Elementary Schools West/SW suburbs (Chicago, Bedford Park: home, school districts, taxes)

[katrine822]

We have a potential opportunity to relocate back to the Chicago area. I grew up in the south suburbs and my dh is from NY. He will be working in Bedford Park so we are looking to the west and southwest.

We have a 4 year old son who was dx'd with high functioning autism. The draws to the move are that we have family in Chicago and none where we currently reside and Chicago is a great place to live.

We currently live in NY, my son is in an amazing integrated school and if he continues the progress will be mainstream KG when he turns 5 (another year of pk first) with minimal if any supports. If I can recreate the environment he is in here, somewhere in the Chicagoland area - dh and I can soundly discuss whether this opportunity is something we want to pursue.

My questions are these:

Are there any resources that provide data specifically on Sp Ed programs at the El Ed level? I've been on the state website and am calling specific schools and districts. I want to make sure I'm not missing any valuable information.

Second - do any school districts stick out at 'Sp Ed friendly' versus those who make service implementation a nightmare?

Are there any districts that are absolute nightmares and I should just black out that area of my map?

We are looking to spend no more than 600K - max. We'd like to spend less if possible. Taxes are a factor but the 12K we currently pay seems to counteract sticker shock pretty well.

We'd like a home that is less than 20 yrs, not too '70's Show looking , with a bit of land (we're talking under an acre, not acreage) and not in the middle of nowhere - if we have to downsize too much, we'll just stay put and I'll make lots and lots of visits


Thanks SO much in advance. Chicago is a wonderful town, will always be home and I'd be just short of ecstatic if this works out.

[katrine822]

Anyone?

[irish setter girl]

I'm not sure about resources that explain the pros/cons of ele districts but I know you can contact individual districts and they will have reports about what they do. The big thing I know in my area is the inclusion vs. self-contained classrooms. Based on what I've read in your post I assume you prefer the inclusion environment, especially if your child is very high functioning. In my personal opinions there are differences between schools within each district. For example, my district will support inclusion however I know there are certain schools that are better at it than others even though the district overall has taken the stance that they support the program. I know this is a personal decision and everyone has different experiences. There are two places I want to research for you and I'll report back. My sister is a counselor / administrator for a large western suburban school district and she is always a wealth of knowledge for just about anything. I'll be back.....

[Lookout Kid]

I know a family with a mentally disabled child (not autism), and have heard from them that Illinois is terrible in terms of state-sponsored special ed programs. They are considering moving to another state because of this, even though they have been here for decades.

I think the autism care issue is a hot one politically right now, and perhaps programs will change for the better in the near future. There have been discussions at the state level ocurring recently. But I would do as much research as possible before choosing a school district.