Niche recently ranked Vernon Hills High School as the eleventh best school in both the state and the Chicago metro area. This ranking is based on analysis of academics, health and safety, parent and student surveys on their experience, student culture and diversity, teachers, resources and facilities, extracurriculars and activities, and athletics and fitness.

Academic performance is weighted into 50% of the school’s overall ranking. High scores are derived from effective teachers. In order to compare to the school’s current staff, prospective employees are ultimately assessed by high standards in the interview process.

“They have to be masters in their content,” Dr. Guillaume said. “Teachers have to have an innate ability to teach it, communicate it, and be committed to developing further within their own craft. Also, they have to believe in our kids. They must believe that our kids have the ability and capacity to learn.”

The selective hiring process leads to high-quality staff that Vernon Hills has. Not only is a quality teaching staff necessary for the success of its students, but also for each other.

“When I look around the building and I see great teachers in both my departments and others, it makes me want to be a better teacher. When everyone’s working together in that way to become better, I feel that the whole school improves. Our expectations for kids are heightened,” said math teacher Mr. Korney.

Teachers from all departments incorporate college preparation into their courses. For example, choir teacher Mr. Little does this through singing assessments in concert choir. In the rehearsal process for each song, students must record themselves singing and analyze their proficiency through a variety of categories. By the end of the year, students must use each assessment and analysis to prove their growth as a singer. Similar presentations of growth occur in honors and advanced placement literature courses.

Mr. Little does this both to improve the musical ability of his students and to prepare them for similar assignments when they enter the workforce.

“Being able to provide evidence and support for a claim you’re making, to have reason behind it, and to sift through lots of different pieces of evidence to support it is a really important skill,” said Mr. Little.

In addition to having the ability to properly support an argument, a student’s responsibility for their grades is another important takeaway for college. For example, physics itself is a difficult course, but physics teacher Mr. Ravenscraft refuses to coddle his students.

“I emphasize that the purpose of doing homework is not for credit, but rather to help students learn content,” Mr. Ravenscraft said. “This ultimately helps students see that they are held accountable for their own learning. I try to get them to see that as much as we’re still here as high school teachers, it’s time that we start pushing them to be more independent.”

Another indicator of academic success is based on test scores.

“I think about 94% of our students received a three, four, or five on their AP tests,” said director of programming and data analysis Mr. Young. “Our ACT scores are off the charts. Obviously, the number of students who are obtaining postsecondary opportunities, whether it be college or the military, is incredibly high.”

The SAP, or the Student Assistance Program, focuses on many of the factors considered in the rating, including: health and safety, student culture and diversity, and extracurriculars and activities.

SAP Coordinator Mrs. Dillon focuses on health and safety through her involvement with SPARK and VIP.

“We focus on substance-abuse prevention and trying to make healthy choices,” Mrs. Dillon said. “Besides that, we also like to focus on mental health. This includes our social norms campaign, which is in charge of the posters that come out every 6 weeks. Based on that survey, our numbers for drug and alcohol use are pretty low.”

The level of familiarity between staff and students combined with high participation rates contributes to the unique culture at our school.

“We offer all of the courses, programs, sports, and fine arts that a big school does. We have this combination of a small-school feel with big-school programs and opportunities,” said Dr. Guillaume.

Student Activities Director Mrs. Beagle emphasizes the importance of being involved so students make connections with more adults in the school. Thus, the ability to participate in a variety of activities leads to higher success rates in terms of graduation. Beagle coined the term “champion” to refer to an important student-adult connection, like a coach, student activity advisor, a counselor, etc.

“The awesome thing is that if you look statistically at an activity, 60% of students are in two or more. That means that 60% of students hypothetically have two champions and maybe a teacher or a counselor,” said Mrs. Beagle.  

Another benefit of being involved prepares students to manage their time effectively.

“If a student is involved in that type of environment at the high school level, where he or she can learn to deal with really rigorous coursework, be involved, volunteer, still have fun…all of those things are going to happen in college. The ability of being able to cope with a problem is a huge indicator of success,” said Mr. Young.

The success of Vernon Hills students does not depend on the school alone: it depends on both the student and how he or she is raised as well.

“I think that it starts with the community. Expectations are set pretty high at home because parents understand what it takes for their students to be successful,” said English teacher Mr. Cortez.

All of these factors ultimately come down to the performance of the students.

“A person’s success is based on how much time he or she puts into it. Any of us can instruct and give pointers, but in the end it has to be the students themselves, who really want to learn and grow,” said English teacher Mr. Isabelli.

Many Vernon Hills alumni are grateful for everything that the school has done for them.

“There hasn’t been a time yet this semester that I felt in over my head or like I couldn’t handle things with classes,” said Natalie Miller, a freshman at Miami University of Ohio. “I hear people talk about their high schools from other places, and it sounds like a completely different experience, which makes me extremely thankful to have gone to a high school like Vernon Hills.”

While the rigor of life at Vernon Hills is quite demanding, it ultimately turns out to being an amazing learning experience for students to take with them for the rest of their lives.