Antioch Community High School is surely not the same as it was 100 years ago. There have been additions to the building, changes to the staff and a constant rotation of students roaming the halls. ACHS’ centennial celebration brings the opportunity for current students to interact with alumni of all ages, and for alumni to have a class reunion of sorts with other alums. As everyone focuses on what happened in the past 100 years at ACHS, one can’t help but wonder what is in store for the next 100 years.

Junior Bella Gigliotti said, “The past few years that I have been attending ACHS, it seems to have improved a lot. We have all different classes, clubs, technology and so much more. I can only imagine that this trend will continue through the years to come and ACHS will become an even greater school.”

ACHS was founded in 1915 under the name of Antioch Township High School and underwent many additions and renovations since that time. It’s first renovation was in February of 1926, when $65,000 was spent to add on a two-story north wing to the school. At the time, there were 184 students attending. The second addition to the school was in 1953, when a new north wing was added. By this time, the school’s number of students doubled to 382, which made it necessary for another addition. The old gymnasium was converted into an auditorium, a new gym was built along with new classrooms and office space. In November of 1962, another addition was made to the west side of the school. Science labs, the cafeteria, classrooms and the library blocked the view of the original ATHS, which was renamed ACHS in 1963.

In 1972, even more additions to the north wing were added. Drivers education classrooms, fine arts facilities, a new gym, lockers, 24 new classrooms and a commons area were built  to accommodate a total of 1,377 students.  A third gym was built in 2004 and over $16 million dollars in renovating have been made since 2003.  

The Antioch community is constantly growing and changing, as will the students going through ACHS. In the spring of 2015, the football field will be going under a major renovation, taking out the classic grass and replacing it with modern turf. Besides the renovation of the field, ACHS also built new tennis courts located near Lakes Community High School in replacement of the tennis courts located at McMillen field.

ACHS has come a long way since 1915, and it is certain that it will go even further in 2115. The progress students, staff and community members make now will forever be in school history, and are on the right track to become an even more extraordinary school in the next 100 years.