Winston Campus Elementary, Palatine IL

Original Research by School Decision on Winston Campus Elementary

Winston Campus Elementary is a small PreK through sixth-grade school in Palatine, part of Community Consolidated School District 15 in Cook County, serving a modest enrollment distributed fairly evenly across its grade band. The school's racial and ethnic composition is diverse: just over half the enrollment identifies as white, roughly a third is Hispanic, and smaller shares are Asian or two or more races, with very few students identifying as Black or Native American.

Test results on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness show proficiency rates that warrant attention. In math, third graders reached proficiency at a modest rate, fourth graders at a notably lower rate, fifth graders slightly higher, and sixth graders considerably above the grades immediately below. English language arts results track similarly, with lower rates in the middle grades and an uptick in sixth grade. Science proficiency in fifth grade was above the midpoint, suggesting some strength in that area. Across tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency rate places it below the midpoint among Cook County's school districts. A parent may want to discuss with the school what instructional supports and interventions are available, particularly for the transition grades where proficiency dips.

State assessment data for seventh grade appears limited or suppressed in the public record; the school houses only two seventh graders, which likely explains missing or withheld results.

The school sits within Palatine, a residential suburb about half an hour northwest of Chicago straddling Cook and Lake counties. Palatine has an identifiable downtown anchored by the Metra station with mixed-use development and civic life nearby. The broader village is car-oriented residential neighborhoods. Housing values in the 60074 zip code are moderate for the region, and rental rates are middle-market; the affordability calculation suggests mortgage and rent levels are manageable for many working families in the area, though housing costs have tended upward.

District 15 approved a substantial bond referendum in 2022 called Moving 15 Forward, which has funded renovation and modernization of school facilities across the system, including updates to classrooms, science labs, and libraries. The district also moved to full-day kindergarten beginning in the 2024-25 school year and restructured its school organization, moving sixth grade into middle schools and realigning feeder patterns to District 211 high schools. School boundaries were redrawn for 2024-25 to reflect these changes, including an equitable distribution of special education, multilingual, and gifted programs across buildings.

The school serves families seeking a neighborhood elementary school in a diverse, suburban commuter community with proximity to the Metra line and access to parks and local services. Its small size and PreK-through-sixth configuration mean students stay within one building through the end of elementary, rather than transitioning to a separate middle school, which can be an advantage for continuity, though the district's recent reorganization means sixth graders now feed into middle schools beginning in 2024-25. A parent considering Winston should understand that proficiency in math and ELA runs below typical district and state benchmarks in grades three through five, and should explore the school's current academic support and instructional approaches in those areas.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 52% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 48% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 39% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 38% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 47% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 53% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 57% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 56% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 48% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

This schoolPalatine CCSD 15, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income0%Higher-income47%47 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income0%Higher-income68%68 pp gap