Top 5 Elementary Schools

[holl1ngsworth]

My goodness. I think people are unwittingly repackaging the points I have been making and presenting them back as ideas opposed to mine. Please re-read my posts folks. And please read this one through to the end before responding.

Based on Lookout Kid's response I think he generally gets my gest. This is about the OP's question, not about any of us.

The OP seems to at least desire her three children to attend a "top 5" elementary school. So I responded with the following 5 points:

1.) I presented the idea that many schools could be considered "top" depending how you "slice" the data -- in this case, test scores.
2.) I explained that many factors of great importance exist outside of said test scores.
3.) I presented a way for the OP to "filter demographics" that might be of relevance to her and her children.
4.) I encouraged the OP to do the research herself, and mpowered her with a link to the source data.
5.) I plugged my local elementary school, which is outstanding no matter how you "slice" or "filter." This plug was mostly out of good fun -- which I thought the smiley faces would convey. I didn't think this was out-of-line with other plugs I have seen on these boards.

I never meant to project hostility, pound my chest or write condescendingly -- and I certainly never said anything negative about any other school or district. I was just trying to contribute.

[MPowering1]

Originally Posted by MPowering1

As long as you're putting your child in one of the better schools/school districts, and you act like a responsible parent instead of their peer or friend, your child will have a good shot at success, and most will not be going on to Ivy League schools. Even with all those AP classes that were forced down their throats. Yes, you can look at points and grades and this and that, but it's piddly stuff that, in the end, doesn't matter.

Chet, I think you missed something.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by MPowering1

Chet, I think you missed something.

...believe me, the kinds of parents that I worried the most about when I was teaching high school were those that when I'd call and give 'em a heads-up that their child had missed an assignment or forged a note on a failed test would respond with something like "they've doing that since 3rd grade" or worse flat our say "why should I care about that?"...

There are some pretty unimpressive schools with some quite attractive homes surrounding them in most every part of the region (and probably the whole country based on how poorly our schools stack up globably...)

In a general sense I mostly agree that parents that othewise take appropriate interest in their child's academic progress need not fret too greatly about the difference between schools BUT if you are relocating and the difference between a run-of-the-mill school and one in the upper ranks is within your budget the economic payback in such cases is usually worth dotting the i's and crossing the t's...

[wjj]

Originally Posted by MPowering1

I think people end up where they end up for a number of reasons. It's like looking for a house, or a mate, you know you won't get everything on your list, so you have some things that are non-negotiable and other things that you can toss out.

Everybody I know in my area bought homes here before we had children, or had very young children, and didn't even concern ourselves with the rankings of schools. That's the honest truth. We figured they were good because we had read as much in the local newspaper, but we didn't go digging for information. I didn't even know how highly ranked the high school was until I read it in the school newsletter when my older son was a student there. He probably would have ended up in the same place he is today whether he attended the schools he went to, or attended schools ten slots down the list.

As long as you're putting your child in one of the better schools/school districts, and you act like a responsible parent instead of their peer or friend, your child will have a good shot at success, and most will not be going on to Ivy League schools. Even with all those AP classes that were forced down their throats. Yes, you can look at points and grades and this and that, but it's piddly stuff that, in the end, doesn't matter.

All the hand-wringing over the "right" pre-school, swimming lessons, baseball camp, high school, college and a million things in between will not make any difference in the big picture.

You know, we are blessed in suburban Chicago with dozens and dozens of excellent schools all over the area. Trying to diferentiate say Prospect from Hersey from Fremd from Barrington or Stevenson from New Trier from Deerfield is really meaningless. All are top notch. But that is not the case elsewhere in the country. When a newbie to the area is looking for a top 5 school, it may be because the area they are coming from is not so blessed with outstanding schools and anything below top 5 would be a disaster.

For example, we have a second home in SW Florida. When I look at the performance of Lee County FL high schools, with only one or two exceptions, none would be considered a top 25 school in suburban Chicago. Get below the top 5 and things are pretty bleak by suburban Chicago standards.

So when I see someone ask about a top 5 elementary school in suburban Chicago, my reaction is...."are you kidding"? Relative to where they are coming from, that might be a relevant question, but in suburban Chicago, that really is meaningless. There are so many excellent schools in so many suburbs that anything in the top 50 would probably be fine for an elementary school. But that could be a completely foreign concept for someone coming from an area where once you drop below the top 5, you are in deep trouble.

I just hope that posters unfamiliar with the area realize that many of these discussions are trying to find differences between schools that are all in the 95th percentile of all schools in the state, and in many cases, the country. There are an awful lot of excellent choices all over the suburban area. I won't say you can't go wrong, because you clearly can. But one should not agonize, for example, over whether they should be in the Stevenson district vs Libertyville vs Deerfield vs New Trier solely because of the school. All are outstanding and any serious student will get a great education at any one of those. Don't lose focus on all of the other important considerations on where to locate because there are so many excellent schools, that there are many, many options.

[MPowering1]

But one should not agonize, for example, over whether they should be in the Stevenson district vs Libertyville vs Deerfield vs New Trier solely because of the school. All are outstanding and any serious student will get a great education at any one of those. Don't lose focus on all of the other important considerations on where to locate because there are so many excellent schools, that there are many, many options.

This was the point I was trying to make and you said it better.

You and I are very fortunate that our kids were able to attend such a great high school, but I would have been just as happy if mine went to Libertyville, Barrington, Naperville, or a number of other schools. As you stated, the options are many.

Having said that, I'm done paying for a school district we no longer take advantage of, so won't be in our town for long. Are you thinking of moving to Florida any time soon or is that just a vacation property for now?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by wjj

You know, we are blessed in suburban Chicago with dozens and dozens of excellent schools all over the area. Trying to diferentiate say Prospect from Hersey from Fremd from Barrington or Stevenson from New Trier from Deerfield is really meaningless. All are top notch. But that is not the case elsewhere in the country. When a newbie to the area is looking for a top 5 school, it may be because the area they are coming from is not so blessed with outstanding schools and anything below top 5 would be a disaster.

For example, we have a second home in SW Florida. When I look at the performance of Lee County FL high schools, with only one or two exceptions, none would be considered a top 25 school in suburban Chicago. Get below the top 5 and things are pretty bleak by suburban Chicago standards.

So when I see someone ask about a top 5 elementary school in suburban Chicago, my reaction is...."are you kidding"? Relative to where they are coming from, that might be a relevant question, but in suburban Chicago, that really is meaningless. There are so many excellent schools in so many suburbs that anything in the top 50 would probably be fine for an elementary school. But that could be a completely foreign concept for someone coming from an area where once you drop below the top 5, you are in deep trouble.

I just hope that posters unfamiliar with the area realize that many of these discussions are trying to find differences between schools that are all in the 95th percentile of all schools in the state, and in many cases, the country. There are an awful lot of excellent choices all over the suburban area. I won't say you can't go wrong, because you clearly can. But one should not agonize, for example, over whether they should be in the Stevenson district vs Libertyville vs Deerfield vs New Trier solely because of the school. All are outstanding and any serious student will get a great education at any one of those. Don't lose focus on all of the other important considerations on where to locate because there are so many excellent schools, that there are many, many options.

... the gist is spot on: becuase of the large numbers of higher income parents that are well educated and can get to employment centers in both the core of Chicago via rail as well lots of scattered suburbs there are a decent range of acceptable public schools.

It is probably not true that schools rank in the top 5% nationally, but most that do would fall into the same category as the highest performing schools inside Chicago -- selective admissions.

Depending on where the OP is coming from it may be helpful to keep these things in mind.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by chet everett

...

It is probably not true that schools rank in the top 5% nationally, but most that do would fall into the same category as the highest performing schools inside Chicago.

I know we disagree about the utility of the US News rankings, but using that as a proxy, I count 33 suburban Chicago high schools in the top 5% of all high schools they examined nationally (national rank of 970 or better).

Like I said, we are really blessed in this area.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by MPowering1

Having said that, I'm done paying for a school district we no longer take advantage of, so won't be in our town for long. Are you thinking of moving to Florida any time soon or is that just a vacation property for now?

It is a vacation home for now, but we use it year round. It will become our principal residence in a couple of years as I start ratcheting down my career. Paying $13,000 a year in real estate taxes (and going up) for a 30 year old tract home in BG is not sustainable in retirement. Too bad. I have loved my 25 years in BG, but it will soon be time to move on because the taxes are crushing.

[MPowering1]

Originally Posted by wjj

It is a vacation home for now, but we use it year round. It will become our principal residence in a couple of years as I start ratcheting down my career. Paying $13,000 a year in real estate taxes (and going up) for a 30 year old tract home in BG is not sustainable in retirement. Too bad. I have loved my 25 years in BG, but it will soon be time to move on because the taxes are crushing.

That sounds like a great plan and nice that you can enjoy it now, as well.

I'm trailing right behind you at $12K and I, too, love my home of 27 years and hate to leave, but I just can't justify this expense anymore. A lot of good memories here with my kids playing sports as little guys and also at Stevenson, the parades and fireworks, and all that the area has to offer, but it's time to move on. I'm tired of cringing every time that tax bill arrives.