The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hickory Bend Elem School
Hickory Bend Elementary is a small kindergarten-through-fourth-grade school in Glenwood, a quiet residential village south of Chicago. The school currently enrolls roughly a mid-sized student body across five grade levels, with fairly balanced cohorts in each year from kindergarten through fourth grade. The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic enrollment, and a very small representation of white and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility data were not available, so a parent looking to understand the school's economic context would need to contact the school or district directly on that point.
State testing results from the 2024-25 school year show proficiency rates in both English language arts and math that are well below the midpoint among Cook County districts. In third-grade math, roughly one in four students met the proficiency standard. Fourth-grade performance is similar, with roughly one in five students proficient in math and roughly one in three in English language arts. These results reflect a pattern of lower academic attainment; a parent may want to look into the school's literacy and numeracy support structures, intervention practices, and teacher staffing in detail with the district.
The school sits within a newly strengthened instructional environment. In August and September 2024, Brookwood School District opened dedicated SmartLabs at both Hickory Bend and its sister elementary school, creating hands-on spaces for student work in coding, robotics, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence. This means every elementary student in the district now passes through STEM-focused instruction as part of the regular curriculum, a meaningful facilities and pedagogy addition that the school did not have before.
Glenwood itself is a tree-lined, car-dependent suburban village of modest size, consisting mainly of affordable single-family ranch and split-level homes surrounded by forest preserves and parks. The village center is anchored by a small commercial strip on Main Street, and residents typically drive to nearby Homewood for larger shopping needs. The housing market shows modest home values and rental rates below the Illinois state benchmark, making the area relatively affordable compared to broader Chicago suburbs. Transactional data indicate active supply of homes for sale, and the village is pursuing gradual redevelopment of commercial corridors and former sites rather than rapid new construction.
The school's position on state assessments places it in the bottom quartile of Cook County districts by proficiency index. Most students in grades three and four are not yet meeting state proficiency thresholds in reading and math. Whether this school is right for a family depends on their appetite for supporting foundational skills at home and their confidence in the school's response to those gaps. The newly installed STEM labs and hands-on learning opportunities are a genuine asset for students interested in science and engineering pathways.
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