The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Math. The lowest is 40% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on John a Bannes Elem School
John A Bannes Elementary is a small public school of about 440 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade, located in Tinley Park on the southwest edge of Chicago. The school sits in Kirby School District 140, which covers Tinley Park and Orland Hills.
The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic, Asian, and Black students making up a smaller combined share. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch rates or English learner enrollment figures, so the socioeconomic and language-background makeup is not available from public data. The school does report some enrollment of students with individualized education plans, though that count is not disclosed.
On state assessments administered in spring 2025, the school's results were mixed. In third-grade mathematics, proficiency ran relatively strong. By fourth and fifth grade, however, math proficiency dropped noticeably lower. In English language arts, third graders showed the lowest results, while fourth and fifth graders performed somewhat better but still below where a parent might hope. Science results, available only for fifth grade, fell below proficiency targets. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among Cook County's districts, but an individual parent would want to look further into what support exists for students not yet proficient, especially in upper elementary math and science.
Sixth grade and beyond do not appear in the school's results because Bannes serves only through fifth grade; testing data for grades six through eight are absent for that reason. The school shows full student participation in all tested grades, which means assessment data capture the cohort as administered.
Tinley Park itself is a mixed-use southwest suburb of about forty thousand people that blends a historic walkable downtown anchored by two Metra commuter rail stations with car-oriented commercial strips and subdivisions. The downtown along Oak Park Avenue has seen significant recent investment: Harmony Square, a new plaza with a concert stage and splash pad, opened in 2025; the Boulevard at Central Station brings mixed-use apartments and retail to a reconstructed downtown core; and West Point at Harmony Square will add more apartments and townhomes on the former Central Middle School site. The broader region is one of Chicago's largest suburban employment centers, home to manufacturing, distribution, corporate offices, and retail activity. Housing values in the 60477 zip code are moderate for the Chicago area, and rental rates are mid-range; the market shows substantial supply relative to demand, with many listings available and a reasonable days-on-market timeframe.
Kirby District 140 recently completed a major capital project: voters approved a 2022 referendum to replace the aging Fernway Park Elementary with a new building roughly double the size, funded entirely from reserves without raising property taxes. The new school opened for the 2025-26 school year. The district also centralized its early childhood center at Fernway, which freed classroom space at other elementary buildings, including Bannes. These changes signal active district management and a willingness to invest in facilities without drawing down reserves that could affect taxes.
John A Bannes is a straightforward neighborhood elementary school. It is not a magnet or charter school, carries no special designation, and serves a predominantly white residential area with a growing Hispanic population. A parent choosing this school would be selecting a local option anchored in the Tinley Park community, with moderate academic performance in the early grades that softens in upper elementary, and the practical advantage of fitting into a district actively maintaining and upgrading its buildings.
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