Original Research by School Decision on Oakwood School
Oakwood School is a public elementary school serving preschool through first grade in Lemont, part of Lemont-Bromberek CSD 113A. The school enrolls a small population of young learners across three grade levels, with a student body that is predominantly white, though Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students are represented. The school's specific enrollment breakdown and demographic detail appear in the data sections; what matters for most parents is the school's role as an entry point into a district that has recently undergone significant change.
The district context shapes what Oakwood offers. In April 2021, Lemont-Bromberek voters approved a substantial operating tax increase—the first such increase in over four decades—that funded the reopening of Central School and a shift to full-day kindergarten across the district. This was a deliberate programmatic choice by the district: where most Illinois peers had already moved to full-day K, Lemont was operating half-day programs. The referendum and its approval signal community investment in early childhood education and underscore that the district is actively working to compete for young families.
Oakwood's location places it in Lemont, a mixed-use village southwest of Chicago anchored by a historic downtown along the I&M Canal. The village has grown steadily from its quarry-town roots, with a housing boom beginning in the late 1980s that nearly tripled the population. New residential construction continues, and the housing market is active: homes are selling quickly, and the median home value in the area sits at a moderate level for Cook County. The village combines a walkable, historically textured downtown with newer subdivisions and single-family neighborhoods spreading west and south. Civic anchors include the Lemont Public Library, a Metra station on the Heritage Corridor line at downtown, and proximity to parks and forest preserves including Waterfall Glen and the Cal-Sag Trail. The area is home to Argonne National Laboratory, a major regional employer, alongside the CITGO refinery and other industrial and service-sector jobs.
State assessment data for Oakwood was not available, which is typical for schools serving only early elementary grades—kindergarten and first grade are not state-tested in Illinois. The same applies to graduation rates and chronic absenteeism metrics; those measures do not apply to schools with no secondary grades. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data and special education enrollment data were also not reported, so a parent seeking insight into the school's socioeconomic profile or special services capacity may want to look into those details directly with the district.
What parents can learn from the broader context is that the district has recently invested in schools, has chosen to enhance early learning with full-day kindergarten, and is situated in a growing, relatively stable community with active housing demand and civic life. Whether Oakwood itself is the right fit—its teaching approach, class composition, daily culture—would require visits and conversations with the school directly.
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