suburban school districts (Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park: to rent, how much, houses)

[greengene77]

We are in the middle of the interview process for a position in downtown Chicago. We would be moving from a mid-sized midwestern city and would like to find a suburb or suburbs similar to where we are currently living, if possible. I have visited Chicago in the past and some of the "suburbs" feel very crowded and urban to me, I would ideally prefer a suburb that feels more like a smaller town versus an extension of the city, if that exists. We are also feeling a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how schools work in the Chicago area.

We have two children, one who will be in 9th grade next year and one who will be in 5th grade. We won't know about this job until probably mid-february, so I am guessing we will have missed all private school application deadlines, so we will need to find a good school for our 9th grader who is very academically advanced (accelerated 2 grades in math, one in language arts, identified as highly to profoundly gifted). Our younger child has adhd and an IEP with some remediation in reading. She would do best in classes that are a little smaller.

The high schools I have researched look really large. Are there any districts that are academically rigorous and also have a smaller high school (i.e. 1,600 kids or so?). We would like our children to go to schools with reasonable levels of racial diversity (at least 30% kids of color). Economic diversity and where we would not feel out of place as a fairly liberal family would be ideal.

Our house-buying price range is about $500,000, but we are willing to rent in the right school area until we can find the right house, if necessary. I love modern and midcentury modern houses, so we are not looking for new construction. A house that needs some work and is about 2,500 sq feet (including livable basement areas) would be perfect.

Can you give me any suggestions about areas I can research that might fit these criteria?

[Czem]

Originally Posted by greengene77

We are in the middle of the interview process for a position in downtown Chicago. We would be moving from a mid-sized midwestern city and would like to find a suburb or suburbs similar to where we are currently living, if possible. I have visited Chicago in the past and some of the "suburbs" feel very crowded and urban to me, I would ideally prefer a suburb that feels more like a smaller town versus an extension of the city, if that exists. We are also feeling a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how schools work in the Chicago area.

We have two children, one who will be in 9th grade next year and one who will be in 5th grade. We won't know about this job until probably mid-february, so I am guessing we will have missed all private school application deadlines, so we will need to find a good school for our 9th grader who is very academically advanced (accelerated 2 grades in math, one in language arts, identified as highly to profoundly gifted). Our younger child has adhd and an IEP with some remediation in reading. She would do best in classes that are a little smaller.

The high schools I have researched look really large. Are there any districts that are academically rigorous and also have a smaller high school (i.e. 1,600 kids or so?). We would like our children to go to schools with reasonable levels of racial diversity (at least 30% kids of color). Economic diversity and where we would not feel out of place as a fairly liberal family would be ideal.

Our house-buying price range is about $500,000, but we are willing to rent in the right school area until we can find the right house, if necessary. I love modern and midcentury modern houses, so we are not looking for new construction. A house that needs some work and is about 2,500 sq feet (including livable basement areas) would be perfect.

Can you give me any suggestions about areas I can research that might fit these criteria?

You may want to check out Barrington. Small town feel. Some parts of town will have ranches/splits/mid-century homes within your budget. Barrington District 220 is also known for their gifted (extended) program. You can find some FAQs on the extended program for new families here: Teaching and Learning / Students New to the District

New Trier High School is also excellent for gifted and/or advanced students. You will find ranches and splits in West Wilmette within your budget.

Stevenson High School is another great option for gifted and advanced students. Unfortunately you will find that all of these high schools are quite large.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Czem

You may want to check out Barrington. Small town feel. Some parts of town will have ranches/splits/mid-century homes within your budget. Barrington District 220 is also known for their gifted (extended) program. You can find some FAQs on the extended program for new families here: Teaching and Learning / Students New to the District

New Trier High School is also excellent for gifted and/or advanced students. You will find ranches and splits in West Wilmette within your budget.

Stevenson High School is another great option for gifted and advanced students. Unfortunately you will find that all of these high schools are quite large.

All true, but you missed two of her big 'wants'. Small town and diversity/30% students of color.

She will clearly have to sacrifice something in the scheme of things.

[deeman7]

What suburbs did you visit that you felt were too urban?

[damba]

Originally Posted by greengene77

We are in the middle of the interview process for a position in downtown Chicago. We would be moving from a mid-sized midwestern city and would like to find a suburb or suburbs similar to where we are currently living, if possible. I have visited Chicago in the past and some of the "suburbs" feel very crowded and urban to me, I would ideally prefer a suburb that feels more like a smaller town versus an extension of the city, if that exists. We are also feeling a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how schools work in the Chicago area.

We have two children, one who will be in 9th grade next year and one who will be in 5th grade. We won't know about this job until probably mid-february, so I am guessing we will have missed all private school application deadlines, so we will need to find a good school for our 9th grader who is very academically advanced (accelerated 2 grades in math, one in language arts, identified as highly to profoundly gifted). Our younger child has adhd and an IEP with some remediation in reading. She would do best in classes that are a little smaller.

The high schools I have researched look really large. Are there any districts that are academically rigorous and also have a smaller high school (i.e. 1,600 kids or so?). We would like our children to go to schools with reasonable levels of racial diversity (at least 30% kids of color). Economic diversity and where we would not feel out of place as a fairly liberal family would be ideal.

Our house-buying price range is about $500,000, but we are willing to rent in the right school area until we can find the right house, if necessary. I love modern and midcentury modern houses, so we are not looking for new construction. A house that needs some work and is about 2,500 sq feet (including livable basement areas) would be perfect.

Can you give me any suggestions about areas I can research that might fit these criteria?

As I suggested in my other reply, you will likely have to give up one of your 'wants' if living in an academically rigorous (e.g. one of the better) school districts that's resembling a small town vs inner ring suburb. The good thing is, in suburban Chicago there is very little reason to send kids to a private school ($$) since there are so many great schools to choose from that are already receiving your money via local property taxes, which are much higher than you are used to.

If you can dial down the housing size requirement a little, you will have more options.

The other question is how much of a commute can you tolerate(?) Further west in the 'burbs will be a closer 'small town' match for you with good home prices, but you may need to look at train schedules to see if those times to downtown suit your needs/tastes.

[Campfires]

There are small towns in the northern suburbs too. Mine is only 14,000 people. Are you a minority? Is that why you are striving for that 30% figure?

[RJA29]

Look for good school districts along the UP-W and BNSF line and you should find something that about a 40 minute train ride to town. It won't be diverse if it's rigorous, for the most part. You may find exceptions.

If you can give us more of an idea about what you've looked at so far, we can give even better feedback for your questions. Good luck!

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by greengene77

The high schools I have researched look really large. Are there any districts that are academically rigorous and also have a smaller high school (i.e. 1,600 kids or so?). We would like our children to go to schools with reasonable levels of racial diversity (at least 30% kids of color). Economic diversity and where we would not feel out of place as a fairly liberal family would be ideal.

Our house-buying price range is about $500,000, but we are willing to rent in the right school area until we can find the right house, if necessary. I love modern and midcentury modern houses, so we are not looking for new construction. A house that needs some work and is about 2,500 sq feet (including livable basement areas) would be perfect.

Can you give me any suggestions about areas I can research that might fit these criteria?

I see it's your first post. Welcome!

Public high schools in the Chicago suburbs tend to be very large: more than 2000 students. So what you're seeing is normal for the region. Small high schools are usually private or religious, which makes them very homogeneous.

Given how property taxes and school funding are interconnected in Illinois, most good schools are not very diverse. Because , unfortunately. You're going to have to decide what matters more to you: academic rigor or diversity.

[Clark&Addison]

Like it has already been said, you won't find a good school with diversity AND be in a less-dense outer suburb. There are several good suburban schools with less than 1,600 students though. Depending on how you rank your priorities, a few options would be:

-Choose a south suburb where you would be able to check your diversity and density boxes, while still finding a decent school district, like Homewood-Flossmoor, although it's a good bit more diverse than 30%.

-Loosen your density and school size requirement but get a really good, diverse school. Oak Park or Evanston, for example.

-Drop the diversity requirement totally and check the rest of your boxes. Deerfield HS or Glenbard South maybe.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Clark&Addison

Like it has already been said, you won't find a good school with diversity AND be in a less-dense outer suburb. There are several good suburban schools with less than 1,600 students though. Depending on how you rank your priorities, a few options would be:

-Choose a south suburb where you would be able to check your diversity and density boxes, while still finding a decent school district, like Homewood-Flossmoor, although it's a good bit more diverse than 30%.

-Loosen your density and school size requirement but get a really good, diverse school. Oak Park or Evanston, for example.

-Drop the diversity requirement totally and check the rest of your boxes. Deerfield HS or Glenbard South maybe.

Glenbard South was going to be my first suggestion. Enrollment is around 1,200-1,300. I don't know specifics about IEP programs or gifted programs, but as far as I've heard it's a decent district. It depends how the OP defines diversity, but greater than 30% are non-white.