With a graduation rate of 88 percent, Hononegah ranks high in the report due to outstanding SAT and AP scores, but another thing that impacts national ratings is diversity.
ROCKTON, Ill. — Hononegah Community High School ranks high in a new U.S. News and World Report. Ranking number one in the Rockford Region, 59 in Illinois, and in the top eight percent of U.S. high schools.Â
"We always want to be moving upward in the rankings," said Chad Dougherty, the Principal at Hononegah Community High School.
"There's a lot of factors that are a part of the AP performance, SAT performance and graduation rate."Â
With a graduation rate of 88 percent, Hononegah ranks high in the report due to outstanding SAT and AP scores, but another thing that impacts national ratings is diversity.Â
"There's an important part to making sure that students can see themselves in the curriculum. So when we're in our English classes, we're reading books that reflect all cultures," said Dougherty.Â
According to the report, 21 percent of Hononegah's student body makes up minority students. With Hononegah, aiming to improve diversity and raise the amount of underserved students taking AP or SAT courses, while also having a goal of expanding diversity in their staff.Â
"We're not a very diverse staff, as most schools are not. We certainly want to encourage diverse applicants to become a part of the Hononegah culture as well," said Dougherty.Â
"In doing that, then we want to continue to inspire students of all backgrounds to challenge themselves to take more rigorous courses."
One teacher, Matt Simpson, has taught with Hononegah for almost 30 years. He teaches classes catered to help students improve their scores on AP and SAT exams. He believes the goal to improving school rankings is by keeping up with ever-changing conditions in education.Â
"Whether it's a change in technology or the types of students that we're getting here at Hononegah," said Matt Simpson, the Math Department Coordinator at Hononegah.Â
"All those things change, and you have to be able to adjust as a school and as teachers in the classroom."
With Simpson mentioning that interventions with students is key. With multiple staff members and administrators meeting one on one with students, before school, during lunch, or even after school to ensure students understand curriculum.Â
"You can't always get things done in the 50 minute class period on a daily basis, some kids need more intensive interventions, and we've really embraced that," said Simpson.Â
Moving forward, Hononegah Community High School hopes to have even more students take the AP exam, while incorporating multiple native languages into their AP programs.Â
For information about Hononegah Community High School, click here.Â
