Westdale Elem School, Northlake IL

Original Research by School Decision on Westdale Elem School

Westdale Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Northlake, a postwar suburb roughly fifteen miles west of downtown Chicago. The school is one of six in Mannheim School District 83, which spans three communities (Franklin Park, Melrose Park, and Northlake) and serves students through middle grade eight.

The student body at Westdale is predominantly Hispanic, with a small number of Asian, White, and Black students; enrollment across the school sits at a modest level for its grade band, with class sizes ranging from around sixty to eighty-nine students per grade. The school did not report eligibility rates for free or reduced-price lunch or counts of students with special needs or English learners, so those details are not available here. Proficiency data for grades six through eight is missing because Westdale does not serve those grades.

On state reading and math assessments, Westdale's proficiency rates run below the midpoint for schools in Cook County. In third grade, fewer than a quarter of students showed proficiency in math, with slightly lower performance in reading. Fourth grade showed modest improvement in reading but continued low proficiency in math. Fifth grade, the school's strongest tested grade, showed reading proficiency around six in ten and math proficiency around four in ten; science proficiency in fifth grade was also around one in two. The school has full or near-full test participation, which is a strength. A parent may want to look into what interventions or academic supports the school offers in math, where proficiency lags most.

Northlake itself is built out and stable rather than booming. The community is car-oriented, centered on a retail strip along North Avenue where big-box stores and warehouse tenants drive the economy. Recent development has leaned toward infill projects and supportive housing rather than new single-family tracts. Housing values in the area are modest, running below state and national medians, and the market has remained neutral in recent quarters. Pace bus service connects the area to the CTA and Metra, though daily life depends heavily on a car. The Northlake Public Library and neighborhood parks anchor civic life.

In January 2024, the district adopted a five-year strategic plan centered on student achievement, inclusive culture, family involvement, staff development, and equitable resource use. That plan will guide spending and curriculum decisions through 2029. The school itself is a regular public elementary with a standard curriculum model; the data provided did not include information about special programming, magnet status, or detailed staffing.

For families considering Northlake and Westdale, the school offers neighborhood-based elementary education in a stable, affordable suburb with mixed residential and industrial character. Academic proficiency is a soft spot, particularly in math, and would benefit from a direct conversation with school staff about classroom instruction, small-group support, and any targeted reading or numeracy initiatives already underway.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 35% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 27% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 22% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 36% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 52% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 34% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

This schoolMannheim SD 83, 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.