Whittier Elementary School

715 North Harvey Avenue

School District

Oak Park Esd 97
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:8
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 May 04, 2023

SO GOOD ABSOLUTE W SCHOOL. bro this school is so good it made my childhood 1000 times better because of the welcoming people.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2022

A great community! The staff here is so friendly, it is a warm and welcoming place to go to school. My kids love it here.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2020

Whittier is truly a great school! The staff is amazing and the administrations does a great job of ensuring that all students receive the educational support that they need. The low score on Great Schools is completely unfounded (as another reviewer noted) because many students opt out of standardized testing.
Submitted by parent on September 28, 2020

I'm reviewing mostly to point out that the current school rating (as of this writing at 4 of 10) is due to a movement of many parents pulling their kids out of standardized testing in protest. Only a few years ago, the school was a 9/10. Obviously, the school quality is not going to change that dramatically so quickly and in our observation certainly has not.
Submitted by parent on June 06, 2019

Whittier has excellent teachers, a great principal, and a caring and warm community of families. It is one of the smaller schools in Oak Park and (bonus!) has a library branch across the street. Parents are high achieving, well-educated, and very involved. PTO is active. The school is pretty diverse and both school and community work to ensure that everyone feels included. There is a great after school enrichment program with a wide range of classes including acting, coding, martial arts, homesteading, and chess. Our kids love school and have done amazing work here. We have been really pleased!
Submitted by parent on March 05, 2016

The teachers and faculty here have been outstanding for my son from K-4. The kids are challenged in class and seem to enjoy coming to school, and their performance shows. Great school.
Submitted by parent on December 08, 2015

The best experience is to hear from my little one that she loves go to school.
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2014

Whittier is a good school but it could be great, if all the students could achieve a good education. I have a problem that the minority students continue to lag behind in math and reading. They have a good after school program, but, how do you measure growth. In comparison to the other schools in Oak Park, their record on is somewhat disturbing. If you pressed the issue, you get a song and dance from the staff.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2013

I have been pleasantly surprised with Whittier thus far. My child is now in his third year at the school, and his teachers for his main classroom and the other classes have been fantastic. He and all of his friends are thriving, reading and doing math well beyond what the "standards" are. The school has a real feel of a community and is well run and has nice facilities. In Oak Park, this is one of the finer schools for sure.
Submitted by parent on June 28, 2011

Whittier is an amazing school. The teachers and the programs have inspired excellence. I have one child that is in the gifted programs and one child who performs slightly above average and both have found their place at Whittier. The principals and the teachers have been extremely responsive to problems that have arisen and proactive in preventing problems. Additionally, the school welcomes parental involvement and is a very nuturing environment. The multiage program is very effective in creating a community of kids. An important thing about the multi-age program is that math and reading are taught in a single grade break-out session, but other subjects (science, social studies, music, art, spanish) are taught in the multi-age environment. The teachers are responsive to email questions and concerns, as is the principal. The PTO is extremely active and very open to new members. I cannot speak highly enough about the school and the community.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2010

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Submitted by parent on December 13, 2007

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Submitted by parent on October 08, 2007

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