Edgar A Poe Elementary School

2800 North Highland Avenue

School District

Wheeling Central Consolidated 21
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Wheeling Central Consolidated School District 21

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 14, 2025

This school is vastly better than Kensington School (private school) and the teachers are fantastic! This school is a true gem in Arlington Heights.
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2022

The counselors are amazing, but bullying is rampant at this school. The kids are pretty awful. They are awful to each other. Wearing orange once a month has had little impact on these kids; they need feedback for their bullying—but the school is terrible at addressing it.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2021

Incredible teachers providing excellent leadership to our kids. Couldn't ask for more from this school. Glad we moved into Poe's boundaries
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2021

Great school with a friendly, helpful staff!
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2020

I have a great experience! My son feels very good.
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2019

The Makerspace (STEM) nights and 4/5 music program are really top notch. The teachers are great, and I really like the caring, responsible culture developed by the school. Honestly, the only thing I really don't like is that their mascot is a panther instead of a raven.
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2018

Poe is an excellent school. I have three children who have gone through Poe, Cooper and Buffalo Grove. They got an excellent education, scholarships to college and have excellent jobs as adults. We have been very satisfied with the teachers and classroom sizes. They also have many school events to invite the parents to visit the school and teachers.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2018

My child currently goes to poe and I could not say one bad thing about this school. The principal and all the teachers are amazing. The class sizes are perfect. They involve the family in all activities. The PTO is very on top of things.
Submitted by parent on March 08, 2018

These great schools rating systems are very misleading. I have 3 kids who are at/gone through this school and have excelled in their schooling. There are opportunities here including top notch musical education free for 4/5 graders, which would rival any nearby school district, an opportunity for enrichment supplementary program which many districts are cutting, excellent teachers, and a caring staff which have allowed my children the opportunity to do well in school. If I can suggest, if you are considering moving to any school, that you go in and visit the school and talk with teachers or the principal to know more about the school rather than basing all your opinion on the "Great schools rating system" which is only based on 1 set of testing standards (PARCC) which even administrators will tell you doesn't give the whole picture of a student or a school.
Submitted by parent on January 15, 2018

Many schools in District 21 have a specialty program. Poe serves as the Russian bilingual/ESL, so all those kids in the entire district are bussed to Poe and have dedicated classes and teachers. This program far outnumbers the neighborhood kids who attend as a regular school. For both groups its an excellent school. The test scores shown are misleading when evaluated without this knowledge since they look to be low for the regular kids. Not the case, at least for my kids. There are two schools in one here, but no way to differentiate scores. Highly recommend this school and the neighborhood.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2017

The school is a mess. The bus company they have nearly lost my 5 year old!! Horrible!!
Submitted by other on January 07, 2017

I attended this school from 2006-2012. Poe is a wonderful school. The teachers were excellent. They did a great job of making sure every student was learning at the level that was right for them. This school is rather small compared to other public elementary schools in the area, so the school community is coming close-knit and welcoming, despite being located in a huge suburb. The school's small population is also probably one of the factors that contributes to this school's ability to focus on the needs of each individual student. We were often placed into groups within our class or grade level based on our math or reading abilities, and the curriculum was adjusted accordingly. That way, the more advanced students would still be challenged and not get bored, while students who were having more difficulty in a subject could learn at a slower pace without being discouraged. No one was overlooked by the teachers at Poe Elementary School. I had a few teachers who weren't quite as stellar, but those teachers have since retired or begun working at different schools. This school also provides great musical opportunities for 4th and 5th graders. Students can choose to join the band or orchestra, and can pick from a variety of musical instruments to learn. They can also join the choir. None of these musical co-curriculars are obligatory, but if your child is musically inclined, the opportunities are amazing. Poe is located in the middle of a very safe neighborhood. The building and the yard surrounding it are situated far away from any busy streets. I never felt as though I were in any danger while on this school's property. I now attend Buffalo Grove High School, and I am earning good grades in honors and AP classes. Many of my fellow Poe alumni are experiencing similar successes. I am very grateful for the encouragement, support, and education I received from my teachers at Poe, who helped me to not only discover my academic strengths, but also to overcome my weaknesses. If you are considering moving into this attendance zone and sending your child to Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School, I highly recommend it.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2014

I'm very grateful to Edgar Elan Poe elem. school. This school is unique! We are immigrants from Ukraine and we have had grate opportunity to learn in this school by bilingual program. My family very appreciate each minute our son Tymur spend at that school. Grate teachers, respectful principal, interesting and useful educational program, careful PTO everybody do the grate job. Want to say special Thanks to our Russian teachers Mrs. Lifsheetz, Mrs. Ruditskaya, Mrs. Smolyanskaya, Mrs. Podkovik! You make a difference for our kids! Thank you very much! Tetiana
Submitted by parent on March 12, 2014

Both of my sons needed ESL services so we sent them to Poe,altough we live in Buffalo Grove,my older son until he was ready for the mainstream class was in ESL,happy,friendly boy,little shy sometimes,so when he finally joinef regular 3rd grade,things changed drastictly...he wasn't accepted by his classmates....he was an outsider.. Now he's in Cooper and happier,so when my younger son will be done with ESL i will NOT let him go to regular,maistream class at Poe....he might not be happy there and not recognized by his classmates when walking to school in the morning,because of "not belonging".
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2012

We have had such great success at our school and have been very lucky to have such a great handful of awesome teachers! My kids have done so well here and have learned a great work ethic that I hope carries them into middle school and beyond. There are a couple programs that are not publicized or explained well - including the criteria for PSI (advanced learners) and how these work or how students can achieve at a higher level. I would love to see what the district can do to formally address higher level learning and enrichment.
Submitted by parent on March 30, 2012

The classes are small. The staff is nice. The school is nice and well maintained. The teachers are wonderful as is the curriculum . It is a nice diverse group of children. The PTO is very active, however there is not a huge participation across the entire school community. I think this is because 1/3 to 1/2 of the students at the school are in the Russian ESL program and there may be a language or cultural divide there. The boundaries set up for children that go to this school are very strange. So if you live in the neighborhood surrounding the school it may feel like a small tight knit community. If you don't, you could end up feeling completely isolated.
Submitted by parent on August 19, 2011

I completely disagree with the review regarding the school being awful. The teachers at this school are kind, care so much about the students and work hard in educating them. Small class sizes and a real community feel. The teachers know almost all the kids by name. Its a great school. Easy to get as involved in as you want with the school.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2010

this school is awful. Awful, awful. Might be OK for slow or average kids. No challenge at all at the other end of the spectrum. Pretend gifted program. No sense of community among families here.