Anyone Know about Wilmette and New Trier? (Chicago, Evanston: credit, transfer)

[jigsaw]

Originally Posted by viewpoint

Please expand on the comments of "those who fare less well are the few minority families here". We are actually moving to Wilmette, and I do recognize that the population is not well diverse, but is there a racist attitude that exist within the community that you know of? I would want to bring my kids in an enviroment that will enhance their growth as world citizens.

I'm a new transplant to Wilmette. I just moved into the area last month and I love the area so far. My favorite thing about it is how the area is so bicycle friendly. I see families riding everywhere. As far as minorities, this I've seen a lot of diversity here. Sure, it's not as much as you might see in some of the Chicago neighorhoods, but there's certainly more diversity than I'd expected after reading some of the comments on these boards. As far as economics are concerned, Wilmette certainly has its share of wealth, but it's still pretty affordable compared to some other 'burbs that feed the NT HS. I'm no where close to being able to call myself "rich," but we're able to afford a home here. It's just a little smaller than something we could get with the same money (or probably even less money) further west.

Hope that helps,
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[pandabear]

There is going to be that snooty aspect, it is the north shore after all. It is the most afluent suburban area of chicagoland. Your kids will get a world class education, considering many districts in the suburbs are not meet test requirements for the 'no child left behind'.

[homewifeev]

I have been looking at Newsweek Magazine and I have noticed all our Chicago Area schools are heading steadily downward. In 2003 Newsweek ranked Stevenson 69th in the nation, New Trier was 169th, Evanston was 175th, Hinsdale Central was 237th, Glenbrook South was 269th, Lake Forest was 319th, Glenbrook North was 361st, Highland Park was 441st, Barrington was 458th, Deerfield was 517th, and Oak Park - River Forest was 562nd. This year Stevenson was 170th, Highland Park was 327th, Hinsdale Central was 352nd, New Trier was 455th, Glenbrook North was 593rd, Barrington was
672rd, Glenbrook South was 687th, Oak Park - River Forest was 703rd, Evanston was 707th, Deerfield was 740th, and Lake Forest was 822nd. I think that Evanston's drop from 175 to 707 is astonishing. New Triers weak performance from 2003 to 2007 is amazing also. Deerfield and Lake Forest's Rankings in 2003 shocked me but ther 2007 rankings even more. Considering the wealth and funding that Deerfield and Lake Forest recieve. Evanston has funding problems. I also have noticed, since were house hunting, how high our taxes in Evanston are. I have a 50' by 160' lot with a $1,000,000+ house but an over $20,000 tax bill. Our schools here continue to cut and our fantastic sewer sytem is begining to be strained by the new housing. My neighbor Nancy Cusack had a sump pump installed and she still got water. It looks like where the school is located in Chicago doesn't matter anymore, affluent or not. We are lucky that we can pay anything for education, but it lookis like were not going to find it here, any input?

[homewifeev]

I started a new post it is comparing Western Suburbs' to the North Shore's schools. Lately people have recommended Hinsdale Central and Lyons Township.

[wendyjane]

Would it be less expensive to consider another private school (vs. moving, etc.) such as North Shore Country Day School? They have an amazing fine arts department/focus and much more individual attention than you would find at a very large high school. There are many people who attend NSCDS who live in Evanston.

[kubaby1]

I grew up in Wilmette and attended all four years at NT. THere are positives and negatives to all schools, however I believe the Positive far outweigh the negative at NT. It is very competative. There are lots of students there so you could graduate with a 3.0 and still not be in the top half of your class. The academics are great and the teachers there are always there to help. The kids come from very well to do families, so do not be suprised to see kids driving SUV's and BMW's and wearing Gucci. However I never felt as though I was below anyone else becuase I did not drive the most expensive car or wear the fanciest clothes. Wilmette was great. I never felt unsafe, even walking by myself at anytime of day or night. Wilmette is very family oriented and has a great park district. Also, it is not as ritzy as Kenilworth or Winnetka/Glencoe, which I see as a huge positive. I hope this helps!

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

New Trier is generally considered to be the best public high school in the Chicago area, if not the entire nation,

I am trying to make sense out of all of these comments/statistics about the best schools. Some people say New Trier, some say Stevenson, Naperville or Highland Park. Then someone else posted rankings for these schools compared with others in the nation and none of them appear to be anywhere close to the best in the country. What is a parent to believe? No matter where I have lived, I have always run into people who will tell me that their children attend one of the best schools in the country. How is it that possible?

I have been looking at Newsweek Magazine and I have noticed all our Chicago Area schools are heading steadily downward. In 2003 Newsweek ranked Stevenson 69th in the nation, New Trier was 169th, Evanston was 175th, Hinsdale Central was 237th, Glenbrook South was 269th, Lake Forest was 319th, Glenbrook North was 361st, Highland Park was 441st, Barrington was 458th, Deerfield was 517th, and Oak Park - River Forest was 562nd. This year Stevenson was 170th, Highland Park was 327th, Hinsdale Central was 352nd, New Trier was 455th, Glenbrook North was 593rd, Barrington was
672rd, Glenbrook South was 687th, Oak Park - River Forest was 703rd, Evanston was 707th, Deerfield was 740th, and Lake Forest was 822nd. I think that Evanston's drop from 175 to 707 is astonishing. New Triers weak performance from 2003 to 2007 is amazing also.

[nanannie]

jayne, dont get too caught up in the magazine articles/school ratings. Since joining this forum I can not count how many people posted about their schools rating, there seems to be dozens that are "best". New Trier and Stevenson are consistently rated highly, but so are many others. There are many many great schools in the areas of suburban Chicago. What might not be as highly rated in Illinois, might be a top school in Calif. You cant go wrong with your areas you are looking at. Evanston is a big city,urban and vibrant with the divirsity and problams with any big city. I hope some people whos kids go to Evanston schools will chime in and give you more feed back. I hope you visit soon and you will get more answers. Maybe you need a different realtor too, one that will steer you to your home desires and have knowledge of all the aspects of the towns you are curious about ( no--I'm not one) Good luck to you, hope you find "home"

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

I am trying to make sense out of all of these comments/statistics about the best schools. Some people say New Trier, some say Stevenson, Naperville or Highland Park. Then someone else posted rankings for these schools compared with others in the nation and none of them appear to be anywhere close to the best in the country. What is a parent to believe? No matter where I have lived, I have always run into people who will tell me that their children attend one of the best schools in the country. How is it that possible?

Having moved to Illinois as an adult, I might be able to shed some light on this paradox.

The contrast is pretty clear. People who have lived in the Chicago area all or most of their lives think several schools around here are 'the best in the country'. People who have moved here from other areas, especially some parts of the east coast, etc., find that the better schools around here aren't quite up to par with the schools in the areas where they used to live.

Perspective is everything. If local is all someone has experienced, they may not know that what they think is 'the best' is actually lacking when compared on a larger scale.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by InformedConsent

Having moved to Illinois as an adult, I might be able to shed some light on this paradox.

The contrast is pretty clear. People who have lived in the Chicago area all or most of their lives think several schools around here are 'the best in the country'. People who have moved here from other areas, especially some parts of the east coast, etc., find that the better schools around here aren't quite up to par with the schools in the areas where they used to live.

Perspective is everything. If local is all someone has experienced, they may not know that what they think is 'the best' is actually lacking when compared on a larger scale.

I am so appreciative of your post because you said exactly what I was thinking. I've actually read quite a bit online about how schools in Illinois are not great compared to the rest of the country, but to read some of the posts on this board, some of the Chicagoland high school are the cream of the crop. There are quite a few good schools in the Chicago area on that Newsweek top high schools list, but they aren't really at the top and as one person on this board pointed out, they are slipping year after year.

The same is true where we live. Everyone talks about how Los Gatos has some of the best schools in the country, but it ranks 534 on that list this year. On the other hand, when we lived in San Diego, everyone talked about how great Torrey Pines High School was and it ranks 119 in the country. So that really was accurate.

If we were to compare our schools to Europe, they would all come up short. Like you said, it is all relative.