In late October, our students were able to enjoy a festive Homecoming week, culminating with an exciting parade, bonfire, athletic contests, and a dance. The week prior to Homecoming also witnessed our junior class taking the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Exam (PSAT/NMSQT), which can also serve as a practice exam for the Spring SAT. Throughout these two weeks, our students and staff showed an incredible amount of flexibility. We had alternate schedules, different classroom locations, and missing instructional time. Adaptability and flexibility are hallmarks of strong organizations and Antioch Community High School is definitely that. This was verified at the end of October, when the Illinois State Board of Education released the Illinois Interactive Report Card for each school in the state. For the second year in a row, Antioch Community High School was rated as exemplary!
Another hallmark of a strong school is offering options to students. As a district, our mission is to ignite passion and discovery in every student. ACHS offers a comprehensive set of courses across 9 academic departments. In addition to 24 AP offerings (including AP Capstone), we have a robust slate of dual credit courses, world language courses, career and technical education offerings, and fine/applied art classes, as part of over a 125 electives aimed at meeting the needs and interests of our students. We also offer courses during zero hour, which begins at 6:35 a.m. The purpose behind this is to allow students to make more room in their schedule for electives, college requirements, or other classes of interest. Approximately 100 students take advantage of this option and are enrolled in a PE class or AP Biology. By offering these courses at an alternate time, outside of the traditional school day, we are able to expand options for students, furthering our ability to be adaptable and flexible to their needs.
These successes are a credit to our students, staff, and community. Through flexibility, adaptability, and working collaboratively to support our students, we will continue to succeed at high levels. As a school, we are always working on the craft of teaching to make sure that your Sequoit and future Sequoits are receiving the best education possible!
Eric Hamilton
Principal
Antioch Community High School
