Nathan Hale Intermediate, Crestwood IL

Original Research by School Decision on Nathan Hale Intermediate

Nathan Hale Intermediate is a small elementary school serving grades four and five in Crestwood, a residential suburb on Cook County's southwest edge. The school enrolls a modest number of students, drawn from a community that is predominantly Latino and Black, with a substantial share of both groups present. Enrollment is fairly evenly split between the two grade levels.

In terms of academic performance, the school faces significant headwinds. On the Illinois Assessment of Readiness in mathematics, fourth-grade students showed proficiency in the range of roughly one quarter to one third, while fifth-graders performed lower, around one fifth. English language arts results were somewhat stronger; fourth and fifth graders each reached proficiency at a rate around two fifths. Science proficiency at fifth grade was notably low, in the range of one sixth. These results place the school in the bottom quartile among Cook County districts on an overall proficiency index. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what interventions or support structures are in place, and whether the school has identified specific areas for improvement.

The school's grade configuration is notably narrow, serving only grades four and five, which means students transition to a middle school after fifth grade rather than staying on campus. This streamlined structure affects the learning environments available—the school does not offer the full arc of upper-middle-school courses or advanced pathways, since those grades are not present.

The broader Crestwood context is that of a stable, built-out suburb with little population change over recent decades. Housing in the area is modest in value and holds steady demand; the local economy centers on retail and service employment concentrated along major arterials, particularly the Rivercrest Shopping Center. Schools here serve a largely residential base without a significant influx of new development. The district, Cook County SD 130, serves Alsip, Blue Island, and Crestwood; no major recent changes to district operations or curriculum were publicly documented, suggesting a period of stability rather than strategic shifts.

Nathan Hale is a conventional public school without magnet or charter designation. It does not operate under Title I status, and demographic data on special-education enrollment and English learners were not available. Overall, this is a small neighborhood elementary school in a suburban setting serving a diverse community, facing academic performance challenges that a prospective family would want to understand in detail before enrollment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 21% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 19% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 35% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 44%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 20% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolCook County SD 130, 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.