Fairview South Elementary School, Skokie IL

Original Research by School Decision on Fairview South Elementary School

Fairview South Elementary School is the sole PreK-8 school serving Fairview School District 72 in Skokie, a diverse suburban village north of Chicago. The school operates across a single building, which underwent substantial renovation and expansion from 2022 through 2024, including classroom additions, a renovated learning commons called the Falcon's Nest, interior upgrades throughout, and parking improvements. For families considering the district, this facility work represents a lasting physical asset.

The school enrolls a diverse student body reflective of the village itself. White students comprise just under half the enrollment, Asian students make up roughly a quarter, Hispanic students about a seventh, multiracial students a modest share, and Black students a smaller proportion. The school also serves students across a wide range of languages and backgrounds. The enrollment is stable across grade bands, with slightly more students in the middle grades than the early elementary years, creating a balanced PreK-8 pipeline.

Academically, the school shows uneven strength across subjects and grade levels. English language arts performance is notably strong in the upper grades, particularly in grade 8, where proficiency rates are in the high range. Grades 5, 6, and 7 also show solid ELA proficiency. The earliest tested grades in ELA (grades 3 and 4) hover in the mid to high range. Mathematics tells a different story. Third and fourth grade math proficiency rates are in the high range, but a clear downward pattern emerges in grades 5 through 8, with sixth grade showing a marked drop and grades 6, 7, and 8 all falling below a majority proficiency rate. Science results are available only for grades 5 and 8. Fifth grade science proficiency sits in the modest range, while eighth grade science is considerably stronger, in the high range.

Compared to districts across Cook County, Fairview South's overall proficiency index positions the school in the top quartile. This reflects the strength of the ELA program and the solid elementary mathematics foundation, though the data suggests a parent evaluating the school might want to investigate the middle grades mathematics trajectory more closely and understand what support systems are in place to address the performance decline in that grade span and subject.

The district has embedded a Project Lead The Way curriculum schoolwide and was recognized as a distinguished PLTW school for the 2023-24 school year, one of a small number of middle schools nationally to receive that designation. This reflects an intentional, established STEM focus that shapes pedagogy across grades.

Skokie itself is an inner-ring suburban village with tree-lined residential blocks, major commercial corridors, and significant diversity. The housing market shows median home values in the mid to upper range, reflecting suburban positioning, and median rents are moderate. The community is in an active phase of transit-oriented development and redevelopment, with the nearby CTA Yellow Line (Skokie Swift) providing rail access to Chicago, and ongoing conversion of older commercial sites and shopping centers into mixed-use communities with apartments and smaller retail. Civic amenities include the Skokie Public Library and an extensive park system, and the North Branch Trail provides a major recreational corridor. The village is home to healthcare, pharmaceutical, and retail employers.

The single-school design of Fairview 72 means families in the district have one pathway for their children from pre-K through eighth grade, with the recent facility investment making that pathway more physically current than before. Parents should be aware that the school's mathematics performance declines noticeably in the upper middle grades, a pattern worth discussing directly with staff to understand underlying factors and available interventions.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 69%

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

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 60%

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

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 70%

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

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

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 79%

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

Grade 674%

School 74% · District 74%

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

Grade 777%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 889%

School 89% · District 89%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Science

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 61%

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

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

This schoolFairview SD 72, 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.