We are relocating and looking for the perfect school for our family. We are looking for a school that values differentiation to higher achieving student and the gifted. Which district would better serve our needs: 89 or 41?

Thanks

I'd say they are fairly equal in regard to the qualities you seek. I would suggest you review both websites and contact the schools directly to ask for information regarding gifted services. What you seek is a highly personal choice and depending on who you speak with, you may find different opinions.

Good luck to you!

I think that is also depends on how much driving you wish to do throughout your childrens school life. I personally would not want all the driving involved with living south of Roosevelt.

I have always said that any smart student (or gifted student) with involved and interested parents will do well in either school district. Please do not give too much weight to the overall report cards of the districts. There are significant demographic differences.

Don't know anything about D89's programs.
In D41, we weren't impressed with the "gifted" programs at the grade school level. The main thing was they were all "pull out" activities, and they didn't coincide with that particular subject. For example, say your kid qualified for gifted services in math. He might get pulled out of his regular reading class - where he needed the regular curriculum. Also, we weren't impressed that the material covered in the pull-outs were worthwhile. So tho all our kids qualified, we did not have them participate. Note, this was 7+ years ago.

Hadley had "advanced" sections in a couple of courses - math I remember. But not much else that I recall.

Having said that, with 3 kids presently in HS and college, I'm not sure they missed anything by not doing "gifted" activities in grade school. They all took honors/AP classes in HS, got good grades, tested well, and the oldest 2 have gotten into their colleges and majors of choice.

I don't know exactly what type of "differentiation" you are looking for, but at least a few years ago, there was very little in terms of separate "tracking" in D41.

quote:

Originally posted by scotty:
I think that is also depends on how much driving you wish to do throughout your childrens school life. I personally would not want all the driving involved with living south of Roosevelt.

Tell me where we drive more by living on the south side. If you say it is a longer drive to the CBD, I will begin laughing hysterically. Especially since there is nothing to go to the CBD to do....This should be fun...

no school is "perfect." anywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by IMJ:

quote:

Originally posted by scotty:
I think that is also depends on how much driving you wish to do throughout your childrens school life. I personally would not want all the driving involved with living south of Roosevelt.

Tell me where we drive more by living on the south side. If you say it is a longer drive to the CBD, I will begin laughing hysterically. Especially since there is nothing to go to the CBD to do....This should be fun...

I didn't mean the CBD, as I don't think the business district has anything to do with the schools. My point was (although I neglected to state it) was that we liked for our kids to be able to walk to elementary school (k-5) and to be able to walk to their friends houses without having to cross busy streets. I also agree with Mom2. Her post was excellent!

I was wondering where you were going with the statement, so I had to ask. I understand, but also understand that living south of Roosevelt does not mean you have to cross busy streets to go to school. Junior IMJ has a 45 second walk to grade school, he will have a 5 minute walk to Junior High and he is down the street from High School.

So in reality, you can find down here, what you have up north.

We have cookies within walking distance. You do not.

I was wondering about the walking comment too. Well, if you are familiar with Park View, Westfield and Briar Glen there are crossing guards posted before and after school for almost 30 minutes to aid the kids in crossing.

Speaking more towards the scholastic end, I see both districts as pretty evenly compared.

If it is important to you, take a look at the recent history of education referendums and the honesty delivered to the public.

Dinsdale, I am surprised with the gifted programming scheduling. Pulling students for gifted math during another content area is being taught should be a no-no.

quote:

Originally posted by South of Teddy:
Dinsdale, I am surprised with the gifted programming scheduling. Pulling students for gifted math during another content area is being taught should be a no-no.

Yeah - you'd think so. But at the time, our experience was that there was absolutely NO coordination.

My extraordinarily gifted son (can you imagine me having anything but? Neither can I.) was pulled from regular classes at Forest Glen...but only when they were teaching similar subjects. I assume that there were times that he may have been late in returning and missed something, but I can't imagine how they could handle the situation any differently.

It's obviously a different situation at Hadley.

Re: 41 v. 89...89 is much less controversial. The community seems to love them. The same cannot be said for 41. I have lived here for almost 14 years and I have never heard a friendly thing said about the school board in that time. I am surprised the building is still standing.

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:
My extraordinarily gifted son (can you imagine me having anything but? Neither can I.)

Is this the same kid that drove the bmw into a curb?

He's 12. Definitely can't reach the pedals.

BTW, do you know something about the BMW that I don't?

Yup!

quote:

There are significant demographic differences.

GEMOM2, I'd be interested in seeing what these 'significant' demographic difference are? Kinda vague if you don't post a link or statistics to back up this claim, IMO. Also, why would these differences make you choose one district over the other?

Uh-oh....

Look at the separate School Report Cards for the Districts. NCLB requires quite a bit of demographic information, and my point should have been - - review all of the information provided rather than one aggregate district score.

My kids all have done well in D41 - and gifted services have changed much in that time. I hope for the better.

quote:

Look at the separate School Report Cards for the Districts. NCLB requires quite a bit of demographic information, and my point should have been - - review all of the information provided rather than one aggregate district score. Smile

District 89, as a whole, is more demographically diverse than District 41, as a whole. When comparing each school in each district, each district has more and less demographically diverse options. When comparing test scores of the two districts, both are extremely similar in this regard. Arbor View school seems to outshine all the others in either district.

So, I'd say that you are really looking at a very, very apples-to-apples comparison in regards to these two high-performing districts. Demographics have nothing to do with the outcome, which is test scores, which are extremely similar when comparing both districts and separate schools.

Also, in regards to easy-access to the schools, my sister has three kids that went to D89 schools their entire lives. They walked to Park View, Glen Crest, and eventually took the bus to Glenbard South. They never had to cross dangerous or busy intersections to get to their respective grade and middle schools. Depending on where one buys in either district, a school bus may be a necessity and busier streets may be within the child's commute to school.

Bottom line is that anyone looking at a home north or south of Roosevelt Road should be perfectly content with the performance of either district and one is really not dramatically better in any way. It really comes down to more of an issue regarding the type of housing you may want, proximity to the train, etc...

I would also heed Amy's advice in calling each district and asking pertinent questions regarding each district's gifted programs. Your need/want for close attention for a higher achieving student is definitely a very personal choice and it would be hard to discern with mere test scores alone. Good luck with your search!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GlenEllynRing,