Ravinia Elem School, Highland Park IL

Original Research by School Decision on Ravinia Elem School

Ravinia Elementary is a small, regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Highland Park, an affluent North Shore community along Lake Michigan. The school sits in a residential neighborhood rather than downtown, and draws from a community that is predominantly white with smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students.

The school's test results show solid proficiency in reading and math across the tested grades, with a few patterns worth noting. In math, proficiency rates decline gradually across grades three through five, beginning at a strong level in third grade and dipping to a lower rate by fifth grade. Reading proficiency is more varied: fourth grade performs notably well, while third grade sits lower and fifth grade falls between them. In the one grade tested for science, fifth-grade results are the lowest area across subjects. Overall, Ravinia's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Lake County district schools, a meaningful position that reflects stronger-than-median performance across the region.

Highland Park and the broader North Shore area are in active transition. The town is concentrated around a vibrant downtown business district and library with direct Metra rail access to Chicago, but residential development is accelerating, with several large housing projects either underway or approved. This growth, combined with the recent completion of Ravinia's facilities renovation through the district's 2022 bond referendum, signals ongoing investment. The renovation included security upgrades, air-quality systems, and modernized learning spaces. For families considering the school, it is worth noting that the bond referendum raised estimated property tax costs, a lasting factor for anyone weighing the district.

The district itself is navigating changes in its student population. Since 2020-21, dual-language program enrollment and Hispanic student enrollment have both declined meaningfully, prompting the district to consolidate its dual-language program from Red Oak Elementary into Oak Terrace Elementary when Red Oak closes at the end of the 2026-27 school year. This reshaping affects attendance boundaries and the bilingual program landscape.

Enrollment at Ravinia is small, consistent across its six grades from kindergarten through fifth grade. The student body is predominantly white; a small share are Hispanic, and an even smaller share are Asian or multiracial. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the extent of economic need among Ravinia families is not known from the school's reported information. Special education and English learner enrollment data were also not available at the school level.

A parent considering Ravinia would find a school within a renovated building in an affluent, largely white community with strong regional academic performance, situated in a town actively adding housing and experiencing demographic shifts in its school-age population.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 74% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 62% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 65% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 67% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 487%

School 87% · District 72% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 75% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 59% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

This schoolNorth Shore SD 112, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.