Hononegah Community High School

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. Specifically, the school districts Kinnikinnick School District 131, Prairie Hill School District 133, Rockton School District 140, and Shirland School District 134 all feed into the high school.[1]

Hononegah Community High School
Address
307 Salem Street[1]

Rockton
,
Illinois
61072[1]

United States
Coordinates42.454°N 89.0632°W / 42.454; -89.0632
Information
School typePublic Secondary
Established1923
School districtHononegah Community High School District 207
SuperintendentMichael Dugan[2]
PrincipalChad Dougherty[2]
Staff226[3]
Grades9–12
GenderCoed
Enrollment1,990 (2019-20)[4]
Average class size24[4]
Campus typeRural
Color(s)  Purple
  Gold[5]
Slogan"Scholarship. Citizenship. Leadership."
Fight song"On Wisconsin"
Athletics conference(NIC-10)[5]
MascotIndian[5]
NicknameIndians[5]
YearbookThe Mack
WebsiteOfficial School Website

Hononegah Community High School opened in 1923. The school is named after the Native American Hononegah, wife of Stephen Mack Jr.. Stephen Mack Jr. is credited to the founding of Rockton, Illinois.[1] The school's namesake is honored with a large mural of Hononegah in the school's main lobby.

One of the unique aspects of Hononegah was its inflatable "bubble" field house, the first of its kind for any Illinois public school, until its collapse in December 2015 due to a hailstorm.[6] It was replaced by a field house in March 2019.[7]

History

Hononegah (c.1814–1847) was the wife of Stephen Mack, Jr. an employee for The American Fur Company, a pioneer to the Rock River Valley in northern Illinois and founder of the community of Rockton, Illinois. Hononegah had a strong influence on the Roscoe-Rockton area; the high school of the four towns and the main thoroughfare connecting the towns are both named after her.

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), 2003 (new entrance, locker rooms, guidance and social studies as well as the information system's academy), and 2019 (field house). 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.

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 and replaced by a field house).

As of the 2019 - 2020 school year, the school's demographics is 84.6% White, 7.4% Hispanic, 3.3% 2+ Races, 2.5% Asian, 1.9% African American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 0.1% American Indian.[8]

Academics

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.[9]

In 2010, Newsweek[10] 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.

In 2012, Hononegah had an average composite ACT score of 22.9,[11] and graduated 89.39% of its senior class.[12] Though from 2006 to 2014, Hononegah students have achieved 9 perfect scores.[13]

As of 2014, 72.6% of students met or exceeded standards in reading, 75.9% met or exceeded in mathematics, and 69.% met or exceeded in science on the Prairie State Achievement Examination,[14] a test used to estimate the school's Adequate Yearly Progress for the No Child Left Behind Act.

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:[15]

  • Football: semifinals (1996–97); 2nd place (1985–86)
  • Volleyball (girls): 2nd place (2006–07)
  • Wrestling: 4th place (2004–05, 2006–07)

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.[16]

On March 6, 2020, the Varsity Boys Basketball team garnered nationwide attention after winning the Regional Championship on a buzzer beater that aired on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays the following morning. [17]

Dome Collapse

After an ice storm in December 2015, the 13-year-old dome collapsed. It housed several events for indoor track athletes, including practices and meets, practice room for all winter sports teams, physical education classes, and various community events.

The dome was designed by Air Structures American Technologies Inc. and cost $3 million at the time of its construction in 2002. It was meant to last 15–20 years.

Field House Construction & Opening

In 2017, following the collapse of the dome, Hononegah School District officials proposed a $17.8 million referendum in order to construct a brand new 90,000 square-foot field house.

During the November 2016 general election, voters initially rejected a $44 million referendum that would increase taxes to supply funds to replace the dome and implement various other renovations throughout the school. After this rejection, a new $17.8 million referendum was added to the April ballot, which very narrowly passed with only 51% of voters approving the measure by a difference of 127 votes.[18]

On November 7, 2017, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, signifying the beginning of construction. School officials say they fully intend for this space to be open to the public rather than only Hononegah students.

On April 5, 2019, an opening ceremony was held to officially open the field house. It started with a ribbon cutting ceremony following by activities throughout the day.[7]

Controversies

In mid 2018, Madison Oster opened a lawsuit against the high school. They claimed that the school breached her civil rights to be for gun rights during the mass walkout of school on February 14, following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.[19][20]

On January 8, 2020, a group of Hononegah students in a group called "Hononegah SDS" started a petition to remove the mascot of their school and change it to something else. The controversy created a spinoff petition meant to keep the mascot.[21] As of February 1, 2020 18:30 UST, the first petition has nearly 2,500 signatures and the spinoff petition to keep the mascot has nearly 15 thousand signatures.

Notable alumni
  • Campus from the air, 2008
  • Dedication plaque from 1923
  • Hononegah Entrance
  • Hononegah Gym
  • Hononegah Visitor Desk
  • Early Hononegah Entrance
  • Hononegah Cafeteria/A.P. Room

References
  1. "Home - Hononegah Community School District". Hononegah Community HS District 207. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. "Staff Directory - Administration". Hononegah Community HS District 207. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  3. "Staff Directory". Hononegah Community HS District 207. n.d. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. "HONONEGAH CHD HIGH SCHOOL". Illinois State Board of Education. 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  5. "IHSA School Directory". Illinois High School Association. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  6. 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.
  7. Pennington, Erica (8 Apr 2019). "Hononegah Fieldhouse officially open". Beloit Daily News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  8. "HONONEGAH CHD HIGH SCHOOL Racial/Ethnic Diversity". Illinois State Board of Education. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  9. "Top 50 High Schools in Illinois" (PDF). ranked list. Chicago Sun-Times. 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  10. "Top High Schools in the Nation". Rockford Register Star. Aug 25, 2010. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  11. "School_Report_Card_HHS_2012.pdf" (PDF). Hononegah Community HS District 207. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  12. "Microsoft Word - board review 8-15-12 - DisplayFile.aspx". Hononegah Community HS District 207. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. "Eight Hononegah Students Recognized for Perfect ACT Score Over Last Seven Years". WIFR. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. "getReport.aspx" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Education. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  15. "IHSA Season Summaries". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 16 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  16. "Icemen Bag 13th Championship". WREX TV Website. March 11, 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  17. Trowbridge, Matt (6 March 2020). "Hart's buzzer beater lifts Hononegah over East". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  18. Poulisse, Adam (5 April 2017). "Hononegah field house referendum passes by narrow margin". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  19. Zambo, Kristen (2 August 2018). "Lawsuit: Hononegah violated student's civil rights at anti-gun violence walkout". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  20. "HononegahHS.pdf" (PDF). Courthouse News. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  21. Carrigan, Andrew (9 January 2020). "Students start petition to change Hononegah High School mascot - WREX". WREX. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  22. Gary, Alex (3 October 2007), "Meet local hall of famers", Rockford Register Star, archived from the original on 10 September 2012, 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
  23. 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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