School districts in Northern IL

[Paige65]

You have many good options near Deerfield. Deerfield, Highland Park, Libertyville, Hersey, Stevenson, all very, very good. Stevenson is consistently ranked in the top 1-5 in pretty much any ranking out there, but it's VERY large (3,887 students) compared to the rest of the schools you have mentioned. In fact, it's one of the largest in the state. Don't know if that's a positive or negative for you but thought I'd mention it.

[Laughkc]

Originally Posted by Paige65

You have many good options near Deerfield. Deerfield, Highland Park, Libertyville, Hersey, Stevenson, all very, very good. Stevenson is consistently ranked in the top 1-5 in pretty much any ranking out there, but it's VERY large (3,887 students) compared to the rest of the schools you have mentioned. In fact, it's one of the largest in the state. Don't know if that's a positive or negative for you but thought I'd mention it.

That's great to know. The two main high schools where we're at now are about 2500 students. Student body size doesn't bother me so much as long as they have the resources to accomodate them all - which sounds like they don't have a problem doing. My son is highly gifted, but also has ADHD. I think you all have helped me narrow things down. Now I just need to find the school that can provide honors/AP courses with teachers that will comply with ADHD accommodtions. I have lots of phone calls to make!

[4122]

Stevenson is a big school, therefore they have a lot of course options. It's a very challenging school which is very good for gifted children. I've been looking at high schools for my daughter who also has ADHD. Stevenson's special education program isn't good. However, Hersey is known for having an excellent special education program. I think Hersey would be the best choice. Hersey also has a lot of course options and is challenging enough to satisfy a gifted student's needs. Towns that are in Hersey's boundaries are a lot of Arlington Heights, parts of Prospect Heights, and a small portion of Des Plaines.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by 4122

Stevenson is a big school, therefore they have a lot of course options. It's a very challenging school which is very good for gifted children. I've been looking at high schools for my daughter who also has ADHD. Stevenson's special education program isn't good. However, Hersey is known for having an excellent special education program. I think Hersey would be the best choice. Hersey also has a lot of course options and is challenging enough to satisfy a gifted student's needs. Towns that are in Hersey's boundaries are a lot of Arlington Heights, parts of Prospect Heights, and a small portion of Des Plaines.

I am NOT a huge fan of big schools and Stevenson is ENORMOUS. That said they do a good / great job with kids way way way closer to the big fat part of the bell curve than many schools. Further the former Superintendent launched an effort to REALLY expand the courses beyond the traditional "college bound" track. He has since retired and leads efforts to improve educational access for EVERYONE, especially those with challenges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnWDJFxfAKE

It is just silly to say stuff like it "is very good for gifted children". Similarly it is not at all fair to say the special education program "isn't good". I have friends that found the services EXCELLENT and the philosophy of the district is focused on ensuring that success for all is a priority --

About Stevenson High School

... serving as the nucleus for today’s operating philosophy, was a question: "What do we do when students don’t learn?" The response had several layers. The broadest was the Student Services Division’s "Pyramid of Interventions," which put into place a safety net of policies and procedures meant to catch students who were struggling academically and otherwise. Full-time adult tutors, guided study classes, and greater communication between teachers and counselors were among the intervention strategies added. Stevenson also shifted to grading periods of six weeks in length instead of the traditional nine. The six-week grading periods provided progress reports at the midpoint, meaning parents received updates on their students’ academic performance every three weeks.

[4122]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I am NOT a huge fan of big schools and Stevenson is ENORMOUS. That said they do a good / great job with kids way way way closer to the big fat part of the bell curve than many schools. Further the former Superintendent launched an effort to REALLY expand the courses beyond the traditional "college bound" track. He has since retired and leads efforts to improve educational access for EVERYONE, especially those with challenges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnWDJFxfAKE

It is just silly to say stuff like it "is very good for gifted children". Similarly it is not at all fair to say the special education program "isn't good". I have friends that found the services EXCELLENT and the philosophy of the district is focused on ensuring that success for all is a priority --

About Stevenson High School

Hersey HS and all of D214 also uses the PLC model for special education. However, I have heard from a few other Stevenson parents that they weren't impressed with Stevenson's special education because of lack of communications about their student's academic performances. Communication issues should happen less with the well structured PLC model. I think it might've been an issue with some general education teachers. Part of the reason why I'm not a fan either of big schools is because teachers have so many different students. Only 9% of Stevenson's student body have learning disabilities, so teachers are less likely to have a student with a learning disability, which can mean that they are less aware of the student's accommodations and have had less experience working with students with learning disabilities.

Even though my daughter's school, Deerfield HS is a smaller school with 1,645 students, I'm not impressed because a lot of her teachers didn't even know she had an IEP and/or her accommodations. Half of her accommodations she doesn't receive which makes her suffer. I've never heard from her case manager at all this year and doesn't really help my daughter. However, Deerfield has 15% special education students. So obviously it's the teachers and the special education program. Deerfield doesn't use the PLC model. My other daughter's has also had a fair a share of not so great teachers. My daughter was failing a class and the teacher refused to help my daughter. I called the teacher and asked if they could help my daughter before or after school, but the teacher was very rude about it and didn't want to help my daughter. Even for my other daughter, who doesn't have a learning disability, has had a fair share of bad teachers. My daughter had a good amount of friends and strived in the Deerfield's theater program, so she didn't want to switch to Highland Park HS. My daughter with ADHD, has had more bad teachers than her sister, but she's is like any other teenage girl, has had a terrible experience socially. She gets made fun of by the other kids and only has one friend. A lot of the parent's at Deerfield I found to be unfriendly and rude similar to the students my daughter has told me about.

When comparing schools, not only looking the special education program itself, look at the percentages of learning disability students on Illinois Report Card and make sure the quality of teachers is consistent in general by looking at ratemyteachers.com and school review sites in general. Also, visit towns you're interested in and ask some local parents about the schools. That's how I decided to try to switch my daughter to Highland Park. Just because a school has some of the highest test scores in the state, doesn't mean it's necessarily the best school. Highland Park is ranked lower than Deerfield (Highland Park is 1 place lower than Hersey actually which is still highly ranked) but the school has great teachers and more class options. Highland Park also has more special education students, so if my daughter gets to go there, the teachers will most likely work with special education students better than at Deerfield. Obviously, don't send your son to a school ranked towards the bottom of the state, but look at each school you're considering carefully in multiple aspects.

[chet everett]

...I have found the "end user review" type web sites to be not very helpful. They overwhelmingly attract cranks and folks that for whatever reason are never fully satisfied.

The rankings for high schools that US News publishes are based largely on the rate of success for AP tests; that very well could be a problem for students with special needs.

Until there is a better system I recommend parents of kids with special needs arrange in-person visits and rely on the forums / parent networks that specialize in helping those with special needs.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by Paige65

You have many good options near Deerfield. Deerfield, Highland Park, Libertyville, Hersey, Stevenson, all very, very good. Stevenson is consistently ranked in the top 1-5 in pretty much any ranking out there, but it's VERY large (3,887 students) compared to the rest of the schools you have mentioned. In fact, it's one of the largest in the state. Don't know if that's a positive or negative for you but thought I'd mention it.

As large as Stevenson is now, it was quite a bit bigger 10 years ago when the student population was around 4400. But the campus is huge with facilities that would be the envy of many colleges. I have heard many people refer to it as the University of Stevenson. So there should be no concern at all that the campus cannot handle 3900 students. The bigger concern is that it is over staffed (this was predicted many years ago as the demographics of the area had started to change). Our real estate taxes reflect that over staffing, but I guess it is a plus for current students. But it can be a pressure cooker in all aspects (academic, athletic, arts, etc) and students are pushed to excel at whatever it is they are pursuing. No trophies for just participating there. But I don't think that is unique to Stevenson. Other highly rated schools are the same way, only on a smaller scale (except for perhaps New Trier which might be even more intense than Stevenson).

If the OP is looking at the Lake County side of Buffalo Grove to get into Stevenson, the middle school/junior high is Twin Groves which is very highly rated. It is in Kildeer District 96. But it too can be a pressure cooker as parents maneuver their kids into classes in 6-8 grade that will allow them to immediately get into honors and AP courses once they get to Stevenson. It is kind of a vicious circle at such a young age. Lots of "Tiger Moms" in Districts 96 and 125.

[4122]

What's the issue is that only 9% of special education students attend Stevenson which is a very tiny amount. The most students has had in all was 4,573 in 2005-2006. However, this year had more students than last year when there were 3,786 students. New Trier had 4,201 students last year and this year it has 4,124. The most New Trier had ever had was a massive 6,558 students in 1978! What's unique about New Trier is that they have a campus just for freshman in addition to one in Winnetka for everyone else. So, the Winnetka campus actually has around 3,200 students.

Both schools are THE "pressure cooker" schools of the Chicago suburbs. I also know a few New Trier families and they said it's so competitive that most kids take honors classes because they want a high class rank. Stevenson is similar. A lot of kids are pressured into honors and AP classes when it's not necessarily the best fit for the student.