Question

Hello!  I’m moving to Naperville from Colorado Springs, CO.Hello! I’m moving to Naperville from Colorado Springs, CO. Can I get your opinions on the schools in Naperville, public and private? Colorado Springs has so many options - public, charter and private. Plus all the schools have different curriculums (classical, core knowledge, etc. ). It looks like most the schools in Naperville, including private, follow the common core curriculum. What are the best and worst schools? What do you love or dislike about your schools? Thanks so much for any feedback! Moving in a pandemic is stressful enough, so hopefully y’all can help me ease the stress of finding a school that’s a good fit for my three kids!  

Answer 1

We lived in Colorado Springs too. Naperville 203 is great. We are partial to kennedy and central but they are all great.  

Answer 2

I would say in general all schools are created equal here in Naperville. I moved from an area from something similar to you (the norm was private). If youre religious I would look into the catholic system although there is a Lutheran (k-8)school as well. There is also Montessori programs here too. Cant go wrong with any public ❤️and you are correct they are basically all common core. Montessori obv follows another method. And I think there is a school in warrenville that does another method.  

Comments

@apolitical1 Bautista Buch for the warrenville school, are you thinking of The Waldorf School?  

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@thornton yes!  

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@apolitical1 Bautista Buch do you know anything about that school? When I saw your comment I thought to ask. In my search/research for schools, that’s the one school of which I know so little.  

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@thornton i dont! I know it's similar to montassori, child led education. I moved here from Kentucky where like the person who posted, there were several types of school formats to choose from (not just common core). The waldorf school is known throughout the country as well, and was popular in Kentucky. I wish they did 2, 3 year olds! Starts age 4-8th grade.  

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@apolitical1 Bautista Buch well welcome to Naperville!  Hope you’ve enjoyed living here!  

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@thornton thanks! Im from Naperville so its a welcome home!  

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@apolitical1 Bautista Buch oh! Hahaha! ☺️

Answer 3

We moved to Naperville from Denver several years ago. Public schools here are amazing! Denver had school of choice. Not here, public schools are designated by your neighborhood.  

Answer 4

You are pretty safe and will be pleased with any school you choose. Naperville is known for good school systems, hope you enjoy our town, welcome!  

Answer 5

All of Naperville has outstanding schools! Neuqua Valley High School was picked yet again as the top Naperville school by US News and World Report. We’ve been blown away by the education that our kids are blessed to receive here. We moved from Wayzata, MN which is also known for wonderful schools, and have found that Naperville is a step up.  

Answer 6

Common core is a set of standards that all public IL schools would follow. Most private schools follow and align to those standards of where students need to be by the end of each grade, but I don't think it is necessarily required for private schools to follow them but many choose to. The curricular resources may be different from district to district though.  

Answer 7

Check out Covenant Classical

Comments

@latanya8083 thanks! Hadn’t heard of that school, but looks impressive. At least on their website!  

Answer 8

I agree with the above comments - all the schools here are on par with each other (and top rated) so you really can't go wrong picking. :)

Answer 9

When we moved here from Pittsburgh, I used Niche. com to narrow down which schools I wanted.  

Answer 10

You can't go wrong. Find a place you and your family would love to live over anything else. The schools will be great in Naperville no matter where you end up in comparison. I wish I knew that sooner. ❤️ Good luck!  

Comments

@hunt4 I was going to say the same. Find a neighborhood that works for your family. All the schools are great.  

Answer 11

We moved to Naperville from Allen, TX where we were spoiled to a vast array of student opportunities but I agree with the other comments saying that all Naperville schools are great and you cannot go wrong. To be honest I have been trying to figure out which high school was the best and I can’t see any area that one is actually better or worse than the others.  

Answer 12

We moved here from Colorado too! Good luck with your move.  

Answer 13

Why move here from Colorado?! We are moving to Denver in June

Comments

@galliard92573 Hantle haha! Great question, wish we could stay in CO forever. My daughter has a heart condition and living at altitude is less than ideal for her long term health.  

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@apolitical1 so sorry to hear that. Aside from top notch schools, we have top notch health care here too! Although probably much denser traffic and much higher taxes , but can’t have it all, I guess!  

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@mclaughlin3846 yes the health care is very appealing!  

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@apolitical1 oh sorry to hear that.  

Answer 14

Really? Can you do classical curriculum in a public school in co?  

Comments

@pula1259 we have charter schools and lots of them. Currently, my kids go to a core knowledge charter school

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@apolitical1 that's great!  

Answer 15

Check the high schools and then make your decision based on the school! 203 vs 204, homes will be bigger and less in 204, high schools are smaller and homes are closer to downtown Naperville in 203. We bought the most expensive fixer upper because we decided 203 was a better fit ‍♀️

Answer 16

We love All Saints Catholic Academy! Please message me if you would like more information!  

Answer 17

Naperville has amazing public schools! I would never spend money on private k-12 here.  

Answer 18

I'm a teacher - not in Naperville. TBH, Naperville schools are all good and you really can't go wrong. I am looking to relocate in Naperville, and with a 6 month old, I'm considering schools since the house will potentially be a long-term house. I've looked in 203 and 204. I've looked at areas that feed into all 5 high schools, and countless elementary and middle schools. Really, what's more important to me is lot size, access to highway, and neighborhood. because you really truly cannot go wrong with schools in Naperville! Good luck!  

Answer 19

I have grown up kids that graduated from district 204. They all graduated college and gained post grad degrees.  

Answer 20

I do not mean to come off in a rude way, I just always find these conversations about Naperville schools funny because they are all very similar and all rated very well. IL has laws which force curriculum to be similar but there is slight variation depending on the teacher. Are there any special needs or advance program or music/art or sports that are a particular interest? That might make a slight difference for suggestions here that might be dependent on a teacher at a school or something. Naperville is an affluent city and not like most cities. It is also less than half the size of Coloardo springs as far as population.  

Comments

@musgrave I guess that’s what I was trying to find out, If all the schools are similar or If they offer different things. In different parts of the country, common core is not the law of the land. I admit, I’m still learning about DuPage county. I emailed the Naperville superintendent who confirmed that all the curriculum aligns with the common core state standard. I’m not here to argue if that’s good or bad, but was hoping there might be something more in Naperville, maybe a school that values character education or at the very least an emphasis on classic literary works.  

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@apolitical1 gotcha! I personally think that character building type extracurricular programs are available, like student council and there is another program and I cannot remember the name of it (unless I am mistaken in what you mean by character education - I interpret it as developing children into moral, helpful, successful, non-bullying, critical thinkers, etc). I think these are usually taught regardless of curriculum here. The highschools also have class options such as humanities and peace and conflict studies, blended world history, etc. I am uncertain why you feel the curriculum does not emphasize classic literary works? The English courses here have many mandated classic works that have to be read by the students. Can you give an example of the type of classic works you are hoping for?  

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To give examples these are read classics: How to Kill a Mocking Bird, Huckleberry Finn, Romeo and Juliet, Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Scarlet Letter, 1984, Odyssey, the Giver, Fahrenheit 451, etc

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Thanks for that insight. I really appreciate it. When you look at a public school website, you have to make your way to the state site to find out what the expectations are for a kid. My kids are elementary so that’s what I compared. So, I compared IL state standard with Covington Classical (simply bc people on this site recommended that school). You can see the classical school spells out the literature the kids read. While it’s awesome that the public schools break apart stories, I’m interested in the classical literature because they (in theory) stand the tests of time and have deeper meaning/lessons than perhaps a generic story with a basic plot. Again, not saying the public schools don’t do a great job, based on what you and others have said, it appears they do a great job, it’s just none of this information can be found on any of their websites.  

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@musgrave again, thank you so much for your insight. I’m coming to the area knowing next to nothing, so all this information is so appreciated

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Of course, I was trying to figure out exactly what you were looking for. I know Charolette's web is a classic in elementary which I always loved! I think a majority of stories read are classics in IL schooling. I hope Dr Suess is still in elementary too and Where the Sidewalk ends! Those were elementary book staples that I hope are still going in IL (they were when I was in them)

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Oh another thing to mention too. depending on the school (this is where it can differ), some students who are selected/qualify do advanced reading and more critical thinking reading in elementary school so also ask about those option which might differ. My son is moreso strong in sciences/engineering/math so I have not explored the reading programs yet but when he is older I might. I remember that Salem Witch Trials were apart of that program a long time ago for 5th graders just to give as an example for critical thinking in elementary age (but I was up near Barrington too, but still IL)

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I can vouch that Covenant is truly a classical school, teaching latin starting in 3rd grade, reading the classics, and 0 common core. The headmaster, Dr Stone is wonderful and is very happy to answer any and all questions you have.  

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@apolitical1 my second grader read Miss Rumphius last week and I recognize a few of the other titles. We are in 204.  

Answer 21

Welcome. We love St. Raphael School. Smaller teacher:student ratio than public. Family community. Individual attention. With private school your neighborhood doesn’t dictate which school you attend which is nice so you can choose the house/area that fits your family best. www. st-raphaelschool. org Good luck.  

Answer 22

I think all schools are good. You can also consider based on location, amount of students, and demographic. And those are personal preference, some might like bigger school, some smaller.  

Answer 23

Welcome! Check out the Brookdale subdivision/neighborhood! They have elementary and middle school in the same neighborhood! And a racquet club and pool you can join!  

Answer 24

Seriously it's Naperville no "worse" schools

Answer 25

Naperville doesn't have any 'worst' schools. To see their ratings go to illinoisreportcard. com. From what I've read, the school system here is very different from CO.  

Answer 26

I’m a native of Colorado Springs and chose Naperville as it reminded me of home (Westside). As our experience was most likely different than most. I would encourage you to be clear on what socioeconomic and cultural experiences you want for your family and prioritize.  

Answer 27

Honestly the schools are great and very similar. Being a transplant from California the two things we looked at were commute to work and school start time. 203 starts an hour earlier then 204. Pick where you will live on finding a place you love and best commute time possible. We are in 204 and couldn’t be happier.  

Answer 28

We have great schools here. I'd send my kid to any of them.  

Answer 29

Both 203 & 204 are great. We go to All Saints. It’s a regional Catholic school with small class sizes and a strong academic focus. If that’s of interest to you please check it out and feel free to PM me. Good luck!  

Answer 30

I would say if you find a home you’re interested in, look at the data for the actual schools your kids would be going to. All schools in 204 or 203 are not created equal to others in the same school district. Also there are schools in 202 that are rated 9s and 10s, and the taxes are lower. I’ve seen at least 1 school rated at a 6 and several 7s in 204 and several rated as 9s and 10s in 202. All of these districts have portions in Naperville. We personally chose to send our child to All Saints Catholic Academy and we couldn’t be happier. Smaller class sizes, lots of specials including music, spanish, computers, PE, Art, and she’s only in 3rd grade. There are multiple highly rated private high schools. The thing about private schools is that the better the public schools are, the private schools have to be even better for people to pay out. So you have lots of choices/decisions to make. Good luck and welcome to Illinois!  

Answer 31

I have lived in Naperville since my 7th grade year in 1983 and my husband since 1981. I have taught in 204 and live in 203 with 4 children going through the school system from the gifted PI+ program, regular gifted PI program and a child with a 504 education. Naperville schools are top notch and well rated for very good reason. They prepare students for college programs unlike many other schools across the country. Your tax dollars are well spent here. I even went to the private catholic college prep Benet Academy here and I am saying this. If you have specific questions, I am more than happy to answer any of them if you want to PM me.  Good Luck!  

Comments

@campagna4202 what does PI+ mean?  

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@apolitical1 PI is for advanced/ gifted children who test into it. It begins around 4/5th grade

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PI is 203’s gifted program. It stands for Project Idea. PI Plus is the top 1% of the district that is offered a pullout program beginning in 4th grade through 8th grade. My oldest went through this program.  

Answer 32

You hit the jackpot for education in this area and most surrounding areas.  

Answer 33

You may as well make use of your tax dollars. Public. I mean that's WHY we live here.  

Comments

@benefactor no kidding!  

Answer 34

Public is common core. I am not a pro on parochial school but many periodical schools are common core as well. The several Montessori schools in the area utilize individual curriculums. I am a Montessori administrator if you want to PM me. I do not work at a school in Naperville but was a former director at a school here in Naperville. We have amazing Montessori schools in the area that support families from Infant through 12th grade.  

Comments

@riedel768 is there a Montessori high school in the area?  

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@psychopharmacology Carmel Montessori Academy is where my 16 year old attends, is amazing! We just got back from a two week trip to five countries in Europe that was amazing! They are doing a terrific job with this isolation schooling. The only other two high schools are in South Barrington and Evanston. Feel free to PM me and I’ll give you my cell.  

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@riedel768 thank you. I’m sending you a PM

Answer 35

Former Naperville teacher and now experienced Realtor. I would be happy to help you. www. riddleroadhomes. com

Answer 36

I moved to Naperville 7 years ago. The schools are great. It comes down to what u want for your kids. It comes down to find what you looking for in house. What sports they are doing. The biggest thing for me was finding the right house. We moved from CT class sizes was small. Class sizes are a lot bigger. All the schools have great gifted and plans for kids with challenges. With 3 kids myself not every program is the best for every kid. Please feel free to Pm me.  

Answer 37

Welcome! All schools in naperville are great! Lots of great neighborhoods too. Love brookdale. It’s close to 88, train, forest preserve trails, and downtown naperville. We have community pool and lots of activities.  

Answer 38

I'm in interesting in moving TO Colorado Springs, lol! Best wishes up here  

Answer 39

Welcome! I agree Naperville has GREAT schools. We personally chose to send our little one to All Saints Catholic Academy preschool 3’s full-time. We absolutely love the Teachers and Administration and the class specials included for her Spanish, Music, Art, PE. I LOVE the school has a full-time nurse on staff. They also offer before and after school programs. I love the safety and security plans of this school as well. It’s a family friendly community of families everyone who you meet is personable.