Friday Flyover: Huntley High School

Friday, September 8, 2023

Huntley High School students show off their HHS formation.

HUNTLEY, Ill. (WLS) -- This week, we feature Huntley High School on ABC7's Friday Flyover, celebrating high school sports!

District 158 Overview and Highlights:

Huntley 158 is located in Huntley, Illinois, approximately 50 miles northwest of Chicago.

The school district serves approximately 8,600 students, employs over 1,200 staff and is comprised of one high school, two middle schools, five elementary schools, an early childhood center, and a transition program for students ages 18-22.

Huntley 158 is one of 27 school districts in the country recognized as an AASA Learning 2025 Lighthouse District.

Huntley High School students show off their ABC Coffee Cup formation.

Huntley 158's priorities involve engaging all learners in a diverse curriculum that allows for flexibility and the room for student choice. The end goal is to provide students a greater sense of ownership over their learning while strengthening the ability of students to be self-motivated as they monitor their own progress.

Huntley 158 is committed to sustainability and clean energy. D158 is one of two school districts in Illinois and among 11 districts nationally to earn the U.S. Department of Education's

Green Ribbon award in 2022-23 for their innovative efforts to reduce environmental impact.

Huntley High School students show off their You Matter formation.

Huntley 158's green initiatives, which began 14 years ago, have resulted in an annual total savings for the district of $870,000 over the past 12 months. In addition, the district has reduced its energy consumption from carbon producing sources by more than 14 million pounds annually. Significant changes have included Installation of 15,000 solar panels across its three campuses, making it Illinois' largest solar panel installation on school district property. 75 percent of the district's annual power consumption now comes from solar! Purchase of 33 propane buses, comprising approximately one-third of District 158's current bus fleet. In addition, the district received $1.04 million in grant funding to pay for the purchase of four electric buses. Lighting retrofits, HVAC enhancements and high efficiency equipment upgrades in school district facilities.

Huntley 158 prioritizes operational efficiency

The district's operating cost per pupil continues to be well below the state average.

HHS History and Highlights:

Huntley High School opened in 1997 with a student enrollment of approximately 400 students.

Current enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is approximately 2,850 students.

HHS is Future Ready!

Huntley High School is consistently ranked among the nation's best high schools by U.S. News & World Report.

HHS is the first and only school to win two back-to-back IHSA State Journalism awards.

HHS girls softball and track and field teams won state titles in 2019 (softball) and 2023 (track and field).

Blended Learning program merges Internet-based instruction with a traditional classroom setting. Blended classes offer students a larger degree of control over the time and place their learning occurs. The blended program, which has been recognized nationally, is open to students in grades 9-12. This year, approximately 1,800 HHS students take part in blended learning.

HHS is one of only 16 school districts in Illinois with graduates who've earned a college and career pathway endorsement in the areas of health, sciences and technology as well as manufacturing, engineering, technology and trades.

HHS partners with McHenry County College to offer dual credit courses for students, which allows them to earn college credit while taking courses in high school. In addition, students have the ability to earn an associates degree in addition to a high school diploma by the end of their senior year.

Student internships and academies:

Huntley High School aims to give students real-world experiences to break down barriers between the classroom and the world of work. See examples below:

By partnering with Centegra Healthcare (now Northwestern Medicine) in 2016, HHS was one of the first school districts in the state to offer students hands-on, career-based learning through a Medical Academy, which created internships for students in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, neurology, wound care and more. Since then, HHS has launched three additional academies for students in grades 10-12, including En gineering, Fine Arts and Global Citizenship.

The Manufacturing Pathways Consortium started in 2019 and was the mastermind of educators and manufacturers from around McHenry County to grow the talent pipeline. In 2021 the Consortium applied for a grant through the McHenry County Board to offer paid internships to students throughout the county. For the past two summers, Huntley High School has had 22 students working in these paid internships over the summer. Students have earned $16/hour and some have even been hired in a part-time capacity to continue their work throughout the school year.