Original Research by School Decision on Highland Park High School
Highland Park High School serves grades nine through twelve in an affluent North Shore suburb roughly 25 miles north of downtown Chicago. The school is part of Township High School District 113, which operates two high schools in the area and has recently restructured its central instructional leadership, pushing curriculum and pedagogy decisions down to the individual school level. As a result, parents should expect Highland Park High School to operate with more autonomy over its instructional approach than it may have in the past.
The student body is diverse by economics and race/ethnicity. A substantial majority of students are white, though Hispanic students form a significant second group, with smaller populations of Asian, multiracial, and Black students. The enrollment is moderate in size for a comprehensive high school, spread fairly evenly across the four grades. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data and special education and English learner enrollment counts were not available, so a parent would need to contact the school directly to understand the full economic and support-service context of the building.
State testing data was not available for Highland Park High School, so proficiency rates and trends cannot be reported here. The school does not publish a graduation rate in state records. A parent seeking academic performance information would want to ask the school directly about graduation outcomes, standardized test results if the school administers them, college enrollment patterns, and how students perform on AP or other advanced coursework.
The community itself is in significant housing transition. The median home value in the zip code is substantially above the state benchmark, and rental costs are correspondingly high, placing the area squarely in the affluent tier for the Chicago region. The housing market is active, with new residential development underway downtown and on former industrial sites, including a major townhome project on the former Solo Cup site slated to begin construction in the second half of this year. A recent zoning change permits residential buildings near the downtown core, which may gradually shift the neighborhood character from purely suburban to more mixed-use. Property taxes are a significant line item; the district approved the maximum allowable levy increase for 2026, which directly affects the cost of living for current and prospective families in Highland Park.
The school sits in a community with strong civic infrastructure. The downtown business district is within walking distance of the Metra train station, the public library, and cultural anchors like the Ravinia Festival. Lake Michigan beach access is less than a mile from downtown. This geography means families in Highland Park have urban and cultural amenities nearby while living in a residential suburb.
One structural shift worth noting: the district eliminated its district-wide assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, and assessment after the 2023-2024 school year. Curriculum and instructional leadership now rest with the principal at each high school. This means Highland Park High School has greater flexibility to set its own instructional direction, but it also means the school is no longer tethered to a single district-wide curriculum framework that would mirror Deerfield High School, the other district high school. Parents should expect the two schools to develop distinct characters over time.
The school's programs, staffing levels, attendance and discipline data, course offerings, and enrollment trends were not detailed in publicly available records, so a parent would want to request that information directly from the school. The same applies to any specialized programs, career pathways, or athletic and extracurricular offerings that may be central to a family's decision.
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