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Highland Park (2,018), Deerfield (1,716) and Lake Forest (1,765) are all much smaller than New Trier.
Highland Park and Deerfield are the same district so in reality they aren't that much smaller than New Trier...300 students. Lake Forest isn't in their conference though.
Maine Township High Schools: ~7000 Students
Maine East: 1900
Maine South: 2600
Maine West: 2400
Niles Township High Schools ~5000 Students Niles North: 2300
Niles West: 2700
Glenbrook Township High Schools ~4800 Students Glenbrook North: 2100
Glenbrook South: 2700
Waukegan High School ~4000 Students
Waukegan West: 2000
Waukegan East: 2000
Waukegan splits their students into school based on grades, much like New Trier. Freshman and Sophomores at one campus, Juniors and Seniors at another
New Trier High School ~4000 Students 4000
Highland Park/Deerfield High School ~3700 Students Highland Park: 2000
Deerfield: 1700
Evanston Township High School ~3000 Students 3000
New Trier is in the bottom half as far as total students within the District. If the three larger districts were to combine into one school, New Trier would be a fairly small school. This actually almost happened in 2002 with Niles Township High Schools. The two schools underwent massive upgrades and it would have been cheaper to knock Niles West and build an entirely new school. The two school would be combined into one, creating the largest high school in the state and one of the largest in the country. They obviously didn't go through with it, just because they wouldn't be able to fit an additional 2700 students into Niles North while the new school underwent construction.
Highland Park and Deerfield are the same district so in reality they aren't that much smaller than New Trier...300 students. Lake Forest isn't in their conference though.
Maine Township High Schools: ~7000 Students
Maine East: 1900
Maine South: 2600
Maine West: 2400
Niles Township High Schools ~5000 Students Niles North: 2300
Niles West: 2700
Glenbrook Township High Schools ~4800 Students Glenbrook North: 2100
Glenbrook South: 2700
Waukegan High School ~4000 Students
Waukegan West: 2000
Waukegan East: 2000
Waukegan splits their students into school based on grades, much like New Trier. Freshman and Sophomores at one campus, Juniors and Seniors at another
New Trier High School ~4000 Students 4000
Highland Park/Deerfield High School ~3700 Students Highland Park: 2000
Deerfield: 1700
Evanston Township High School ~3000 Students 3000
New Trier is in the bottom half as far as total students within the District. If the three larger districts were to combine into one school, New Trier would be a fairly small school. This actually almost happened in 2002 with Niles Township High Schools. The two schools underwent massive upgrades and it would have been cheaper to knock Niles West and build an entirely new school. The two school would be combined into one, creating the largest high school in the state and one of the largest in the country. They obviously didn't go through with it, just because they wouldn't be able to fit an additional 2700 students into Niles North while the new school underwent construction.
Anyway...that's off topic haha
My point was to state that there are smaller high schools on the North Shore. I don't think anyone said anything about what conference the schools are in. HP and Deerfield may share a district, but 99% of HPHS students are from HP (or Highwood), same goes for Deerfield and Lake Forest.
does it make sense to look at the size of a high school without looking at the number of campuses it has. Of all the schools in the area, New Trier alone has two campuses. Loping off that some 25% of the student body in Northfield reduces the size of the Soph-Sr complex in Winnetka. And that campus itself is on the verge of a major reconstruction that will make it a lot roomier.
My point was to state that there are smaller high schools on the North Shore. I don't think anyone said anything about what conference the schools are in. HP and Deerfield may share a district, but 99% of HPHS students are from HP (or Highwood), same goes for Deerfield and Lake Forest.
doesn't DHS have a very large contingent of students from Highland Park? The district line goes down 41, making all of HP west of the highway part of the DHS attendance area. There was a strange condition to the west HP area that was there from the opening of DHS and believe that it may still be in effect. When DHS opened, Deerfield had a relatively small Jewish population so those parents living in west HP were able to opt for HPHS. Today things are different in many ways with Deerfield having a very significant Jewish community and (hopefully) such ethnic/religious issues less important. However, I still think they offer the HPHS option today. Maybe someone can confirm or refute this.
BTW...on the Northfield issue, I'd like to add that the one place that Northfield has the most in common with is east Glenview (areas east of Waukegan Road). Northfield and east Glenivew are quite similiar in housing stock, demographics, and feel, sharing the inland North Shore status with other places like Deerfield and Northbrook.
Highland Park and Deerfield are the same district so in reality they aren't that much smaller than New Trier...300 students. Lake Forest isn't in their conference though.
Maine Township High Schools: ~7000 Students
Maine East: 1900
Maine South: 2600
Maine West: 2400
Niles Township High Schools ~5000 Students Niles North: 2300
Niles West: 2700
Glenbrook Township High Schools ~4800 Students Glenbrook North: 2100
Glenbrook South: 2700
Waukegan High School ~4000 Students
Waukegan West: 2000
Waukegan East: 2000
Waukegan splits their students into school based on grades, much like New Trier. Freshman and Sophomores at one campus, Juniors and Seniors at another
New Trier High School ~4000 Students 4000
Highland Park/Deerfield High School ~3700 Students Highland Park: 2000
Deerfield: 1700
Evanston Township High School ~3000 Students 3000
New Trier is in the bottom half as far as total students within the District. If the three larger districts were to combine into one school, New Trier would be a fairly small school. This actually almost happened in 2002 with Niles Township High Schools. The two schools underwent massive upgrades and it would have been cheaper to knock Niles West and build an entirely new school. The two school would be combined into one, creating the largest high school in the state and one of the largest in the country. They obviously didn't go through with it, just because they wouldn't be able to fit an additional 2700 students into Niles North while the new school underwent construction.
Anyway...that's off topic haha
...Off topic and perhaps not actually helpful to the Original Poster to compare apples and oranges like that.
The New Trier portion of my post was intended to give the out-of-town OP a sense of what her(?) children might experience at New Trier. My reference to NT as MEGA did not state that NT is the biggest high school or intend to create a size comparison with other schools, though interestingly the enrollments listed above for area schools actually help make my point while doing a disservice to the OP by potentially causing confusion about how these districts/schools are set up.
Maine E, S & W may share a district but they are separate high schools. My daughter's CLASS at New Trier has 1100 kids and well over 3000 in the Winnetka building(s) alone -- actually the second largest school enrollment on the above list after Waukegan, not even counting the Freshman class in NT's tally while I believe the numbers for the other schools include all four grades. NT enrollment is approximately 4400 students total, all four grades counted.
The fact that NT currently separates its Freshmen at another location (okay I know what NT West was 20 and more years ago) is not the same as the Glenbrook district having a South high school and a North high school with stand-alone campuses, teams with separate mascots which compete against each other, etc. -- kids don't say, "I love attending the Maine Township district," they enjoy Maine East or Maine South or Maine West, identify with their individual school and define their experience as it occurs in that school. I don't think many would say Maine East, South and West are all exactly alike. I think most would agree they are different and that each provides its students an experience which is different from the other township schools.
The point intended was NT is top-notch in a great many ways but administrators and teachers there admit that despite the vast resources available to the students a significant number of kids are not as well served by the system as it is and feel thrown to the sharks there.
Some thrive at a highly competitive high school -- NT has a high-stress environment academically, athletically and socially -- and some are overwhelmed by it. My family has had members thrive and others struggle in such an environment. I felt someone without local knowledge seeking it in this forum would appreciate hearing the mitigating information.
Just trying to keep the thread on track for the Original Poster.
The OP appreciates your effort to provide information which can help me narrow potential places down! I continue to research and all of this is very helpful....if not right this moment, then it will be as I get further into specific areas. Thank you!
I live in Winnetka, and have 2 kids in Catholic school in Winnetka, and one at New Trier at the Northfield campus. Northfield is a great community, and goes from smaller starter type homes, to sprawling McMansions. You get a little bit of everything.
Don't let the size of New Trier scare you. I grew up in Highland Park, and attended an all girls private school in Lake Forest that was little bitty. Everyone knew everyone's (and their parent's) biz. Too small for me.
My daughter went from a class of less than 40 (half related it seemed) to a class of over 1000 without blinking an eye. She loves the class choices, the diversity ( I know, I know, my mother went to Evanston Township, I'm talking for the North Shore) and the amazing teachers. My husband and I laugh that it is similar to our college experience in the 80's.
Perfect? No, but where is? Safe, more welcoming than some suburbs, and a quick trip into Chicago.
You still get the botox-addicted, Escalade driving Stepford wives (and husbands), but I drive a 10 year old car and don't give a rip, and either do my friends. My dad grew up in Connecticut, and I have tons of family on the East coast. You'll find like minded people here.
Last edited by aliceandeva; 12-16-2009 at 06:48 PM..
Yes, it seems Northfield has always had a "poor cousin" reputation. While quite affluent, it is near the low end of the New Trier district. Formerly, it had the only bars when all the other North Shore towns were dry. One nuisance the town has: its main drag, Willow Rd, is only two lane. It used to be even worse, there was a railroad crossing that often tied up traffic. But the road is now scheduled to be upgraded soon.
As an outsider, after having looked at realtor websites online, it's funny to read that Northfield is considered "less than" or a "poor cousin". The homes look big and sprawling as do the wonderfully large lots. Comparing one home to another in Northfield versus Winnetka, it sure looks like Northfield offers a lot more bang for the buck.
However, as one poster suggested, if the Parks & Rec aren't as good as other north shore burbs, then that's something to consider. And, if there aren't parks, shops, and cafes to walk or ride bikes to, then I suppose that affects the quality of life.
Other opinions? Is there anyone who LOVES Northfield?
Northfield is a great place to raise a family ! I grew up here in th 60's and came back and raised my family from 1997-2007. There are beautiful winding lanes with beautiful homes to smaller ranch style homes on the eastern side of town---something for everyone! It is a nice small town feeling--gotta love their 4th of July celebration !!
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