Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 (D102) is a school district in Buffalo Grove, Lake County, Illinois. It operates four schools and serves approximately 2,590 students in grades Early Childhood through 8th grade. Most students live in Buffalo Grove north of Lake Cook Road, a northern suburb of Chicago, and some live in the Lake County part of Wheeling, unincorporated Prairie View, Aptakisic, or Deerfield.

Schools Students who live in the district will attend Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire; Stevenson is its own independent district, District 125.

Elementary

There are two K-3 schools, Tripp Elementary School and Pritchett Elementary School, in the district.

Pritchett Elementary School Dr. Matt Moreland, Ed.D. - Principal Mrs. Julie Cummings - Assistant Principal

Tripp Elementary School Mrs. Tina Schenk - Principal Ms. Robin vanDyke - Assistant Principal

Middle There is one middle school for grades 4–5, which is named Meridian School. Early Childhood is also in Meridian.

Meridian School Mr. Greg Michels - Principal Mrs. Sadie Meyer - Assistant Principal

Junior High The junior high school, grades 6–8, is named Aptakisic Junior High School, after Chief Half Day (Chief Aptakisic) a local Native American chief from the Potawatami tribe. Aptakisic Junior High School Mrs. Dana Tamez - Principal Mrs. Nicole Koren - Assistant Principal Mr. Kevin Locallo - Assistant Principal

Meridian and Aptakisic are both Apple-distinguished schools, due to their use of technology like iPads in class. Aptakisic is also considered one of the best middle schools in the state of Illinois.

History

The district was originally split into the Aptakisic School and the Tripp School from the 19th century until the 1960s, when the school districts merged due to the city of Buffalo Grove's growth. Along with a united district came a brand-new school. By the 1970s, the school was unable to handle the growing city, so it was torn down and replaced by Aptakisic School. By 1981, grades K-5 began going to the new Pritchett Elementary School. In the late 1980s, Tripp Middle School was built to serve grades 3–5, at which point Pritchett served only grades K-2, and Aptakisic School was a junior high serving grades 6-8. By 1994, Meridian Middle School was built to handle grades 5 and 6, while Tripp School and Pritchett School became elementary schools serving grades K-4.

Expansion during 2017 and 2018 brought many changes. The district office that was a part of the Aptakisic School building moved to a neighboring building, with the former district office converted into sixth-grade classrooms. A new wing was built for fine arts at Aptakisic, and an early childhood wing was built for Meridian. 4th-grade classes moved from Tripp and Pritchett to Meridian, and 6th grade moved to AJHS from Meridian, making Tripp and Pritchett K-3 schools. All projects were funded by a $18 million bond, approved in 2018 by the Board of Education .

During the COVID-19 pandemic, D102 remained remote in operations and used online technology for learning. In July 2020, it was announced that students would remain in fully remote learning until Oct. 5, 2020, at the earliest. For the 2021–2022 school year, the district began operating in a hybrid capacity, with some classes fully remote, some virtual, and some a mix of the two.

In 2023, a wing designed specifically for STEM for Aptakisic was built out of half of the existing district office, and in the summer of 2024, a link was built between the school and the new wing. The link was originally announced to be located underground, but it was built above ground. In 2025, construction of a new gym, was completed at Aptakisic, as well as an expanded parking lot on the site of Aptakisic Park.

Electives and athletics Currently, schools in D102 offer Spanish, band, orchestra, and chorus as electives at AJHS, which had also offered French, but the program was terminated. In all of the elementary schools, there is a mandatory encore rotation consisting of art; music; Communication and Media Arts (CMA), a combination of acting, speechwriting, and content creation; and an engineering class, called Project: Lead The Way (PLTW). At Aptakisic, the encore rotation is mandatory for sixth grade and contains health class, engineering, CMA, and music. However, the encore rotation is optional for 7th and 8th grades and contains art class. In 8th grade, an entrepreneurship class is included in the encore rotation. If a student does not take any electives in Aptakisic, a study hall 'class' is available. Aptakisic offers many extracurriculars and sports, including, but not limited to: Scholastic Bowl, including NAQT Soccer Team MathCounts Club Basketball Team Badminton Club (Team) Geography Club History Club Debate Club FIRST Lego League Challenge-Robotics Two Jazz Bands, one audition-only. Rubik's Cube Club Track & Field Cross Country Volleyball Team IJAS Science Fair

For most athletics, Aptakisic competes in the Patriot Athletic Conference against Twin Groves, Woodlawn, Fremont, Daniel Wright, and West Oak, all of which feed into Stevenson High School. Most Aptakisic students consider Twin Groves (or Daniel Wright) to be their rival, as they are on the other side of Buffalo Grove.

Aptakisic sports teams have won state and nationals for a few sports, such as: The Track and Field team had 2 kids who made state in early 2024 & early 2025. The Scholastic Bowl team won NAQT nationals in 2017.

In addition to all of the various electives, extracurriculars, and clubs that AJHS offers, the school offers various leadership & service opportunities. The most notable of these opportunities is National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), a service/leadership organization for 7th and 8th Graders. Students at AJHS must demonstrate leadership and service to be eligible for membership. Additionally, students must not miss more than 10% of the school year and must maintain academic integrity.

Controversies

Stabbing incident In May 2005, a student of Aptakisic was charged with the stabbing of another student in a French classroom. She was eventually sentenced to 5 years of probation, after making an apology in court.

Mascot change In 2012, Aptakisic Junior High School changed its mascot from Chief Aptakisic to the Eagles, due to the potential for issues of racial sensitivity and backlash.

Board of Education As of 2026, the Board of Education consisted of: Jordan Sklansky - President Pelleg Graupe - Vice President Anthony Q. Lee - Board Member Laurie Kuriakose - Board Member Justin Parker - Board Member Melissa Rose - Secretary Jordan Salus- Board Member

In pop culture

Literature

Adam Levin's 2010 novel, The Instructions is set at Aptakisic Junior High School.

References

External links