McHenry High School District 156 is a medium-sized suburban district located along the Fox River, just a few miles from Wisconsin. As they zeroed-in on supporting students in grades 9-12, the district found success with connected tools from PowerSchool.
Planning for the future
Once a traditional school system, McHenry has evolved to become a forward-thinking, connected district that’s ready to make data-based decisions for student success and future-preparedness.
As Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Innovation at McHenry High School District 156, Carl Vallianatos guided the district toward PowerSchool Schoology in 2016 to help educators navigate record-keeping for online and blended learning. Years before the pandemic, McHenry staff already understood the ways edtech could support learning.
Adopting Schoology was one of the best things we’ve ever done. Our teachers loved it. It wasn’t optional; we made a digital classroom standard, and that paid off.”
Carl Vallianatos Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Innovation
McHenry High School District 156
Connecting the educational ecosystem
As McHenry’s digital culture advanced, its software systems remained disconnected across platforms. In search of a best-fit SIS, McHenry tried multiple solutions, but each switch brought new challenges. Rosters didn’t sync, data lived in silos, and tools didn’t talk to one another. All the while, staff were spending more time on managing systems and less time on student support.
In 2022, McHenry committed to building a streamlined system, noting that the best solution was to adopt PowerSchool SIS, Performance Matters, and Analytics & Insights alongside Schoology.
We stopped mid-implementation and said, ‘Let’s rebuild it right.’ That’s when we went all-in with PowerSchool. Now our systems are aligned and we’re building powerful dashboards that help the organization become better at using data to support student success.”
Carl Vallianatos Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Innovation
McHenry High School District 156
Rebuilding the foundation
In just four months, McHenry overhauled its infrastructure—streamlining workflows, simplifying registration, and creating stronger connections between classrooms, learning tools and district systems.
Conclusion: A district ready for the future
Today, McHenry models what’s possible when vision, leadership, and the right tools come together. With PowerSchool at the core, McHenry can connect the dots across student needs, real-time data, full-picture decision making, clear views on progress, and dashboards that guide instructional planning. Now, their data doesn’t need to be managed or manually analyzed. It only needs to be viewed and shared so that every student can thrive.
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See how McHenry High School connected learning, performance, and data to measure impact.
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