McHenry West High School

McHenry West High School
Location
McHenry, Illinois 60050 United States
Information
Established	1924
School district	McHenry High School District 156
Superintendent	Teresa Lane
Dean	Amber Bowgren
Principal	Marsha Potthoff
Grades	9 - 12
Enrollment	1597 (2009-2010)
Color(s)	orange and black
Mascot	Leonidas the Warrior
Website	www.dist156.org/west-campus.html

McHenry West High School is a high school in McHenry, Illinois. The school's current capacity is 1597 students and as of the 2009-2010 school year, 1597 students were enrolled. Its principal is Michael Roberts. The school colors are orange and black, and the mascot is Leonidas the Warrior. McHenry West High School is in District 156 along with East Campus, and both high schools facilitate seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshman.

History

The first official high school in McHenry, now known as East Campus, was established in 1924. In 1947, it was expanded for the first time to accommodate the growing student body. 10 years later, there would be another addition to the school. Five years later, two more proposals were presented to add more to the existing high school to facilitate the growth but were denied. Only eight years after denied until it was represented and passed 5 months later but at a cost of only $3.1 million. The new school had the ability to hold he last addition to East, a proposal to build and equip an entirely new high school at a cost of $3.2 million was proposed. It too was 1,000 students. Construction was completed and the first class, which consisted of just under 300 students, was the class of 1969. The new high school, or West Campus, was to consist of the Seniors and Juniors while the old high school, East, would house the Freshman and Sophomore students. West was able to handle the number of students for almost 3 decades but in the mid-1990s ran short of room and added the first set of mobiles. In the late 1990s, student population growth would again become a problem prompting the addition of the second set of mobiles. Later in 2000, the number of students had risen higher and forced the school to expand. Construction began in 2000 and was finished in 2003 with the additions of the new gym, cafeteria, and staircases.

Notable alumni

• Chuck Hiller - former MLB player (San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Jason Faunt - American actor, best known for his main role in the children's series Power Rangers Time Force.
• Matt Skiba - lead singer of Alkaline Trio.

External links

• Official website