Useful tool for comparing school districts

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by Toppyhead1

I need information on Bensenville. I grew up there in the 60's and 70's. I graduated Fenton HS and now my daughter will be moving there. My grandson will be moving to the area N of Irving and E of 83. He will be starting Mohawk School. What is the area like? Safety, gangs, people, neighborhood watch. Is the school a good one? I've been gone to long to assume anything.

Here are links to the Illinois State Report Cards for Mohawk Elementary School, Blackhawk Middle School, and Fenton High School. The Report Cards include information on faculty and student demographics, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards, etc.

Mohawk Elementary School:
http://www.bsd2.org/reportcards/2007/MH%202007%20SIP%20-%20web%20.pdf (broken link)

Blackhawk Middle School:
http://www.bsd2.org/reportcards/2007/BMS%202007%20SIP%20-%20web.pdf (broken link)

Fenton High School:
http://www.fenton100.org/ForFamilies/ReportCard_pdf/ReportCard2007.pdf (broken link)

I can't comment on what the area is like because I'm not familiar with Bensenville.

Basic crime statistics info:
Crime Statistics for Bensenville, Chicago, IL - REALTOR.com

[studedude]

I found the difference in cost in the same HS dist interesting. Assuming teacher, admin, support salaries are the same and building cost similar the difference would appear to be the elementary school cost. A $110,000 cost difference seems out of place.

[chet everett]

"Gangs" mean very different things in suburbs like Bensenville than they do in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. In Chicago gangs are a criminal enterprise far more deadly and lucrative than anything you see on HBO. The competition to supply/protect drug dealing sees dozens of shooting per week.

In the suburbs the gangs are a negative influence that attracts students unlikely to benefit from the primary academic focus of the schools they are required to attend. Virtually no town is completely immune from this type of activity. Further there is a strong Hispanic presence in Bensenville. Some areas of Bensenville have large numbers of non-English speakers and most businesses have adapted to this.

I am quite familiar with Bensenville. There are sections with lovely homes and some areas that are most oriented to rentals. The costs of bringing all students up to speed with regard to English fluency and securing against the influence of gangs does limit the funding they have available for more traditional academic programming. While the decision of where to buy a home/relocate is very personal and influenced by many factors, including how well your child might do in comparison to others, I do think it may be prudent to consider towns a bit further to the south -- although it may be a bit a stretch as those towns do have higher median home values you should be rewarded with greater price stability /appreciation. I would NOT choose a section "just over the dividing line" either as the ranking of various schools within the district can vary greatly -- you should choose a home solidly in the attendance area of the most well regarded individual schools for elementary/middle school.

[Tom1113]

I would stay away from Bensenville's elementary schools and Blackhawk. Fenton isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Yes there are a lot of non-English speaking students but not nearly as many as it seems.