The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Math. The lowest is 72% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Indian Trail Elem School
Indian Trail Elementary serves first through fourth grades in Frankfort, a residential Chicago suburb south of the city. The school is part of Summit Hill School District 161, which has undergone significant recent restructuring. After a contentious December 2023 board vote, the district closed both Arbury Hills Elementary in Mokena and Frankfort Square Elementary in Frankfort, consolidating their students into remaining schools. This closure reshaped attendance patterns across the district and became the focus of a November 2024 advisory referendum on the property tax implications. The April 2025 school board election then brought new leadership after voters ousted incumbents who had backed the closures. For families considering the area, this period of instability and the recent board turnover represents a significant context, though the new board's direction remains to be seen.
Indian Trail's enrollment is small to modest for an elementary school at that grade band, with relatively balanced class sizes across grades one through four. The student body is predominantly white, with meaningful representation of Black and Hispanic students and smaller numbers of Asian and multiracial students. Comprehensive free-and-reduced-price lunch data was not available, and information on students receiving special education services or English learner support was also absent from the reported data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the services available.
On state testing, Indian Trail shows mixed results. In grade three mathematics, students performed above the midpoint for proficiency, with roughly four in five reaching proficient or advanced levels. Grade three English language arts was somewhat lower, with about seven in ten proficient or above. Grade four tells a different story: mathematics proficiency dropped to roughly two-thirds, while English language arts held steadier at near three-fourths. The school achieved near-universal test participation, which is a strength. State testing data for fifth through eighth grades was not available; the school does not serve those grades, so no data appears for them. When proficiency rates across grade three and four in both subjects are averaged together, Indian Trail places in the top quartile among Will County districts on overall proficiency, a meaningful strength. That said, the year-to-year decline in grade four mathematics from grade three's results is worth watching and a parent may want to discuss with the school what academic supports are in place and whether there are particular challenges in the upper elementary grades.
Frankfort itself is a car-oriented village that blends historic downtown architecture around Breidert Green with newer single-family subdivisions. The walkable core has year-round events and the 22-mile Old Plank Road Trail runs through town, but most of the village is suburban and low-density. Schools sit on separate campuses away from downtown. The village has steady residential growth driven by proximity to Interstate 80, with new subdivisions and townhome developments continuing to come online. Housing values in the area reflect stable, modest appreciation, and the market has reasonable inventory relative to demand, making it accessible for a range of buyers. The commute to Chicago requires a car; there is no public transit within Frankfort itself, though nearby Metra rail stations serve the region.
Indian Trail represents a small, neighborhood elementary school in a growing residential area with solid proficiency in the early grades, though with some softness in grade four mathematics that warrants conversation with the school. The school sits within a district that has recently experienced leadership change and facility consolidation, which may bring either renewed direction or continued transition depending on how the new board proceeds. For a family with children in first through fourth grade seeking a local, small-scale elementary option in a suburban setting, Indian Trail offers reasonable academic performance and a stable community context, though the district's recent upheaval is part of the landscape any prospective family would want to understand fully.
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