Welcome to Huntley Community School District 158!
We are proud to be known as a Destination School DistrictTM because of our commitment to meeting the needs of all students always.
What do I mean by “Destination School District?” In simple terms, Huntley 158 offers exceptional educational experiences to students while operating with the highest degree of fiscal responsibility. This combination represents an extraordinary value to our community and has proven to be a leading factor in its continued growth. We are a destination sought out by families who value strong public education.
As a community member, it gives me great pride to drive by builder’s and realtor’s signs proudly touting “Huntley schools” as a key selling point for homes on the market. In our frequent conversations with leaders in the local governments and businesses we work with, schools are cited time and again as a key factor in attracting new residents and commercial development. My family and I chose Huntley as our home even before I gained the good fortune of working for Huntley 158, a decision we made largely because of the bright future its schools held for our children.
I encourage you to check out some of the national recognitions we have received as a leader in driving innovation in public education.
- As one of just 96 members of the League of Innovative Schools, we have been recognized among the most forward-thinking school districts in the country.
- Our Always Initiative (1:1 Device Implementation) is one of the largest of its kind in the state and had been cited widely as a model for other districts in the region.
- Huntley High School’s Alpha Courses Blended Learning Program, developed completely in-house and with virtually no cost, has been featured in a national peer-reviewed journal, CNN, Parenting Magazine, the Pearson Education Blog, and other leading national media.
- Our high school academies (Medical, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Global Studies) are providing students with specialized career-focused coursework in their areas of interest.
- We’ve built on the bases of the programs above to offer truly unique opportunities to give our graduates the best preparation for college and careers, including our only-of-its-kind Youth Residency Program in partnership with Centegra Health System, and our Vanguard Vision Competency-based education pilot, which will launch in fall 2018 as one of just 10 programs in the State of Illinois CBE Pilot Program.
Part of our guiding philosophy both for how we educate students and guide our own operations is to experiment and “fail forward”—to experiment, learn, and be unafraid to try new ideas in the name of our mission—even if it means doing things differently from how our peers operate.
That innovative spirit has also driven our administrative services and helped us remain one of the most fiscally responsible districts in the state. While our recent history has seen us continue to set the pace for educational reform in our region, we have maintained a per-student spending rate that is the second-lowest among all unit districts in the 10-county Chicagoland area, and the second-lowest among districts of all kinds in McHenry and Kane Counties.
Among innovations that have helped keep the District’s operational costs low is investment in energy efficiency projects. Retrofits of existing buildings and energy-conscious design of new construction has netted more than $700,000 annually in energy cost savings over the past several years.
The District has long maintained in-house operational departments such as transportation and food services that other district often outsource at higher costs. Huntley 158 also maintains one of the highest student-to-administrator ratios among its comparable districts, serving our large student population with a lean administrative staff.
Those are just a few of the ways we are living out our Strategic Plan, which was developed in 2015 with the input of a diverse team comprising more than 60 members from all areas of the community. I encourage you to check out the progress we have made on the plan so far, and the areas we plan to tackle in the future. Please also check out the rest of our website to learn about who we are and what we do to serve our community.
It’s a pleasure to serve this great community!
Sincerely,
Scott Rowe, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
(847) 659-6103
Email me
