Ashton-Franklin Center High School, or AFCHS, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

four-year

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located at 611 Western Avenue in

Ashton, Illinois Ashton is a village in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 972 at the 2010 census, down from 1,142 in 2000. History Ashton was originally called Ogle Station, but it was afterwards changed in order to avoid confusion with Og ...

, a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Lee County, Illinois Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,145. Its county seat is Dixon. The Dixon, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Lee County. History The area's ...

, in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. AFCHS serves the communities and surrounding areas of Ashton and

Franklin Grove Franklin Grove is a village in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2010 census, down from 1,052 in 2000. History Franklin Grove was named for James R. Franklin, a pioneer who settled in a grove near the town sit ...

. The campus is located 40 miles south of

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, and serves a mixed village and

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

residential community.

Academics

Ashton-Franklin Center High School made

Adequate Yearly Progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) was a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allowed the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country was performing ...

, with 62% of students meeting or exceeding standards, on the Prairie State Achievement Exam, an Illinois state test part of the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a 2002 United States Act of Congress promoted by the presidential administration of George W. Bush. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and included Title I provisio ...

. The average high school graduation rate in the period 1999-2009 was 90.8%. In 2019, AFC ranked as the 12,463 best school in the United States, and 406 in Illinois based on '' U.S. News & World Report''.

Athletics

Ashton-Franklin Center High School competes in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference and is a member school in the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...

. Their mascot is the Raiders, with school colors of black, gold, and white. The school has no state championships on record in team athletics and activities.

History

Ashton-Franklin Center High School formed out of the consolidation of Ashton High School and Franklin Center High School in 2004, with Franklin Center separating from what is now Paw Paw CUSD #271. Prior to that, Franklin Center High School was formed out of the consolidation of Franklin Grove High School and Lee Center High School in 1956. Original High Schools Ashton, Franklin Grove, and Lee Center were founded in 1890, 1923, and 1847 (as Lee Center Academy), respectively.

References

External links

Ashton-Franklin Center High School

Ashton-Franklin Center Community Unit School District 275
{{authority control Public high schools in Illinois Schools in Lee County, Illinois Educational institutions established in 2004 2004 establishments in Illinois