The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in English language arts. The lowest is 72% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Butterfield School
Butterfield School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Libertyville, a residential village about a half-hour north of Chicago in Lake County. The school sits on Lake Street in a community that is largely built out and focused on incremental redevelopment rather than expansion. Housing values in the area reflect strong local demand, and the broader economic context is stable, with median household incomes above the national average and moderate employment levels.
The school enrolls a little over five hundred students, with enrollment distributed across the early grade bands. The student body is predominantly white, with meaningful representation from Asian American, Hispanic, and multiracial families. The demographic makeup reflects the character of the surrounding village. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor was information on special education enrollment or English learner populations.
In reading and language arts on the most recent state assessment, Butterfield performed solidly. Third graders came in around the mid-range of proficiency; fourth and fifth graders performed stronger, with the fifth grade class showing a higher share meeting state standards. Fifth grade science proficiency came in around the same level as math for that grade. Math results across the elementary grades fell mostly in the low-to-mid range of the proficiency spectrum, with fourth grade slightly above third and fifth grades.
Compared to other districts in Lake County, Butterfield ranks in the top quartile when proficiency is averaged across tested subjects and grades. That said, a parent reviewing the individual grade-by-grade results may notice variability, particularly between reading and math, and between grades. Growth from third to fifth grade in reading is encouraging; the math picture is flatter. The school serves only elementary grades, so state testing does not extend to middle or high school performance.
A graduation rate is not applicable to this school. Attendance and chronic absenteeism data were not provided.
Libertyville School District 70, the parent district, has made several recent instructional shifts. Starting in the 2023-24 school year, it adopted Amplify CKLA, a Science of Reading-aligned English language arts curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade. For the 2025-26 school year, the district introduced a new "Kindergarten Launch to Learning" model in which incoming kindergartners spend two days in mixed groups before teachers place them in home classrooms based on observed peer dynamics and learning styles. Butterfield houses the district's tuition-based Little Sprouts Preschool, a blended program for general and special education that began in the 2022-23 school year. The district adopted a 2023-2028 strategic plan addressing curriculum funding, boundary review, and exploration of additional local revenue sources and a potential education foundation.
Libertyville itself is a village of mixed-use character. The historic downtown along Milwaukee Avenue is walkable and hosts a Metra commuter rail station, library, Cook Park, and retail and dining options. The broader village is car-oriented and suburban in feel. Civic life concentrates downtown. Schools sit on separate campuses. Advocate Condell Medical Center is the largest employer. The community is pursuing housing strategies that include attainable units through its 2025 Attainable Housing Plan, with active projects including a 91-unit multifamily building and age-restricted single-family redevelopment underway. Parks, trails, and forest preserves anchor outdoor access.
A parent considering Butterfield should understand that the school serves a specific, early-career grade band with no data on transitions to middle school. The proficiency picture is mixed: strong gains in reading from third to fifth grade suggest effective literacy work, and performance sits above the county median, but math growth is modest and neither subject reaches the highest proficiency bands at any tested grade. The adoption of a structured, Science of Reading-aligned curriculum and the new kindergarten transition model are recent pedagogical changes that reflect the district's intentional approach to early literacy and social-emotional foundation-building. Housing and community context are stable and walkable in the downtown core, more auto-dependent in residential areas. A parent may want to discuss with the school the factors driving the performance differences between grades and subjects, and to see samples of work in math across the elementary sequence.
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