Melrose Park Elem School, Melrose Park IL

Original Research by School Decision on Melrose Park Elem School

Melrose Park Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-K through fifth grade in a densely built, mixed-use industrial and residential village west of Chicago. The school enrolls a substantial student body drawn almost entirely from the local Latino community, with a smaller presence of families from other backgrounds. The enrollment spans primarily the early grades, with only a handful of students in grades six through eight.

The school participates in an expanded one-way dual language program that the district has been phasing in across multiple elementary schools. Beginning in kindergarten and third grade, this model teaches both English and Spanish side by side, moving away from the older self-contained transitional bilingual approach. Each year the district adds another grade level to the program. This represents a sustained instructional commitment to biliteracy and reflects deliberate district strategy. Families choosing Melrose Park for their young children should understand that this bilingual approach, rather than English-only instruction, is central to the school's pedagogy.

State assessment data was available for grades three through five in both mathematics and English language arts, as well as for fifth-grade science. The results show weak proficiency. In mathematics, grades three and four each show proficiency rates in the low range, while grade five proficiency drops further. English language arts shows similar patterns in grades three and four, though grade five performs substantially higher. Science proficiency in grade five is also low. When proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects are averaged together, the school falls below the midpoint among districts in Cook County. A parent may want to discuss these results directly with the school to understand what supports are in place and what improvement initiatives are underway.

The assessment results should be contextualized: the school serves a population where many students may be navigating early stages of English acquisition alongside home Spanish use, and test participation rates are very high, suggesting the school is testing all eligible students rather than exempting populations. Still, the proficiency gap is substantial enough to warrant inquiry about curriculum, instructional materials, teacher training in dual language methodology, and assessment practices specific to bilingual learners.

Melrose Park sits in a stable, largely built-out residential and commercial environment. The housing market shows modest price movement, with home values reflecting the Cook County suburban corridor. The village emphasizes its role as a corporate and industrial hub, with a mix of legacy manufacturers and newer distribution centers. Public transit includes a Metra commuter rail station with service to downtown Chicago and Pace bus routes along major corridors. The school's location on West Lake Street places it within the walkable residential grid rather than at a campus edge.

The district offers no state testing results for grades six, seven, or eight, which aligns with the school's enrolled population in those grades being very small. This is a pre-K-to-five school in all but name, serving students primarily through the elementary years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 27% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 37% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 44% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 52% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 30% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolMaywood-Melrose Park-Broadview 89, 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.