The HMS Jazz Ensemble was recognized on May 13 for the third year in a row by the Downbeat Jazz Magazine Student Music Awards, under the leadership of Band Director George Andrikokus. The group received the award for Outstanding Performance in the Junior High Large Ensemble category.
This recognition highlights both student dedication and high standards of musical education at HMS. The ensemble also earned top honors at the Illinois Grade School Music Association State Festival, where they received perfect scores from all three adjudicating judges and achieved ‘High Honors’ Distinction, which is the highest level of recognition awarded at that festival.
The continued achievements of HMS students are part of a broader context within Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181, which represents DuPage and Cook counties and includes several schools such as Clarendon Hills Middle School, Elm Elementary School, Hinsdale Middle School, Madison Elementary School, Monroe Elementary School, Oak Elementary School, Prospect Elementary School, The Lane Elementary School, and Walker School according to the Illinois Report Card.
According to the Illinois Report Card, Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181 enrolled 3,743 students during the 2019-2020 school year as an elementary school district serving grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Clarendon Hills and DuPage County. The district spent $31,308 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $117 million dollars.
The district has a diverse population that is approximately 69.8 percent White, with smaller percentages identifying as Asian (15.4 percent), Hispanic (6.8 percent), or Black (1.1 percent) according to the Illinois Report Card. It employs about 282 teachers who earn an average salary of $94,227 before pension contributions; ninety percent are women and ten percent are men.
