Hononegah Community High School

Hononegah Community High School
Address
307 Salem Street
Rockton, Illinois 61072
United States
Coordinates 42°27′14″N 89°03′48″W / 42.454°N 89.0632°W / 42.454; -89.0632Coordinates: 42°27′14″N 89°03′48″W / 42.454°N 89.0632°W / 42.454; -89.0632
Information
School type Public Secondary
Established 1923
School district Hononegah Community High School District 207
Superintendent Lynn Gibson[1]
Principal Eric Flohr[1]
Staff 187[2]
Grades 9–12
Gender Coed
Enrollment 2113[3]
Average class size 23.3[4]
Campus type Rural
Color(s)      Purple
     Gold[5]
Athletics conference (NIC-10)[5]
Mascot Indian[5]
Nickname (Lady) Indians[5]
Average ACT scores 26 [4]
Website Official School Website

Hononegah Community High School is a public high school in Rockton, Illinois and is the only high school comprising Hononegah Community High School District 207. Located between Rockford and the southern border of Wisconsin, the school serves students from the towns of Rockton, Roscoe, Shirland, and parts of South Beloit.

The high school opened its doors in 1923. The school is named after Ho–no–ne–gah, the Native American wife of Stephen Mack, Jr., who is generally credited for founding the town of Rockton. The school's namesake is honored with a large mural in the school's main lobby (see gallery below).

One of the unique aspects of Hononegah is its inflatable "bubble" field house, the first of its kind for any Illinois public school,[6] until its collapse in December 2015.[7]

History

Hononegah High School was built in 1922, and dedicated in February 1923. Additions to the building have taken place in the 1950s, 1971 (metal gym complex), 1981 classroom addition, 1996 (Performing Arts Center and classrooms) and 2003 (new entrance, locker rooms, guidance and social studies as well as the information system's academy). The cafeteria was originally the theater and gym. The concession area in the metal gym was the location of the Hononegah Theater in the 1970s through 1996.

George Kelsey, a local entrepreneur and successful businessperson, donated $1.6m in 1941 to build a new football stadium, and the school honors him with an award presented to one student each year, based on GPA, being in at least two sports and two honors level classes, and a lack of criminal background.

District 207 purchased land near Interstate I-90 to accommodate a second campus if enrollment continues to rise. Notable additions to the base campus include a Performing Arts Center capable of seating 1,100 and an athletic practice dome(which deflated in a hail storm during the winter of 2015). The school is 86% White, 6% Hispanic, 2% Black, and 2% Asian

Academics

In 2011, Hononegah had an average composite ACT score of 21.0, and graduated 88.0% of its senior class.[4] Though from 2006 to 2014 Hononegah students have achieved 9 perfect scores.[8][9] As of 2013, Hononegah had not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, a state test used in Illinois to fulfill the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[4] The school overall did not meet minimum expectations in mathematics.[4]

In 2008, the Chicago Sun-Times listed Hononegah as the 50th best public high school in the state of Illinois based on average scores on the PSAE, and one of the ten best outside of the Chicago area.[10]

In 2010, Newsweek[11] announced that Hononegah qualified for the magazine’s 2011 list of the nation’s top high schools. Over the past three years Hononegah has increased the amount of advanced placement tests its students are taking.

Athletics

Hononegah competes in the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC-10) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most high school athletics and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Indians.

The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments or meets:[12]

Hononegah is also one of five drafting schools of the Rockford Icemen hockey program. Along with Boylan High School, Guilford High School, Harlem High School, and Christian Life, Hononegah contributes nearly ten student athletes to the Rockford Icemen who recently won their fifteenth consecutive Illinois state championship.[13]

Notable alumni

Mike Sorce AKA Don Geronimo. (radio personality) Nationally syndicated talk show, now based in Sacramento California. graduated from Hononegah in 1976.

References

  1. 1 2 "Administration". directory. Hononegah Community HS District 207. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  2. ↑ "Staff Directory". Hononegah Community HS District 207. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  3. ↑ "IHSA School Directory". Illinois High School Association. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "2013 Illinois School Report Card" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "IHSA School Directory". Illinois High School Association. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Voelker, Anna (23 January 2002), "Hononegah inflates dome, school pride: Officials, students look forward to completion of the state-of-the-art field house", Rockford Register Star, retrieved 22 December 2009, ... to catch the hoopla as workers inflated the first bubble field house at an Illinois public high school ... The dome is part of a $15 million expansion project, which includes an additional 26 classrooms ... The district needs the facility because enrollment grew nearly 49 percent from 1,157 students in 1991-92 to 1,719 students during the 2000-01 school year ... Hononegah's dome is 330 feet long, 180 feet wide and 50 feet high. Grids of cable and air blowers outside the dome support the vinyl-coated polyester cover. The blowers create high volume and low pressure to hold up the dome.
  7. ↑ Stanley, Ben. "What popped the balloon in Rockton? Deflated ruins of Hononegah High School dome to be inspected". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  8. ↑ "ACT Score". Hononegah Community High School. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Eight Hononegah Students Recognized for Perfect ACT Score Over Last Seven Years". WIFR. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Top 50 High Schools in Illinois" (PDF). ranked list. Chicago Sun-Times. 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  11. ↑ "Top High Schools in the Nation". Rockford Register Star. Aug 25, 2010.
  12. ↑ "IHSA Season Summaries". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 16 November 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  13. ↑ "Icemen Bag 13th Championship". WREX TV Website. March 11, 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  14. ↑ Gary, Alex (3 October 2007), "Meet local hall of famers", Rockford Register Star, retrieved 22 December 2009, Scott Hamilton, trained at Wagon Wheel, attended Hononegah High School, U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
  15. ↑ Auman, Greg; Jim Tomlin (March 26, 2011). "Dabbling in NASCAR just makes Danica Patrick's star burn brighter". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
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