High School at Headwaters
Room to grow. People who know you.
Headwaters is developing a small high school in Fox Valley for fall 2027. Serious academic work. Time outdoors and out in the community. And teachers who know each student well enough to say you’re ready for more.
Join the high school inquiry list →
Prefer email? Write to us at academy@headwatersil.org
Independence is not the same thing as anonymity.
One of the stranger assumptions about teenagers is that growing up means needing adults less. What we see is closer to the opposite. Teenagers take bigger risks, intellectual, creative, and practical, when someone who knows them is paying attention. Not hovering. Just close enough to notice.
That’s the idea underneath high school at Headwaters. Each year, students get more room: more independent study, more say in what they pursue, more responsibility for carrying their work through. The adults around them stay steady.
Building from the school we actually have.
We aren’t designing a high school on paper and hoping it works. High school work is already underway this year: we’re piloting it in our upper classroom now, and what we’re learning there is shaping what comes next.
Our planning connects a four-year cycle of shared themes with high-school-level work in literature and writing, science, math, social studies, history, and electives. Students of different ages can explore related ideas together. High school students are expected to go further: read more closely, write and research with more depth, and carry demanding work through to completion.
What we’re building toward
Serious academics, taught to the student. Close reading, clear writing, careful reasoning, math that meets each student where they are and challenges them forward.
Learning that gets more real with age. Projects, fieldwork, and community experiences that connect students to people and work beyond the classroom in preparation for life after graduation.
Nature as a place, not a field trip. Regular time outdoors, where observation turns into questions worth pursuing.
Small by design. Teachers who know what a student was working on last week, and what they’re capable of next.
Families usually find us when…
A capable, curious student is getting lost in a big school.
A homeschooled teen wants more community and structure without giving up independence.
A Headwaters student is ready for what’s next and wants to stay with people who know them.
If one of those sounds familiar, we’d like to hear from you.
We’ll be straight with you about what’s decided.
The educational direction is clear. The details (course sequence, credits, daily schedule, tuition, and enrollment timeline) are being finalized now. We’ll share them with inquiring families as they’re confirmed, and families on our list hear first. The first group of students will be small, so early conversations matter.
Tell us about your student.
FAQs
What about college, work, and what comes after?
1
Our planning moves from exploration and strong foundations in the early high school years toward more individualized preparation later on. All students will be required to complete college and career planning twice a year.
Will students earn high school credit and a transcript?
2
We’re finalizing the credit, transcript, and graduation framework now, and we’ll walk families through it in detail before enrollment opens.
What will it cost?
3
Tuition for 2027–28 hasn’t been set. We’ll share it with inquiring families as soon as it is. We anticipate it will be slightly higher than our current middle school tuition rate, due to the number of materials needed for high school instruction.
Can students join from another school or from homeschooling?
4
Yes. We’re welcoming inquiries from families inside and outside Headwaters.