. In addition to the exceptional rankings, the work done by these students helped Westmont maintain a 99% overall graduation rate and excellent test scores (Illinois School Report Card). Beyond the numbers, the WHS Class of 2021 provided service and leadership, and our school culture has been recognized as exceptional by several noted authors and researchers. We are so very proud of our compassionate, hardworking and talented seniors and look forward to all their success as they make positive and powerful contributions to our community and world.
- Principal Jack Baldermann