Naperville, Warrenville, Wheaton..? (Chicago, Elgin, Bartlett: houses, neighborhoods, middle schools)

[kah]

Hi I've just had a week staying in Warrenville looking at suburbs and houses,
Naperville, Warrenville and Wheaton are what I liked, any info about Warrenville and Wheaton would be great, (there seems to be lots about Naper..) I was aprehensive about moving to Chicago but this visit has made me feel much better, everyone I met was just so friendly, helpful and welcoming!!

[nanannie]

Welcome to Illinois W'ville does not have its own "downtown",other then that, I know you get more home for you money there over the other two burbs you mentioned.(At least for now).Do you like all three equally? Then its just a matter of picking out the right house.The schools in N'ville and Wheaton are very good.You will have to get another reply about W'villes schools.Good luck to you on your move

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by kah

Hi I've just had a week staying in Warrenville looking at suburbs and houses,
Naperville, Warrenville and Wheaton are what I liked, any info about Warrenville and Wheaton would be great, (there seems to be lots about Naper..) I was aprehensive about moving to Chicago but this visit has made me feel much better, everyone I met was just so friendly, helpful and welcoming!!

What kind of info are you looking for? I can tell you that Warrenville is quieter and less expensive than Wheaton, but Wheaton is nicer and has better schools.

Warrenville is growing, albeit slowly. There are many new shopping areas, but most of the town is older, but still quite nice. My fave neighborhoods are just west of the DuPage River and south of Warrenville Rd and north of I-88. Its very quiet in there and everything looks well kept from what Ive seen. There are several tear-downs going on, with many McMansions being erected.

Wheaton is more active and nicer overall, with a nice downtown and beautiful parks. The problem is that it all comes at a hefty price. The schools in Wheaton are always rated well if you have children to consider. Not that Warrenville's schools are bad by any stretch, but Wheaton's always rank higher.

Where in Wheaton and Warrenville did you look? If you like those areas, you should check out Bartlett, St. Charles, Geneva, Elburn, Wasco, Plainfield, etc.

[ahava]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Where in Wheaton and Warrenville did you look? If you like those areas, you should check out Bartlett, St. Charles, Geneva, Elburn, Wasco, Plainfield, etc.

The schools aren't as good in those areas though, except for some in St. Charles and Geneva.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by ahava

The schools aren't as good in those areas though, except for some in St. Charles and Geneva.

Besides parts of Bartlett, the schools are great. Parts of Bartlett go to Elgin (nasty) and some go to the nice new Bartlett H.S.

Wasco kids go to St. Charles, Elburn go to Kaneland, Plainfield to Naperville.

[ahava]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Besides parts of Bartlett, the schools are great. Parts of Bartlett go to Elgin (nasty) and some go to the nice new Bartlett H.S.

Wasco kids go to St. Charles, Elburn go to Kaneland, Plainfield to Naperville.

I didn't say they weren't great (although I would argue that for some of them), simply not as good as the schools in Naperville and Wheaton. The most recent test scores show this:

average % of students meeting/exceeding state standards in all subjects

Elementary schools in Wheaton in CUSD 200: 93.27%
Elementary schools in Naperville in CUSD 203: 93.58%
Elementary schools in Naperville in CUSD 204: 91.7%
Elementary schools in Bartlett in SD U46: 88.83%
Elementary schools in St Charles CUSD 303: 91.06%
Elementary schools in Elburn in Kaneland CUSD 302: 91.75%
Middle schools in Wheaton CUSD 200: 90.43%
Middle schools in Naperville in CUSD 203: 92.83%
Middle schools in Naperville in CUSD 204: 93.13%
Middle school in Bartlett in SD U46: 91.2%
Middle schools in St Charles CUSD 303: 92.27%
Middle school in Kaneland CUSD 302: 86.2%

I'm using the averages to save time and space, but if anyone is interested in the scores for individual schools I can post those too.

Only a very small portion of Plainfield is in Naperville's CUSD 204. It's one subdivision, as far as I can tell from comparing the district's boundary map to a map of Plainfield. Most of Plainfield is in Plainfield CUSD 202, and the average for elementary schools in that district is 82.81% and for middle schools it's 79.84%.
Also, Kaneland is not a good high school. I know people who teach there, and the school has very low expectations. Perhaps this is changing as the area becomes more populated, but right now I would definitely not send my kids there.

[Steve-o]

Well, the middle school in Kaneland is a bit below, but not bad at all. Kaneland H.S. is right up there with the others.

[ahava]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Kaneland H.S. is right up there with the others.

Actually, it's not...

average % meeting/exceeding state standards in all subjects and average ACT composite score

Wheaton North HS: 76.7%, 23.3
Wheaton Warrenville HS: 75.3%, 23.1
Naperville North HS: 81.8%, 24.6
Naperville Central HS: 83.3%, 24.1
Neuqua Valley HS: 77.2%, 23.8
Bartlett HS: 66%, 20.7
St Charles East HS: 67.6%, 22.1
St Charles North HS: 70.9%, 22.6
Kaneland HS: 61.7%, 20.7

As I stated before, the schools in the other towns you mentioned are not as good as the schools in Wheaton and Naperville. I'm not here to debate whether or not they are good, because everyone has his/her own definition of "good".

[Steve-o]

Im sorry, I meant to put Kaneland's elementary schools. All the talk about the high school got to me. lol

Im surprised to see St. Charles get a 70%. Interesting.

[ahava]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Im sorry, I meant to put Kaneland's elementary schools. All the talk about the high school got to me. lol

Yeah, honestly I was surprised when I saw their scores; I'd been expecting high 80s, not 90s. It shows that the district is likely heading in a good direction. But the scores of the other elementary schools in the district are in the 80s, which partially explains the lower middle and high school scores.