Oak Terrace Elem School, Highwood IL

Original Research by School Decision on Oak Terrace Elem School

Oak Terrace Elementary is a prekindergarten-through-fifth-grade school in Highwood serving a diverse student body that is roughly split between Hispanic and white students, with smaller Asian populations. The school sits in a small North Shore city that has shifted from a working-class residential character built by Italian stonemasons and shaped by Fort Sheridan into an increasingly mixed-use community: downtown Highwood now functions as a regional dining and nightlife destination with a compact, walkable core, while the surrounding neighborhoods remain predominantly residential. Housing costs in the area are well above the Lake County median, and the community is pursuing higher-density downtown redevelopment, including a forthcoming six-story mixed-use building replacing a longtime restaurant on Sheridan Road.

The school was completed as part of a major district renovation project funded by a bond referendum in 2022, and it now houses North Shore SD 112's consolidated dual-language program starting in the 2027-28 school year, when Red Oak Elementary closes. This consolidation reflects a substantial decline in dual-language enrollment since 2020-21, driven partly by a modest decrease in the district's Hispanic student population. That transition will reshape attendance patterns and represents a significant change for families in the feeder area. The facilities renovation itself, while adding to property taxes, has delivered modern air-quality systems, security upgrades, and refreshed buildings across the district.

On the most recent Illinois state assessments, Oak Terrace's proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects place it slightly above the midpoint when compared to other district schools in Lake County. In mathematics, third and fourth graders showed proficiency rates just below or at the halfway mark across state standards. Fifth grade performed similarly in math but notably stronger in English language arts, with substantially more than half of students showing proficiency. Third grade showed stronger ELA results than math. Science proficiency in fifth grade came in just under the midpoint. The school achieves participation rates at or near full enrollment in tested grades, and state testing cut scores changed this year, making year-to-year trend comparison not yet feasible. A parent may want to ask the school directly about how these results connect to instructional priorities and whether there are particular grade spans where the school is focusing additional support.

The school does not report data on free-or-reduced-price lunch participation, chronic absenteeism, or special education enrollment, so gaps remain in the full picture of economic need and academic support patterns. Graduation rate does not apply, as the school serves only early grades. The school's enrollment is small to moderate for its grade band, with a substantial share of the school population in pre-K, and smaller enrollments in the tested elementary grades. The district's long-term attendance boundaries will shift when Oak Terrace assumes the dual-language program in 2027-28, so families should clarify current and future boundary assignments with the district to understand whether their address will feed to Oak Terrace or another school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 74% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 62% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 65% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 67% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 72% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 75% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 59% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with 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.