Heritage Middle School, Berwyn IL

Original Research by School Decision on Heritage Middle School

Heritage Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade in Berwyn, an inner-ring Chicago suburb of brick bungalows and dense residential blocks. The school has a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white, Black, and Asian students. Enrollment sits at roughly four hundred sixty students across the three grades, with a fairly even split across cohorts.

On state assessments in 2024-25, Heritage showed mixed results that track upward through the grades. In sixth-grade math and English language arts, proficiency hovered in the low-to-mid range. By eighth grade, the picture improved noticeably: math proficiency climbed to just above half of students, and English proficiency rose to near three-quarters. The eighth-grade science assessment showed roughly half of students proficient. This progression suggests the school is either enrolling students who build skills as they advance or teaching in ways that narrow gaps over time. When compared to schools across Cook County, Heritage's overall proficiency index sits above the county median, a solid positioning though not at the top.

The school is part of Berwyn South School District 100, a district that has recently undertaken substantial curriculum shifts visible to families. The district adopted Amplify CKLA, a structured-literacy program, in elementary grades and Amplify ELA in middle school, paired with Bridges in Mathematics for elementary and the Desmos Middle School Math Curriculum for grades 6-8. These changes reshape the daily work of reading, writing, and mathematics instruction. The district also operates a K-8 dual-language Spanish-English program spanning six schools, with the first middle school cohort graduating in 2023-24, meaning families can now keep students in a continuous bilingual pathway from kindergarten through eighth grade if they choose.

Berwyn itself is a fully built-out suburb with no sprawl, known for its walkable blocks of brick homes, the Depot District as a downtown, and a long-standing ethnically diverse population. Housing values have remained moderate and relatively stable; the market shifted in 2025 from a strong seller's market to a more neutral one. The city is anchored by MacNeal Hospital (part of Loyola Medicine), three BNSF Metra stations, and the Berwyn Public Library, with CTA Blue and Pink lines accessible nearby.

State testing data for elementary grades was not available; the school serves only middle school, so no graduation rate applies. Data on free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, English learner enrollment, and attendance was not provided. A parent may want to reach out to the school directly to understand the makeup of student supports, the availability of special-education services, or whether the school offers any middle school electives or clubs beyond the core curriculum.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 22% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 31% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 38% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 41% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 43% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 62% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Science

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 41% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolBerwyn South SD 100, 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.