Superintendent

The Hawthorn School District consists of nine schools, including an early childhood center, a kindergarten building, four elementary schools, a dual language school and two middle schools. We serve the communities of Vernon Hills, Mundelein, Libertyville, Indian Creek and unincorporated areas of Lake County, Illinois.

Hawthorn District 73 is recognized locally, as well as statewide and nationally, for its outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements. In the past five years, Hawthorn School District has earned two National Blue Ribbon Awards, a coveted recognition awarded by the United States Department of Education. Most recently, in 2024, our Middle School South Physical Education team was granted a Blue Ribbon Award. And in 2019, Elementary South received the coveted National Blue Ribbon Award in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category. 

Additionally, Middle School North is a recent recipient of the “Whole Child Award” from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Hawthorn is among a small group of school districts in Illinois that received a Best Communities of Music Education Award from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation. We offer extensive athletic and after-school opportunities for students with more than 80 clubs and sports activities.

Finally, our district was recently recognized by Niche as the #2 Most Diverse School District in Lake County. We’re proud of our diverse population within our schools and in our community. Our district offers many opportunities for families to get involved in our schools and support students in their learning journey. Our Multilingual Parent Advisory Committee (MPAC) welcomes parents and guardians to share their voice and gives an overview of bilingual learning opportunities within our community.

Go Eagles!

Sincerely,
Dr. Peter Hannigan
Superintendent of Schools