The city of Marengo is experiencing some change in its socio-economic make-up. The original community of German-Lutheran background remains the dominant group, but are being joined by younger residents who have moved here from the suburbs or have remained in Marengo to raise a family; 13% of the population are currently people of Spanish-speaking ancestry.

Marengo Community High School District 154 encompasses the city of Marengo and the Village of Union, plus the surrounding rural areas. The population of the school district, based on the 2000 census is nearly 14,000.

The district is sixty-five miles northwest of Chicago in southwest rural McHenry County. The district is predominately agriculture, but does contain several large industries as well as smaller industries within the Marengo and Union area.

The trend in new population is younger families, raising school aged children. Approximately half of the adult work force is blue collar, though there is a growing segment of the population that is professionally trained in the areas of medicine, dentistry, technology, accounting, and the law.

MCHS student enrollment is currently 665 students. A high percentage of students attend Marengo High School for all four years. Racial/Ethnic background for MCHS students is as follows: 77.7% white, 19.8% Hispanic, 0.6% American Indian, 1.1% Black, 0.6% Asian, and 0.6% Two or more races. 28% of students come from a low-income background, 2.9% are considered English Learners, and 0.5% of students are classified as Homeless.

Courses Offered:

Honors Classes (16): English I, English II, English III, College Writing, Humanities (9, 10,& 11), Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Accelerated Biology, Accelerated Chemistry, Physics, Accounting II, Spanish III, and Spanish IV

Advanced Placement Classes (11*): 2-D Design/Studio Art, Art History, Music Theory, Biology, Chemistry, Calculus AB, Statistics, English Literature, Macroeconomics, US History, and Humanities *

*Please note that students earn AP gpa weight & complete the AP English Literature exam, but the class is not an official Advanced Placement curriculum.

Dual Credit Classes (11): Basic Nurse Assistant, Automotive Service Occupations I, 3-D Modeling, Computer Aided Design Graphics I, Computer Aided Design Graphics II, Architectural Drafting, Orientation to Business, Entrepreneurship Enterprise, Floral Design I*, Floral Design II, and Fit for Life

MCHS offers student access to college credit courses through McHenry County College.