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Old 11-16-2015, 06:52 PM
 
173 posts, read 266,777 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth View Post
That's a great little corner of La Grange Park. I wouldn't qualify the schools as 'better,' but certainly on par with Wheaton. The trip to the Loop will be quicker, but La Grange Park is on the BNSF and empties into Union. I think the OP said work is at Ogilvie. Union would add on a few minute walk. Not much, but it negates some of the time savings/ease of commute.
The high schools (Wheaton North at least) and elementary schools (Longfellow at least) are basically a wash but the junior high school in La Grange Park is certainly better than Franklin Middle (within Longfellow attendence area).

Last edited by destination-unknown; 11-16-2015 at 07:21 PM..
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Old 11-17-2015, 08:26 AM
 
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In my opinion, La Grange Park is not on a par overall as a community with Wheaton. La grange maybe but to me La Grange Park is a poor man's La Grange. No offense to anyone, and I am not saying its not nice.
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Old 11-17-2015, 08:52 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ToriaT View Post
In my opinion, La Grange Park is not on a par overall as a community with Wheaton. La grange maybe but to me La Grange Park is a poor man's La Grange. No offense to anyone, and I am not saying its not nice.
Isn't La Grange Park a much shorter commute into the city, though?

Do you think that there is resentment/ a feeling of "those people" from kids/ parents in La Grange towards those in La Grange Park (esp in school)?

The reason I'm looking at places where I could get in at the low end of the budget spectrum is so that I can get settled in a community/ school system and -- if it's possible 5-10 years down the road -- move within that community w/out uprooting children.
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Old 11-17-2015, 09:24 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJA29 View Post
Isn't La Grange Park a much shorter commute into the city, though?

Do you think that there is resentment/ a feeling of "those people" from kids/ parents in La Grange towards those in La Grange Park (esp in school)?

The reason I'm looking at places where I could get in at the low end of the budget spectrum is so that I can get settled in a community/ school system and -- if it's possible 5-10 years down the road -- move within that community w/out uprooting children.
La Grange Park is a great value, and there's really nothing to distinguish it from La Grange proper. La Grange Park is actually adjacent to downtown La Grange and both towns share the same school district. The only thing you might notice is smaller average home sizes on the La Grange Park side.

That said, I still think you'll prefer the amenities and charm of Wheaton, especially at your price point. Metra commuting is so easy that the extra time is trivial, especially with the shorter walk from Ogilvie.

Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 11-17-2015 at 10:28 AM..
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:10 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by destination-unknown View Post
The high schools (Wheaton North at least) and elementary schools (Longfellow at least) are basically a wash but the junior high school in La Grange Park is certainly better than Franklin Middle (within Longfellow attendence area).
"Certainly" better? Based on what? Compiled ISAT or PARCC test scores?

Test scores are one way to compare school districts, but I find they are better at identifying problem schools and districts than actually ranking "top schools". IF after adjusting for demographic mix you see that a certain sub-group is performing below or above what it should be, then you can tell me that one school is doing a better or worse job at preparing students for the test material. And in reality, that's all you can tell me. I think comparing good suburban middle schools like the two mentioned above SOLEY on whole school test scores is "splitting hairs", and not particularly helpful.

I like test scores for identifying problem districts. If white, non-low income students (typically the highest performing sub-group) aren't scoring well at a particular school, that is a huge red flag for me. You may even need to dig deeper and see how the younger students are doing compared to older students, since curriculum is changed all of the time. Someone who has been preparing for Common Core their entire academic career may be doing better or worse than someone who has it introduced at an older age.
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:25 AM
 
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Non-low income student 2014 ISAT scores:

86 - Franklin Middle School (Wheaton)
84 - Park Junior High School (La Grange)

The "headline" difference in test scores stem from the additional low-income students in Wheaton, which has already been discussed (e.g. refugee students). As you can see, there's no material impact on the non-low income students, and in fact, they perform better in this case than their peers in La Grange.
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:43 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth View Post
Non-low income student 2014 ISAT scores:

86 - Franklin Middle School (Wheaton)
84 - Park Junior High School (La Grange)

The "headline" difference in test scores stem from the additional low-income students in Wheaton, which has already been discussed (e.g. refugee students). As you can see, there's no material impact on the non-low income students, and in fact, they perform better in this case than their peers in La Grange.
Splitting hairs. What if my child consistently scores in the top 2% in the state at a school even though the average for the school is much lower? Would moving to a school with a few percentage points higher average score really make her score 1% higher? I don't think it would have any impact. At that point, you are better off choosing the school with the more challenging curriculum and a gifted program.

You will all have a very hard time convincing me that a 5%, or even 10% difference in over all test scores for a school will have any impact on MY actual children. I just don't buy it. At some point, once you remove the bad attitudes, behavioral problems and gang trouble, the differences just don't matter.
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:50 AM
 
748 posts, read 832,434 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth View Post
That said, I still think you'll prefer the amenities and charm of Wheaton, especially at your price point. Metra commuting is so easy that the extra time is trivial, especially with the shorter walk from Ogilvie.
According to Google Maps (it's an objective source to compare against itself) the commute times from the Metra stop in the morning to my wife's workplace from each location are as follows:

La Grange Road - 28 minutes
Downers Grove - 35 minutes
Glen Ellyn - 40 minutes
Wheaton - 45 - 50 minutes

Inclusive of getting to the train, Wheaton is really looking like more of an hour long commute. Perhaps this is the reason it's the most affordable of the bunch?


Granted, taking into account a place closer to the train could change those numbers, but the commute from the SW burbs is certainly shorter.
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:51 AM
 
748 posts, read 832,434 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid View Post
At that point, you are better off choosing the school with the more challenging curriculum and a gifted program.
Is there someway to determine these factors? Or is that more a subjective measure?
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:59 AM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,342,548 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJA29 View Post
According to Google Maps (it's an objective source to compare against itself) the commute times from the Metra stop in the morning to my wife's workplace from each location are as follows:

La Grange Road - 28 minutes
Downers Grove - 35 minutes
Glen Ellyn - 40 minutes
Wheaton - 45 - 50 minutes

Inclusive of getting to the train, Wheaton is really looking like more of an hour long commute. Perhaps this is the reason it's the most affordable of the bunch?


Granted, taking into account a place closer to the train could change those numbers, but the commute from the SW burbs is certainly shorter.
Google Maps is wonky at reading the train schedule.

Plus, if you're asking Google Maps to calculate travel times at 7:00a and there are 6:45a and 7:02a trains from La Grange and 6:57a and 7:14a trains from Wheaton, Google Maps will use the 7:02a from La Grange and the 7:14a from Wheaton, leaving Wheaton at a 12 minute disadvantage right outta the gates. In reality though, you'd likely take a 6:57 from Wheaton or 7:02 from La Grange, and be 3 minutes ahead from Wheaton.

I would get familiar with the train schedules, see what trains ARRIVE at the desired time, and work back from there:
UP-W Full Timetable PDF
BNSF Full Timetable PDF

The fastest inbound and outbound Wheaton trains are 42 and 34 minutes, respectively.
The fastest inbound and outbound La Grange trains are 20 and 18 minutes, respectively.
The difference between Wheaton and La Grange is 22 minutes inbound and 16 minutes outbound.
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