In June 1957, the Chicago Board of Education approved work to begin building the new Harlan High School with a budget of $3.2 million bordered at 97th street and Michigan avenue. The school building was constructed in 18-months by a local Chicago construction company, and to accommodate between 1,800 to 2,000 students. In December 1957, community members and parents protested the lack of a swimming pool being built in the school, which resulted in a months of negotiations. The parents cited that another new school that was being constructed at the time was to receive a pool, and that Harlan should have the same facility. The school board stated that the schools are not architecturally alike and it would cost more to construct a pool at Harlan rather than Bogan. Months before its opening, Parents of Fenger High School filed a suit in circuit court requesting that the school board extend the school's attendance boundaries, affecting 300 Fenger students wanting to attend the new school. The suit was dismissed. The school opened for students in September 1958 at 9652 S. Michigan Avenue with an enrollment of 1,400. By April 1965, the school's enrollment was at 2,726 ; predominately African-American. Due to this, the school had to run 12-period days, five separate lunch periods and six mobile classrooms. The school's program attracted students living outside of its attendance area, cited as the cause of the overcrowding. In August 1985, the school was designated as a "community academy" and began accepting students outside its attendance area through the Option for Knowledge program. Harlan added the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics academic program in 2009.
Other information
In March 1969, the school experienced a series of fires that was started in a mobile classroom. The day of the fires, twenty–five students protested the firing of an African–American math teacher at the school. In November 1970, Two students were shot while standing in a second–floor hallway at the school. The shooting was believed to be gang recruiting activity.
Athletics
Harlan competes in the Chicago Public League and is a member of the Illinois High School Association. Harlan's sports teams are known as the Falcons. The boys' basketball and track and field teams have each won three Public League championships and respectively. They were Public League cross country running champions in 1961–62 and baseball champions in 1992–93. Illinois statewide, the Falcon boys' won the state championship in track and field for 1966–67 season.
