McHenry High School

McHenry Community High School
Address
4724 W Crystal Lake Rd, McHenry, IL 60050 (Upper Campus) 1012 N Green St, McHenry, IL 60050 (Freshman Campus) United States
Coordinates	42°20′09″N 88°17′23″W / 42.33578°N 88.28971°W / 42.33578; -88.28971 (Upper Campus) 42°20′32″N 88°16′01″W / 42.3421°N 88.2669°W / 42.3421; -88.2669 (Freshman Campus)
Information
Established	c. 1924
Superintendent	Ryan McTague[1]
CEEB code	142830
Principal	Jeff Prickett[1]
Teaching staff	140.8% (FTE)[1]
Grades	9 - 12[1]
Enrollment	2,190 (2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	19:1[1]
Color(s)	Orange   Black
Song	McHenry Warrior Fight Song
Athletics conference	Fox Valley Conference
Mascot	Leonidas the Warrior
Newspaper	The McHenry Messenger themchenrymessenger.com
Feeder schools	McHenry Middle School Parkland Middle School Harrison Elementary School[1]
Website	www.dist156.org

McHenry Community High School (MCHS) is a four-year public high school located in McHenry, Illinois, a far northwestern suburb of Chicago, Illinois.^[2] It is part of McHenry Community High School District 156, which operates two separate campuses: the Freshman Campus and the Upper Campus. The Freshman Campus, established in 1924, currently enrolls 9th-grade students. The Upper Campus, established in 1968, enrolls 10th through 12th-grade students. The high school serves students from McHenry, Wonder Lake, Bull Valley, Holiday Hills, McCullom Lake, and Lakemoor.^[3] Since 2021, Jeff Prickett, Ed.D., has been the principal of both campuses. The school's colors are orange and black, and its mascot, Leonidas the Warrior, represents the school's Warrior identity.

Initially established as McHenry Community High School in 1924, the Freshman Campus opened its doors for the 1923–1924 school year, marking the first campus for McHenry Community High School District 156. This campus housed 9th through 12th grade students from 1924 until 1968.

In 1968, McHenry High School - Upper Campus, established as McHenry High School - West Campus, opened its doors to 11th and 12th-grade students to accommodate the population growth in McHenry and its surrounding towns. Simultaneously, East Campus began serving 9th and 10th graders. This arrangement persisted until Johnsburg High School opened in 1978.

In 1979, following the departure of Johnsburg High School students, both East and West Campuses transitioned into four-year high schools after significant remodeling of the East Campus, which included modernizing the building and installing a new ventilation system.^[4] The serving boundaries between the West and East Campuses were established, with Illinois Route 31 serving as the primary dividing line. The administration faced criticism for this decision.^[5] Despite having two separate campuses, they operated under McHenry Community High School to maintain a unified Warrior identity and spirit.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, both East and West campus grew to capacity as McHenry County became one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States during the 1990s population boom.^[6] Despite several failed referendums in the 1990s to expand the Upper Campus and improve the Freshman Campus, a referendum was finally approved in 2000.

Construction began that same year and was completed in 2003, adding 24 classrooms, new gym with 2,000 seats, new cafeteria, and staircases (known as Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior Towers) to the Upper Campus, which expanded its capacity to nearly 1,600 students. The Freshman Campus remained at around 950 students.^[7] Following the completion of these additions, boundaries were adjusted to reflect the increased facility space. However, since the 2003 expansion, disparities between the Upper and Freshman Campuses have grown, with the Upper Campus offering more space and opportunities for student success than the Freshman Campus.

During the 2010s, the McHenry High School district developed over 20 Advanced Placement courses and a variety of dynamic, 21st-century electives. In a 2018 statement, the school district noted, "As our curriculum offerings become more modern and advanced, East [Freshman] Campus students have increasingly been forced to travel to West [Upper] Campus or select other opportunities. About a quarter of all MCHS students travel, and about 23% of teachers. The vast majority of East [Freshman] Campus students have to travel at some point during high school, and many find themselves attending multiple classes at West [Upper] Campus during the school day."^[8]

As these inequities grew between the West and East Campuses, district officials approved a $44 million referendum to be placed on the ballot, asking voters whether they would approve the addition of a new Science, Technology, and Industry Center at the McHenry High School Upper Campus, along with building improvements at both campuses.^[9] The referendum was approved by voters in 2018, construction began in 2019, and was completed in the summer of 2021.^[10]

In 2021, following the addition of the new Science, Technology, and Industry Center at the Upper Campus and the grade restructuring between both campuses, McHenry High School became the first and only high school in McHenry County with a dedicated facility of this kind. The Upper Campus building and parking lot were significantly expanded to accommodate 10th through 12th-grade students transitioning from the Freshman Campus (East Campus). Fluorescent lighting was replaced with energy-efficient LED lights in classrooms,^[11] and new furniture, including chairs and tables, was added to the commons areas.^[12] Additional improvements included the expansion of tennis courts, the construction of new varsity baseball and softball fields, and upgrades to McCracken Field, which received new turf and lighting for soccer and football practices and games.^[13] Safety enhancements, such as the BluePoint system, were also implemented, allowing anyone to alert local police of an emergency situation at the high school.

McHenry High School offers over 30 Advanced Placement courses and dual credit pathways. The AP® participation rate at McHenry High School-Upper Campus was 45% in the 2020-21 school year.^[14] The high school also holds a 70,000 square foot State-of-the-Art Center for Science, Technology, and Industry Center for courses in biology, computer science, manufacturing such as a t-shirt print shop, automotive course, technology rooms for robotics, applied engineering, and computer sciences, e-Sports, classrooms dedicated to biology and medical studies, and new journalism classrooms.

In the school year 2022-2023, McHenry High School enrolled a total of 2,190 students.^[15]

In the 2022-2023 school year, McHenry High School enrolled 71% of White students, 1.1% of Black students, 25.1% of Hispanic students, 1.4% of Asian students, 0% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 1.1% of students with two or more races.^[15]

In the 2022-2023 school year, McHenry High School enrolled 554 students in 9th grade, 554 students in 10th grade, 538 students in 11th, and 544 students in 12th grade.^[15]

McHenry High School offers several extracurriculars to students. Many of these clubs have an advisor, who also teach academic materials at the high school. McHenry High School names their extracurriculars and clubs as Warrior Activities.^[16] The following activities are offered at McHenry High School:

The Academic Team/Scholastic Bowl club is a competitive academic club where McHenry High School students compete against other area schools under the IHSA Tournament series. Students compete in matches that involve answering questions in a variety of subjects, which include government, history, art, literature, and math.

The Art Club is an extracurricular where McHenry High School students meet after a regular school day to create or discuss artistic material.

Automotive Club is an automotive intensive club where McHenry High School students perform work on projects involving passenger vehicles. The Automotive Club at McHenry High School competes in two annual auto competitions.

Bass Fishing Club is a competitive, IHSA sanctioned, fishing club offered to McHenry High School students.

Black Student Union is a club offered at McHenry High School, where students explore and discuss African American culture and history.

Book Club is a club offered at McHenry High School, where students discuss books that they are currently reading. Often, students who enjoy reading participate in the club, and discuss particular topics based from the book that they're reading.

Students participate in news broadcasts, podcasts, and livestreams detailing everything MCHS and beyond.

This club provides student leaders the opportunity for them discover their passion and change the world by creating unmatched opportunities in learning, professional growth and service. BPA participates in competitions in the areas of business, computer science, broadcast journalism, graphics, economics and philosophy in leadership.

The Chess Team at McHenry High School is a competitive, ISHA sanctioned, team where students compete with other schools in chess games.

A club made by students for students who are driven by an interest in developing their writing skill through their inspiration, motivation, and creativity. This club meets every other week and focuses on building our writing skills together, while sharing our stories.

This organization participates in several competitions that involve ensuring the cyber security of a virtual company.

Color Guard/Winter Guard is an activity offered to McHenry High School students, where they perform dances while using flags, rifles, and sabres. Students involved in Color Guard/Winter Guard also perform during football games along with the Marching Band. The Color Guard/Winter Guard also perform their own show to the high school in the winter season, typically in December.

Comic Book/Manga/Fandoms Club is a club, where McHenry High School students discuss, share comic books, films, novels. Students also discuss anime and manga related content, including current events.

The Connections Crew Club is a club composed of McHenry High School Upper Campus students (11th-12th grade) who meet with Sophomore students who have transitioned from the Freshman Campus. Students involved with the Connections Crew, meet with groups of Sophomore students under team building activities.

The Drama and Thespian Club, or simply known as Drama Club, is offered to students who are interested with theatrical stage performances. The program has existed at McHenry High School since 1951.^[17]

EmpowerHer is a place where students can be involved in their school and greater community, promote social awareness, help give other students a voice in the world.

The Environmental Club is a club offered at McHenry High School, where students meet to discuss environmental topics, and collect recycling containers from the Upper Campus building and the Freshman Campus building. Additionally, the Environmental Club is a sponsor of the Adopt-a-Highway program in Illinois, where they collect waste from Walkup Road, which is a road located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, south of the Upper Campus building located in McHenry, Illinois.

eSports is a club offered at McHenry High School, where students are involved in competitive and non-competitive video game matches against other high schools in the area. Students compete in teams or individually and matches follow a structure similar to national professional eSports tournaments.

Gender & Sexuality Alliance, also known as GSA, is a club offered at McHenry High School to students, where they discuss topics surrounding the LGBT community.

Latin American Student Organization, also known as LASO, is a club offered at McHenry High School, where students meet to discuss topics surrounding Latin-American students. Students involved in LASO, also explore secondary education options and create long-term goals for themselves. LASO also provides community service events, such as orientations, bilingual parent advisory meetings to McHenry High School.

The Marching Band is composed of students who enjoy playing instruments, and perform at all home football games, and select parades in the communities that McHenry High School serves.

The Math Team is composed of students who enjoy Mathematics, and the team competes in the Fox Valley Conference.

Under the direction of Spencer Hile, The McHenry High School Symphonic Band performed at the 2019 SuperState Festival at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The McHenry High School Symphonic Band was also accepted to perform at the 2020 All-State Festival in Peoria, Illinois. Both festivals featured the top high school symphonic bands in the state of Illinois. Most notably, the McHenry High School Symphonic Band was accepted as a featured band at the 2020 Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana, as one of the nation's top 16 high school bands. Unfortunately, the 2020 All-State Festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their choir, "Surround Sound," was invited to sing for Eric Whitacre in New York City at Carnegie Hall in November 2020, however, the performance was also canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent festival acceptances were the firsts in the school's history.

The McHenry Messenger, launched in the Winter of 2019, is McHenry High School's student-run newspaper. It has received various recognitions from the Illinois Journalism Education Association (IJEA). In its first year of operation, during the school year of 2019–2020, it has received the Best Website, 3rd Best Hybrid Publication, and an All-State Journalism Team recognitions.^[18]

"Key Club is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through service to others. Members of the Kiwanis International family, Key Club members build themselves as they build their schools and communities. Key Club has approximately 260,000 members in approximately 5,000 clubs. Key Club is represented in 37 countries” according to the McHenry Key Club website.^[19] In the spring of 2021, officers with the Upper Campus Key Club attended the first Key Club Digital District Convention and Leadership Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic and received several awards.^[20] The McHenry Key Club received 1st place in the platinum division for the James Robert Hall Achievement Award. The club also received the RIOT Award, the Newsletter Award, and the Technology Award. The Advisor Emma Theel said she is proud of how club members adapted to ever-changing conditions during the last year. Theel said the Upper Campus club, one of the largest, was mentioned several times for the efforts to continue to serve during a global pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

The Warrior, McHenry High School's yearbook, has received several recognitions from Illinois Journalism Education Association (IJEA). In 2017, The Warrior yearbook has received first place in Division 5. Since 2018, McHenry High School is considered a division 6 school, due to an increased enrollment of students that surpassed over 2,100. In 2018, under Division 6, The Warrior Yearbook has received second place in overall general excellence.^[21] However, in 2019, The Warrior only received honorable mentions.^[22] In 2020, despite a turbulent end of the 2019–2020 academic school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Warrior received third place in overall excellence.

Broadcast, a journalism-heavy course launched in 2022, offers McHenry High School students opportunities to excel in journalism and social media. Students produce weekly shows known as the 'Warrior Weekly' in their dedicated Broadcast studio to provide updates to students, teachers, and community members of the school's community. In addition, they create Podcasts and collaborate with the school's newspaper, The McHenry Messenger, to create in-depth news stories that pertain to the school's community. In February 2022, the Broadcast program received recognition from Fox 32 (WFLD 32), a local television station in the Chicago Metropolitan area, for being entirely student-run.^[23]

McHenry High School primarily hosts their football, soccer, track, softball, and baseball matches and practices at McCracken Field, commonly referred to as McCracken. Since 2024, McHenry High School moved baseball matches and practices to its main campus' field.^[24]

McHenry High School is a member of the Fox Valley Conference (FVC) and Illinois High School Association (IHSA).^[25] McHenry High School currently offers the following athletic teams:^[26]

The table below depicts the highest achievements that McHenry High School athletic teams have earned. These achievements only include achievements associated with the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) in teams, not individuals.

None at this moment.

• Matt Skiba (Class of 1994) – best known for lead singer of Alkaline Trio and Blink-182.
• Jason Faunt (Class of 1992) – actor best known for Wesley Collins on Power Rangers Time Force
• Ryan Sierakowski (Class of 2015) – professional Major League Soccer player (Portland Timbers)
• Bobby Miller (Class of 2017) – professional Major League Baseball pitcher (Los Angeles Dodgers)

• Chuck Hiller (Class of 1952) – former Major League Baseball player (San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Gary Adams (Class of 1961) – founder of TaylorMade Golf Company.
• Robert Tonyan (Class of 2012) – professional National Football League player for the Minnesota Vikings.

• Official website