Original Research by School Decision on Morton High School
Morton High School serves grades nine through twelve in Morton, a growing village in Tazewell County in the Peoria metro area. The school enrolls a mid-sized cohort of students, with roughly equal numbers across each grade. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller populations of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students; state testing data, graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and measures of proficiency among school-specific populations were not available, so a full academic picture cannot be drawn from the data provided.
Morton itself is a residential, suburban community with a strong industrial anchor. The village is home to the Libby's/Nestlé pumpkin cannery, one of the world's largest canned-pumpkin processors, as well as a major Caterpillar distribution center. Homeownership is high, and the village has a small but active downtown along Main Street with local restaurants and shops. The community is growing steadily; population has risen in recent years, and new residential subdivisions are actively expanding. Housing inventory in the area is relatively high and homes move at a brisk pace, with median home values in the modest range for Illinois and strong year-over-year appreciation. The housing market is tight in supply relative to demand, indicating sustained buyer interest.
The high school sits at the edge of this landscape. It is a regular public secondary school, not a magnet or charter, operated by Morton CUSD 709. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not reported, making it difficult to assess the economic diversity of the school's enrollment or its concentration of poverty. Similarly, data on students with individualized education programs or English learners were not available.
At the district level, Morton CUSD 709 has recently undergone structural changes. The board created a new Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Technology, and Safety position starting July 2025, consolidating district-wide oversight of curriculum, instructional technology, and safety planning under a single leader. The district is also working through a technology task force that has recommended an AI policy, required keyboard cases for grades seven through twelve, restricted direct YouTube access in classrooms, and an adjusted high school cell-phone policy—changes intended to shape day-to-day technology use and phone policies if adopted. Additionally, a countywide referendum on a one-cent school sales tax affecting all Tazewell County districts, including Morton, is on the November ballot and would create a dedicated revenue stream for school facilities if passed.
Morton High School sits within Tazewell County, which contains a cohort of other districts. No comparison metrics—such as proficiency rates, graduation rates, or chronic absenteeism—were available for this school, so it cannot be positioned relative to its county peers on academic grounds.
A parent considering this school would want to ask the district and high school directly for its most recent state assessment results, graduation rate, and attendance data. The structural changes underway in curriculum leadership and technology policy may also be worth tracking if day-to-day classroom and device practices matter to your family's approach to high school.
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