Affordable housing and top schools (Chicago, Evanston: low income, sales, real estate)

[IAmEverywhere]

Looking at rankings of public schools in Chicagoland, some of the top schools are, interestingly, not in uniformly well-off areas.

Which areas would you recommend for someone with an average income who wants their children to attend excellent public schools at all grade levels from K-12?

To clarify, whether a school system is "excellent" need not be solely based on test scores and should take test scores in context. Other important non-academic factors such as advising, extracurriculars and a socially and psychologically healthy environment may also be considered. After all, these factors will be important to most parents.

Also, why aren't more parents taking advantage of the affordable housing that does exist in top school districts? Is there often a catch in these situations?

[JustJulia]

"Average income" varies wildly, depending on where you're from. Do you already live here, or are you moving from out of state? Do you have one or two incomes? How many children do you have? Daycare costs alone can put a major hole in your wallet. And then you have to factor in where you plan to work, somewhere that your type of job is available. If you move somewhere solely for the school, a terrible commute and the price of gas can ruin your standard of life.

Can you provide some specifics?

[chet everett]

I agree with JustJulia, without knowing how "average" the OP's "income" is it is impossible to suggest a place that may be affordable and allows for a reasonable commute. In general the success of students follows VERY closely with the income / educational attainment of their parents. In Illinois the very heavy reliance on property tax means that, with few exceptions, the resources of schools in affluent areas also exceeds that of areas with less valuable real estate. There are a handful of places where the real estate wealth is not primarily residential, yet even in such areas the influence of parental educational attainment seems to outweigh the pluses of deep pockets...

If the OP's analysis of achievement includes the selective enrollment schools that are part of CPS, the overwhelming influence of having ONLY students that, prior to enrollment, perform well on standardized tests essentially eliminates any negatives of poorer local neighborhood. Many student at magnet schools travel literally across the City. Ostensibly this was one hoped for result of the magnet program -- to "undo" the geographic boundaries that existed when integration lawsuits and other efforts to bring "equality" to CPS were in vogue. Nowadays such concerns seem laughable as the influence of gentrification and subsequent runaway over development has turned former slums and housing projects into not just renovated neighbors but busted out statements of the real estate bubble...

If one has the means to be a CASH buyer one can certainly find condos in nearly new parts of Chicago for a fraction of their original asking price. Similarly, though less dramatically, one could buy an older smaller home in a very desirable suburb for a fraction of what it would have sold for at the peak of the tear-down driven bubble. So to are there condos / townhouses in desirable suburbs that were once targeted for the grossly over estimated "empty nester" market that should be perfectly suitable for a smaller young family. When these types sales are factored into the "average home price" data for various areas it certainly makes some towns / neighborhoods seem far more affordable than a closer inspection would reveal. In short, whether one is looking for a desirable single family home in Chicago itself or a suburb well served by true top tier public schools it is very unlikely that there is a mass of "affordable" housing -- for all the reasons I've listed I strongly recommend shopping for the most affordable home in the most highly regarded area and AVOIDING an area with lots of government designated sub-market rate housing...

I'd be very curious to hear back from the OP about these "top schools" in areas that are "not uniformly well off"...

[IAmEverywhere]

@JustJulia: I was intentionally trying to keep the question general enough that it would be useful to many people. To the extent that housing in this category exists, it would be of general interest to know where to find it. Although, unfortunately, I agree with Chet that it really isn't plentiful in Chicagoland.

I do IT contracting. When working consistently and full-time, I can earn in the mid- to high five figures annually. (That's less true in this economy, but I'm thinking long-term.) Transportation is tricky because when one contract ends, the next contract could be anywhere. But I'd also rather stay relatively close to the city. I'd also want to have enough money left over to send my kids to private universities after they're done with K-12.

@chet everett: I knew you'd have something to say about this (-:

To answer your question, I graduated from Wheaton North High School in the 1990's. The school currently is at the 96th percentile in Illinois for ACT scores. Yet more than 1 out of 5 current students qualifies for subsidized lunches. The attendance area also includes substantial amounts of middle-middle class and/or blue collar housing. The school and area are somewhat more diverse and inclusive than many nearby suburbs, although significantly less so than areas closer to Chicago. The K-8 feeder schools are also generally of high quality.

I suspect that Wheaton Warrenville South High School is similar due to being in the same district, having almost identical test scores and having roughly similar demographics.

That said, I'm really more interested in areas closer to the city. Is it realistic to find housing which is affordable to people with middle incomes and is zoned for New Trier, Evanston Township or Oak Park-River Forest High Schools? It would also be important for the K-8 feeder schools to be solid.

FWIW, I've lived in racially mixed areas and have no problems with doing so.

And I agree that one possible strategy is to actually live in Chicago and try to get your kids into the magnet high schools. But is this a possibility for K-8? Or do you have to be in specific, generally expensive areas so as to be zoned for good K-8 schools?

[cubssoxfan]

^^It is a bit farther, but living in Wheeling-the part that is in Elementary Dist 23 fits the bill. Lower housing costs, safe area and very good schools. Wheeling has a Metra station and being situated between 294 & Rte 53 makes for good commuting between suburbs. Wheeling HS's overall PSAT test scores are mediocre due to a somewhat large % of students who are going into a trade instead of college. But the atmosphere, courses offered (many AP and honors level classes) student/parent accountability and PSAT of college bound students are very good-excellent. I believe it has similar achievement gaps between white and non-white students that ETHS and OPRF high schools have.

[chet everett]

My suspecision is that although there are 20% or so of students at Wheaton North getting the low income designation that still is NOT really giving a very accurate representation of either the whole student population nor the realtive affordability of housing in the entire attendance area. While there are some larger rental complexes that probably do have low income families there are also literal mansion in the same district. There are probably some kids from both types of living conditions that may be on the same sports squads (especially the low cost to entry sports like soccer, where hard work and honing ones own skills are more important than say hockey or football where the years of youth league participation and high practice time /equipent costs work against the poorer more transient kids...) or even in the same accelerated classes (again something like math tends to be far less elitist than say French or AP English, think "Stand & Deliver"...) but overall the high scoring standardized test takers are probably coming overwhelingly from the kids whose parents spend time and money on prep classes -- things that kids whose parents never went to college may not even know about, let alone have the time / money to dedicate to such "optional" components...

Yes, one can theoretically live ANYWHERE inside Chicago and if your kid(s) test well they have a shot at the best magnet schools, in fact if you are crazy enough to live in a part of Chicago that is filled with economic blight you increase your chances of getting into the best mmagnet schools. That is how it works. Realistically the cost to live in a decent home in part of Chicago that has high performing neighborhood schools is every bit as high it is to live in a middling to low upper tier 'burb. I have sold home to folks in Elmhurst and Downers Grove that cross shopped Roscoe Village or Lincoln Square and the whole package in the 'burbs better suited their needs / was more affordable that what those desirable areas could offer...

In the burbs the odds of there being a top tier k-8 school with a high percentage of low income students is very difficult. Those low income areas tend to have higher than average transient residents -- when a crummy apartment complex gets "too crummy" even the bargain hunters move out, at the other end when some of the REITs that own the mega complexes flip them to a new group the rents sky rocket as the new REIT spends money to remodel the place in an effort to pump up revenue. Either way it ain't conducive to your kids developing the patterns and relationships that ensure growth in an individaul school / set of schools in a district...

If the OP is serious about very high 5 figure income they ought to be able to settle in an area that, if not truly a bargain, than at least a nice compromise between very good schools, nice range of housing and good access to wide variety of IT contracting employment options. Under those criteria I would shop along the broad N- NW corridor that includes the towns served by the UP North and NorthWest lines and the Milwaukee District North line. If you set a realistic budget of say $400K or so you ought to be able to find a place that is either smaller and older in great condition or place that might need some work but is surrounded by larger homes that'll preserve your investment.

While there is nothing wrong with the north end of Wheaton from a general livability standpoint I suspect that IT contracting gigs are quite uncommonn in the areas near by -- most of the commercial space in that area is dedicated to warehouses, light industrial and retail. Southern Lake Co and NW Cook has far more of the firms that need IT workers, probably almost as many as the firms in the Loop...

[IAmEverywhere]

@cubssoxfan: Thanks for the information. I'm mostly concerned about the performance of students who are motivated and college-bound. So it's fine if test scores are artificially decreased by students who aren't.

@chet everett: There's definitely middle-income housing in the attendance area. Some of the older housing in Wheaton is modest. Many of the formerly semi-rural areas just outside Wheaton are also relatively affordable. However, the well-off areas tend to be quite well-off.

And yes, income disparities can make it more difficult to compete both academically and in athletics. I also observed that the well-off kids and less well-off kids tended not to mix.

Zillow is showing some 3BR townhomes and condos for under $400K - at least one was as low as $300K - in Winnetka. Is there a catch?

Good point about the vicinity of Wheaton not having many IT contracting gigs. There's a lot of tech jobs along I-88, but they tend to be research-oriented rather than consulting.