Congress Park Elem School, Brookfield IL

Original Research by School Decision on Congress Park Elem School

Congress Park Elementary is a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school in Brookfield, part of La Grange School District 102, serving roughly four hundred students in a mixed-income, primarily Latino and white enrollment. The school sits in a residential neighborhood on Shields Avenue, reflecting the village's distributed campuses rather than downtown siting.

Test results show mixed and uneven performance across grades. In English language arts, third grade reads weakly while fourth grade rises to around half proficient; by sixth grade proficiency climbs notably higher. Math follows a similar pattern, starting below half proficient in third grade, dipping in fourth, then improving in fifth and sixth. Science results, where available, show proficiency near the midpoint in fifth grade. The school participates at high rates in state assessments, and test-takers reflect full-attendance participation across the grades reported. A parent evaluating this school should note that lower grades show lower achievement levels, which sometimes reflects younger students' developmental position in the learning arc, though a parent may want to look into this further with the school directly to understand what supports are in place for early elementary learners.

Relative to the other districts in Cook County, Congress Park's overall proficiency sits above the midpoint of the county's schools, a positive positioning within its regional peer group, though the school does not rank in the upper tier. The data do not include chronic absenteeism rates, detailed enrollment breakdowns by program, or staff composition, so a reader wanting those details should ask the district directly.

Demographically, the school serves a Latino plurality at roughly half the enrollment, with a substantial white population and smaller counts of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch counts were not available in the data provided. The enrollment is stable across grade bands, with no dramatic swings suggesting growth pressures or contraction.

The surrounding community offers a moderately walkable downtown anchored by the Metra BNSF rail line, with Brookfield Zoo as the dominant regional employer and civic draw. The housing market remains tight; median home values have appreciated modestly year over year, and the village is actively redeveloping downtown parcels into multifamily units. This is solidly suburban Cook County territory with access to both regional transit and neighborhood amenities, but also subject to the property-tax obligations that come with suburban homeownership.

In April 2025, district voters approved a significant bond referendum to address overcrowding, update safety infrastructure, and repair aging buildings across the district. That authorization carries lasting implications: families in the district face a multi-year increase in their property-tax obligations, offsetting some of the appeal of the area's home values. The funding does direct capital toward the schools themselves, including a new gymnasium at another elementary building, so the impact on facility conditions should be observable over the coming years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 73% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 61% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 64% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 75% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 72% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 67% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 77% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 84% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 61% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolLa Grange SD 102, 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.