Abraham Lincoln Elementary School

1111 South Grove Avenue

School District

Oak Park Esd 97
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Oak Park Esd 97 School District

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 other on September 26, 2023

Very good elementary school, fantastic teaching, and a really good community.
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2023

Lincoln is part of a public school system so my average ratings reflect the school system as a whole. In my experience, overall my child loves the school and teachers. Is the school perfect? Absolutely not. But tell me a public school that is. I have seen the principal attend many after school events, greet students in the morning (by name) before the bell rings, and caring about the community. Unfortunately you’ll hear that “she doesn’t get back to emails” and from my experience I’ve called and requested an appointment with her and she made herself available. Principal Gordon isn’t a principal that sits at her desk all day to respond to emails and is actually involved. I do not know the dynamic between teacher and principal so I can’t comment on that. I hear the turn around is high with principals but I haven’t seen parents ask themselves, could we have been part of the reason? As a parent I will say that the main issues here are cause and effect. My child has experienced bullying at this school (like many children do in schools) and the school took it very seriously. As a community member I do see a lot of privileged parents who don’t like disciplining their kids so when it comes time to hold their child accountable, they rather blame someone else. I moved here for the community and it took me time to learn that you will find your circle. And it will be small (especially if you’re a minority because let’s face it, we’re outnumbered here). Teachers so far have been a great support. They care about your child but again, can only do so much especially when class size is high. While your child does not get the benefits of a small class size, not having support from parents makes their job harder. The gap between home and school needs to be filled in better and it will take a village. To those parents who have an issue with Lincoln (or any school) I encourage you to bring solutions to the problems instead of gossiping around town about how horrible x, y, z school is (because it isn’t just Lincoln). I’m an involved parent who cares about my child’s education and emotional needs and understand that the school isn’t fully responsible for my child and in order for things to work fluidly I need to support my child’s school in a positive way. Will there be issues? Absolutely. It’s how we solve those issues that’s important. We can only blame the schools for so long until we as parents look in the mirror. Maybe then will middle school be better too!
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2023

The school has a reputation for being the worst elementary school in Oak Park. They are well known for disorganization (high turnover rate with principals) who arrive for work at 10 am three times a week and teachers are very unhappy. It's common to run into teachers in other districts who refuse to work in the Oak Park school district because of the parents and their poor behavior. Some teachers are great, but the area is really wealthy. The children (and worse, the parents) behave disrespectfully and unkindly towards each other and even other children. We have seen parents cussing each other out in the school playground, heard lots of stories of students flipping over their tables and desks in classes, and been horrified by the reputation of South Oak Park's reputation of elitism. They love to talk about diversity, but can not handle diverse families or neurodivergent children.
Submitted by parent on January 03, 2020

Despite being concerned about school size, shrinking resources (like most schools in the country), equity gap, overall we've been very pleased with our experience. Class sizes are small. The teaching staff is excellent. Few schools offer the diversity that Lincoln does, and we believe the Lincoln community is more open and progressive because of that.
Submitted by parent on March 11, 2019

Great school with effective, caring teachers. There are a ton of extra curricular activities and events. The PTO is the best I’ve seen and the location of the school is perfect.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2017

Overall, Lincoln has been a great school for our kids. It's a wonderful, warm, supportive community, and the school is fortunate to have some excellent teachers. It's also the only school in the district with a Spanish Immersion program that runs through fifth grade, and our experience with that program has been very good. Given how well-prepared and supported so many of Lincoln's students are, however, the school should be doing even better. There's a significant achievement gap between higher- and lower-income students that is shameful, given the incredible resources of our school and community. We have a new principal, and my hope is that she and her team prioritize addressing that gap and ensuring that the teaching happening across classrooms is consistently rigorous and well differentiated to individual students' needs.
Submitted by parent on April 10, 2015

Excellent school. Teachers & staff pay close attention to the students needs. My daughter is an accelerated reader and writer and her teacher has accommodated her needs.