Diverse suburbs/neighborhoods? (Chicago, Evanston, Skokie: section 8, city hall, crime)

[urza216]

Originally Posted by chet everett

While it is true that there are more suburbs with unbalanced racial proportions ( to say nothing of the huge economic gulf that exists even in towns with some statistical skin color evenness) the difficulty I see would be in locating a nice home to rent or buy in the range cited...

The problems that exist in the more affordable suburbs with regard to schools, jobs and even safety reallyndo drive most folks to seek out places that may stretch their budget. Sadly many such towns have a pretty homogenous mix of races and incomes. I suppose some would say this is unavoidable and what contributes to the safety / performance of the schools...

Homewood has the award-winning H-F high school, easy access to the Metra and is quite safe. And like I already said, it's a good mix of blacks and whites.

I vote Homewood - or if you can afford it, Flossmoor..

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by urza216

Homewood has the award-winning H-F high school...

Sure, but the awards are from 1976.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by thesimplelife28

In response, my husband and I are white and my son is black.

Thanks for clarifying. It helps more than you can imagine... So I take it you would be more interested in a more evenly black/white suburb?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Sure, but the awards are from 1976.

[allen2323]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Sure, but the awards are from 1976.

NO, no, no, the last time HF was awarded the blue ribbon award was in 2002 not 1976. Several schools in the area also have award winning programs. Arcadia elementary in neighboring olympia fields was just awarded the blue ribbon award this past school year in 2010. HF's current test scores are doing just fine. Homewood-flossmoor high school is nationally recognized as a high performing racially and economically diverse high school. The praise and awards that the school receives are well earned. Not your average high performing high school in an affluent suburb with all the kids from roughly the same racial and advantaged economic background. Real learning takes place there for many students who fall into categories that consistantly underperform. That is what makes HF stand out among other high performing schools and why it has been so recognized and awarded. Not many PUBLIC schools that are that racially and economically diverse perform at that high academic level nationally. Test scores compare with other high performing schools in the area in other affluent suburbs in the area like orland park, palos park, and Frankfort. The big difference is that the student body at homewood-flossmoor is 52.4% african american and the percent of low income students is 11.5%. HF's boundaries also include parts of chicago heights. Carl sandberg in orland park is only 1.6% african american and the Low Income Enrollment rate at sandburg is only 3.4% . Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort's average act test score for it's students for 2009 was 22.9 . HF's 2009 average act test score for it's students was a 21.5 . Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park had an average act score in 2009 of 22.8. Tinley park high school had an average score of 20.1 . Stagg High School in Palos Hills has an average score of 21.5 .

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by allen2323

NO, no, no, the last time HF was awarded the blue ribbon award was in 2002 not 1976...

Still, that is almost ten years ago.

[allen2323]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Still, that is almost ten years ago.

That is a national award and is not the kind of award that any school is awarded every year. HF has been awarded it three times. There might be only 2 or 3 other high schools in illinois that have been awarded the blue ribbon award three or more times. The median ACT test score for the student body at hf in 2003 was a 21.4. In 2009 it was a 21.5. Test scores have remained strong. Again, the big difference is that the student body at homewood-flossmoor is 52.4% african american and the percent of low income students is 11.5%. In comparison Carl sandberg in orland park is only 1.6% african american and the Low Income Enrollment rate at sandburg is only 3.4% . Homewood-flossmoor high school is nationally recognized as a high performing racially and economically diverse high school. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Very few PUBLIC high schools in the country with that diverse of a student body can boast having the kind of consistent track record similar to a homewood-flossmoor high school. The school has succeeded where most have failed. Which is why the school is so highly regarded among those in the academic world.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by allen2323

Arcadia elementary in neighboring olympia fields was just awarded the blue ribbon award this past school year in 2010.

Hey! I went there in the early 1990s!

And yeah, I was pleasantly surprised when I read in the Southtown Star that it had received the blue ribbon award this past school year.

Students First Illinois

Originally Posted by allen2323

Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort's average act test score for it's students for 2009 was 22.9 . HF's 2009 average act test score for it's students was a 21.5 . Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park had an average act score in 2009 of 22.8. Tinley park high school had an average score of 20.1 . Stagg High School in Palos Hills has an average score of 21.5

And that's the bottom line..

[kindrakindra]

The above poster is correct about HF HS. I don't have any personal experience with it, but I interview for a highly selective national university. They love HF HS - we just got an email about them this year.

[urza216]

In 2009, H-F was on Newsweek's list of top 1,000 schools.