Waukegan Public School District 60 has a long and rich history. Waukegan residents began a school system for their children in the mid-1800's. North School is the oldest school building in the district, dating back to the year 1856. The Waukegan Historical Society has yearbooks from Waukegan High School dating as early as 1898. As the Waukegan community grew, more schools were built. Many of these historical schools have been remodeled/expanded and are still in use by today's students. The Carman-Buckner school was built in 1903. Robert Abbott school was built in 1905. Andrew Cooke school building followed in 1907.
		North School circa 1860

Glen Flora school opened its doors to students in September 1921. Its attendance area was made up of territory originally assigned to North and Central students. Greenwood school was built in 1925 as a two-room school. Washington school was built in 1926 to replace the old frame Dady School that was on Keller Avenue. Old Dady, consisting of two rooms and one portable was sold for $150 which went toward the $29,940 it took to build the four-room new brick building known today as Washington Elementary School. Whittier school was built in 1927.

Many more schools were built in in the Waukegan School District during the 1950's and 1960's, including: Lyon (1952), Hyde Park (1953), Clearview (1955), Webster (1956), Jefferson (1957), Glenwood (1958), Little Fort (1958), Oakdale (1958), Benny (1961), Clark (1962), and McCall (1962).

The Waukegan High School building (now the Ninth Grade Center) first opened its doors in 1920. Waukegan High School served the town and its ever-growing population through the early 1970's. In 1974 the decision was made to create a second high school in Waukegan. Waukegan High School was renamed Waukegan East High School. The second high school was named Waukegan West High School. Waukegan West High School served the families of Waukegan for 15 years. In 1990, Waukegan recombined the schools into one high school. Today, the Waukegan West High School building is home to 10th, 11th, and 12th graders of the Waukegan school district, while ninth graders attend classes in the Waukegan East building.

Miguel Juarez Middle School is the youngest and newest school in Waukegan. It was built in 1999.

Waukegan School District has a history of excellence in education, educational leaders and successful students. Mr. John E. Baggett, a noted educator who worked at North School from 1888 to 1904. Mr. Baggett was both the classroom teacher of pupils in grades six, seven, and eight (70 students in all), and was also the building principal. In a day when classrooms were bleak and barren, Mr. Baggett lined his classroom with live plants, art reproductions, pictures of famous people, statuary, and Latin inscriptions. He took seven pupils per week on ten successive Saturdays to see the wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair. He obtained the first X-ray pictures to ever reach this country in order to show his students the miracles of this new medium.
		Mr. John E. Baggett

Mr, Baggett taught his students “live history” (his terminology) by posting important news and news pictures on the door of his classroom and leading discussions, answering questions, and administering “pop quizzes” about these details. He also set up a projector to show his students motion pictures of Waukegan trains and a Genesee Street circus parade because of his familiarity with the inventor of the first movie projector (who happened to live in Waukegan).

Waukegan School District has many famous and successful graduates. Jack Benny Middle School is the namesake for Waukegan native Jack Benny a 1907 graduate of Waukegan's South School, then located on Liberty Street between Utica and Oak. Through the years Jack Benny Middle School has been a part of celebrating the legacy of this world-renowned comedian and performer.

Today Waukegan Public School District 60 is proud of its heritage, its current students and staff, and its future potential as it strives build on its rich history and follow its motto:

A New Day...A New Way in Waukegan Public Schools...over and above!