Plainfield Illinois Schools (Chicago, Naperville, Joliet: townhome, new construction, school districts)

[Michigan Mom]

We are going to move to the Chicago area with our 2 young boys. We have heard negative talk of Plainfield schools, Plainfield South High School in particular, but these people do not use the Plainfield school system. So, I would like to hear from people in Plainfield schools and their opinion of the education and environment. Thanks

[BDR529]

Actually, Plainfield District 202 is known as a great Illinois School system. I live in Plainfield and have went to their schools. They are nice schools, don't get me wrong. But they are not THE BEST. It's not dirty, not poor and the teachers are very nice. There are better schools. Where? I don't know.

Hope that helped. If not, Please let me know.

[Arun]

Palinfield 202 had average schools. You can check out the details at:
Illinois schools - IL elementary, middle and high school information
They are rated from 4 to 6 out of 10.

It all depends on your budget. If you can afford Naperville, it has awesome schools.

Top 50 IL high schools can be found at:
STNG :: ISAT RESULTS (http://www.suntimes.com/pcds/html/stng/hs/isat/top50hs.html - broken link)

[HOWELL_STREET]

Sorry that I have to be somewhat negative. Although the school districts are acceptable, Plainfield IL is "Tornado Alley" of the entire Chicago land areas. Our worse Chicago area tornado was at the Plainfield high school a number of years ago. So anyone living in the Plainfield area should own a battery operated NOAA Weather Radio.
There are several nice radios which include Midland's WR-100 and WR -300 models. Also 'Realistic' (Radio Shack) models. All of these are available on eBay.
I hope this helps you.

Your Friend,

Carter Glass

[BDR529]

I'm sorry but I've lived in Plainfield for 10 years and weather is fine. No more of a risk than anywhere else, there was a tornado in 90' but that's it.

You don't need any weather radio or anything, the worst is storms, and there aren't even that many anymore.

Originally Posted by HOWELL_STREET

Sorry that I have to be somewhat negative. Although the school districts are acceptable, Plainfield IL is "Tornado Alley" of the entire Chicago land areas. Our worse Chicago area tornado was at the Plainfield high school a number of years ago. So anyone living in the Plainfield area should own a battery operated NOAA Weather Radio.
There are several nice radios which include Midland's WR-100 and WR -300 models. Also 'Realistic' (Radio Shack) models. All of these are available on eBay.
I hope this helps you.

Your Friend,

Carter Glass

[Transcendental Blues]

I lived in Plainfield area and got out before my kids were in school system. I do know they are overcrowded and have a high teacher to student ratio.

Check out Tinley Park or Orland Park.

[BDR529]

Originally Posted by Transcendental Blues

I lived in Plainfield area and got out before my kids were in school system. I do know they are overcrowded and have a high teacher to student ratio.

Check out Tinley Park or Orland Park.

No, Plainfield is fine.
I've personally been in the school system, it is not that bad.

[Crocostimpy]

We will be relocating to the southwest Chicago area soon. I've been trying to research different areas, and am now looking at the Joliet area because the housing seems to fit our needs better (read: above 2,000 sq.ft. for less than $250k).

The Plainfield District 202 schools look pretty good except for the high schools. All of the high schools and some other elementary schools do not meet the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements (per the Interactive Illinois Report Card website). I realize that standardized testing is not the only way to rate a school or school system, so I'd like to get some feedback from people who have kids in schools there, especially the high schools. I have a daughter in 3rd grade and a son in 8th. Are your kids being challenged? Do the teachers seem like they're not "phoning it in"?

Also, my job is in Alsip. What does a realistic commute look like, especially now that the 355 extension is open? It looks like the best route is I-80 to 294 to Rt. 50/Cicero. I know I'll get the "move closer to Alsip" responses. We've looked at Tinley Park and like it a lot, but would have to give up a lot of house to afford it. We're not convinced that we need to do that yet.

Thanks for your time.

Mike

[sbd78]

Originally Posted by Crocostimpy

We will be relocating to the southwest Chicago area soon. I've been trying to research different areas, and am now looking at the Joliet area because the housing seems to fit our needs better (read: above 2,000 sq.ft. for less than $250k).

The Plainfield District 202 schools look pretty good except for the high schools. All of the high schools and some other elementary schools do not meet the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements (per the Interactive Illinois Report Card website). I realize that standardized testing is not the only way to rate a school or school system, so I'd like to get some feedback from people who have kids in schools there, especially the high schools. I have a daughter in 3rd grade and a son in 8th. Are your kids being challenged? Do the teachers seem like they're not "phoning it in"?

Also, my job is in Alsip. What does a realistic commute look like, especially now that the 355 extension is open? It looks like the best route is I-80 to 294 to Rt. 50/Cicero. I know I'll get the "move closer to Alsip" responses. We've looked at Tinley Park and like it a lot, but would have to give up a lot of house to afford it. We're not convinced that we need to do that yet.

Thanks for your time.

Mike

Hi Mike, I think I can be of some assistance to you. My husband is from Tinley Park and we owned a townhome there before moving to Joliet in search of affordable housing. Tinley Park is nice and schools are great, but much more expensive and that is why we left. We wanted to get into a larger single family home in a similar price range to what you are looking in. The area we are in is booming, tons of new construction, we are close to route 59 which is lined with shopping and restaurants. A huge upscale mall is planned for the intersection of I80 and I55. You can see more about it here: Chicagoland I'm hoping this will help our property values. So far we really like this area.

We have a 1 1/2 year old son so he is not in school yet, but I did research on schools since we are not planning to move again before he begins school. Joliet schools are bad, make sure you stay out of Joliet's school district. The area we moved in Joliet is on the far West side, just south of Plainfield. We are in the Minooka school district which rates well, all the schools meet the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements on the Illinois State Report Card. (Walnut Trails Elementary in Shorwood, Minooka Community High School.) Some subdivisions that are Joliet with Minooka schools are Lakewood Prairie, Sable Ridge, and Kearney Glen. All have homes in your price range. All of these areas are Joliet, but Kendall County. (As opposed to the rest of Joliet which is Will County.) As long as you are in Kendall County Joliet, you will be in either Minooka or Plainfield schools, not Joliet schools. All my neighbors I've spoken to that have school aged children have been happy with Minooka schools. I think Plainfield schools are decent, although some of the high schools are not rating well, as you mentioned. I think a lot of Plainfield's school problems stem from the explosive growth their district has been experiencing. I'm guessing ratings will go up as the growth slows although I don't know and don't have kids in their schools so I can't say for sure. Maybe someone who does have kids in the Plainfield School District can give their opinion of the schools. But I think you would be o.k. moving to Plainfield schools as well. GreatSchools.net is a good website for checking school stats. Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any more questions about the area.

[Crocostimpy]

Thanks for the comments. They help out a lot. I've looked into Minooka schools too and they sound good also. I still would like to hear from someone with high school experience, and I need to make sure it won't be too far of a commute to my job. Everything else looks pretty good for Joliet.

Thanks again.

Mike