The Avery Coonley School (ACS), commonly called Avery Coonley, is an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
,
coeducational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
day school
A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...
serving academically
gifted
Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...
students in
preschool
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...
through
eighth grade (approximately ages 3 to 14), and is located in
Downers Grove
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...
,
DuPage County
DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. The school was founded in 1906 to promote the
progressive education
Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...
al theories developed by
John Dewey and other turn-of-the-20th-century philosophers, and was a nationally recognized model for progressive education well into the 1940s. From 1943 to 1965, Avery Coonley was part of the National College of Education (now
National Louis University
National Louis University (NLU) is a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has locations throughout the Chicago metropol ...
), serving as a living laboratory for teacher training and educational research. In the 1960s, ACS became a regional research center and a leadership hub for independent schools, and began to focus on the education of the gifted.
The school has occupied several structures in its history, including a small cottage on the
Coonley Estate in
Riverside, Illinois
Riverside is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. A significant portion of the village is in the Riverside Landscape Architecture District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The population of the village was ...
, and another building designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
. It moved to Downers Grove in 1916 and became the Avery Coonley School in 1929, with a new campus designed in the
Prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
and
Arts and Crafts styles, landscaped by
Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to:
* Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team
* Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chi ...
, who was known as "dean of the world's landscape architects".
The campus has been expanded several times since the 1980s to create more space for arts, technology, and classrooms. Avery Coonley was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2007, citing the "long-lasting influence on schools throughout the country"
of the educational program and the design of the building and grounds.
The progressive legacy is still evident in the modern curriculum, which retains many traditions and educational activities dating back to the beginning of the school. Students work a minimum of one year above their current grade level, and explore broad themes allowing them to learn across subjects and engage in creative and collaborative projects, using instructional technology extensively. Opportunities to build on classroom studies are offered through a range of extracurricular activities. Admission is competitive and an
IQ score of at least 124 is required. ACS is notable for its record of success in academic competitions at the state and national levels in mathematics, science, geography, and other subjects. ACS was recognized as a
Blue Ribbon School by the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...
in 1988. Avery Coonley attracted national media attention in 1994 when the school was banned from competition in the Illinois State Science Fair after winning for the fourth year in a row. Although the decision was later reversed, the controversy was decried by the press as an example of the "dumbing down"
of education and the victory of self-esteem over excellence in schools.
History
Founding and Cottage School (1906–1916)
![Cottage School New](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Cottage_School_New.JPG)
In 1906, Queene Ferry Coonley, wife of wealthy
Riverside industrialist and publisher Avery Coonley, decided to start a
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
program to allow children younger than five years old to attend.
Queene Coonley was trained as a social worker and kindergarten teacher at the Detroit Normal School (now
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
) and was impressed by the theories of
Friedrich Fröbel
Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique need ...
, who believed children's early education should be an extension of their lives at home. Fröbel's theories captured the three main principles of what
John Dewey would later call the "kindergarten attitude",
which applied not just to kindergartners but to children of all ages. Dewey wrote that the primary role of the school is to train children in cooperative living, the root of all learning is the activity of the child and not external material, and directing children's spontaneous impulses towards maintaining the collective life of the school is how they become prepared for adult life.
Convinced of these principles, Coonley sought to enroll her four-year-old daughter in the Riverside School, one of the few public kindergartens in the area, but was disappointed when the child was not eligible because she had not yet turned five.
Coonley persuaded the director of the Riverside program, Lucia Burton Morse, and her assistant, Charlotte Krum, to help launch a new school. Morse and Krum had attended Elizabeth Harrison's Kindergarten College, which "championed the concept of kindergarten teaching in America and was one of the first teacher's colleges in the country to offer a four-year program culminating in the bachelor of education degree".
There they had studied the educational theories of John Dewey and others, who stood opposed to the more traditional pedagogical practices of the day, which saw education as the business of transmitting long-standing bodies of information to new generations and inculcating moral training based on rules and standards of conduct. Their new progressive views of education emphasized an individualized approach to education and an integrated curriculum where children learned from experience and social interaction. According to Dewey, "it is a cardinal precept of the newer school of education that the beginning of instruction shall be made with the experience learners already have; that this experience and the capacities that have been developed during its course provide the starting point for all further learning." These ideas laid the foundations of what would become the "progressive movement" in education. Coonley, Morse, and Krum brought these ideas with them to the new school, which Coonley described as "a Children's Community. Its purpose was not so much to teach what others had thought or grown-ups had done, but for the children themselves to do something."
![Coonley Playhouse New](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Coonley_Playhouse_New.jpg)
A small cottage on the Coonley estate served as the first school building, reflected by its original name, the Cottage School. The designer was
Charles Whittlesey, who had apprenticed under
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...
. The estate's main building, the Avery
Coonley House
The Avery Coonley House, also known as the Coonley House or Coonley Estate was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Constructed 1908–12, this is a residential estate of several buildings built on the banks of the Des Plaines River in Rivers ...
, designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
, is now a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. Over the years, many of the estate's buildings would be pressed into use as classrooms and residences for teachers.
As new grades were added the school grew, and in 1911 Coonley commissioned Wright to design a larger space for the students. The new building was completed in 1912 and became known as the Coonley Playhouse, and featured dozens of brightly colored art glass windows, evoking flags, balloons, and confetti in what Wright referred to as a "kinder-symphony". "Their bright primary colors and lively geometric designs make them some of Wright's most famous windows."
Two years of kindergarten were offered, beginning at age four, and students progressed through to first grade with other students their age. The Cottage School was free to all students, and was supported both by Coonley's own resources and funds raised by the Kindergarten Education Association. The Association, of which Coonley was president, promoted new educational ideas and raised money to help support them. In 1915, John Dewey and his daughter Evelyn featured the Cottage School in their book, ''The Schools of To-Morrow'', which examined how progressive schools around the country put new educational ideas into action. They were especially struck by how prominently nature featured in school life, noting that:
ey have, for example, a rare bird that is as much a personality in school life as any of the children, and the children, having cared for him and watched his growth and habits, have become much more interested in wild birds. In the backyard is a goat, the best liked thing on the place, where the children have raised him from a little kid; and they still do all the work of caring for him.
The Deweys held the Cottage School as an example of training in good citizenship, commenting on its mock elections, self-government, and public service: "The school organized by the pupils into a civic league has made itself responsible for the conditions of the streets in certain portions of town, and is not only cleaning up but trying to get the rest of the town interested in the problem." The teaching of English was also noted, as it was not taught as a separate subject but as part of history lessons, journal-keeping, and other exercises. Dewey wrote, "The emphasis is put on helping the child to express his ideas; but such work provides ample opportunity for the required drill in the mechanics of writing."
Junior Elementary School (1916–1929)
![Downers Grove School](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Downers_Grove_School.JPG)
At the same time the Playhouse was built, Coonley agreed to build a kindergarten in the nearby town of
Downers Grove
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...
, which did not have a public school. Coonley purchased land on Grove Street and commissioned the architectural firm of Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton to design the building. The school, led by Lucia Morse, was launched as the Kindergarten Extension Association School in 1912.
In 1916, the Cottage School was closed and a first grade program was launched at the Downers Grove kindergarten, which was renamed the Junior Elementary School. To accommodate older students, a
second grade
Second grade (also called grade two, corresponding to Year 3 in the United Kingdom) is a year of primary education in Canada and the United States. Second grade is the second year of primary school. Children are usually aged 7–8 at this grade l ...
class was added in 1920 for students around seven years old, a
third grade
Third grade (also called grade three, equivalent to Year 4 in England) is a year of primary education in many countries. It is the third school year of primary school. Students are usually 8–9 years old.
Examples of the American syllabus
*I ...
in 1926 for eight-year-olds, and a
fourth grade
Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...
for nine-year-old students shortly thereafter.
The Coonleys moved to Washington, D.C. in 1916,
and while Queene continued to devote her time and money, she left the day-to-day direction of the school to Morse. Under her direction, the Junior Elementary School built upon the educational foundations established at the Cottage School, with its focus on the active participation of the students. Drama, music, and dance were important parts of the curriculum, and nature study remained an integral component of students' activities. These ideas, and nature study in particular, were largely the creation of Colonel
Francis Wayland Parker
Francis Wayland Parker (October 9, 1837March 2, 1902) was a pioneer of the progressive school movement in the United States. He believed that education should include the complete development of an individual — mental, physical, and moral. J ...
, whom John Dewey once referred to as "the father of progressive education". The Junior Elementary School was a proving ground for these principles, which called for a new way of relating to students, allowing them to freely experience their lessons on their own terms. No distinction was made between boys' and girls' activities, which included gardening, carpentry, and cooking. Coonley recalled that "
had boys and girls. We made no distinction, boys and girls cooked, boys and girls did carpenter work, boys and girls took an equal part in all matters of government."
Students re-enacted history and literature, composed their own music, and spent much of their time outdoors. In 1924, Coonley and Morse helped found a journal entitled ''Progressive Education'', in which they published their own practical experiences at the school, accompanied by articles written by leading educational theorists, including John Dewey. It became the leading professional journal of the progressive education movement and was published until 1957.
Avery Coonley School (1929–1960s)
![Avery Coonley Sketch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Avery_Coonley_Sketch.jpg)
Enrollment continued to grow, and a second building was added to the Junior Elementary School campus in the late 1920s, but still larger facilities were deemed necessary to accommodate future growth and additional grade levels. Coonley chose a wooded tract in Downers Grove, adjacent to the Maple Grove Forest Preserve, as the site for the new building,
and her son-in-law, Waldron Faulkner, became the architect of the new building project.
Over one hundred students attended school in the opened building on September 30, 1929, and it was renamed The Avery Coonley School, in honor of Coonley's late husband, who had died in 1920. Coonley chose an unusual mascot to represent the ideals of the school. She felt a
seahorse
A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...
was an example of a unique creature who was also a member of a larger community—an analogy for her vision for Avery Coonley. The seahorse swims upright, from which derives the school motto: "Onward and Upward", and representations of seahorses are reflected in decorative ironwork and the
weather vane
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...
on the 1929 building.
Progressive education
Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...
, a pedagogy promoting learning through real-life experiences, was at its zenith in the United States in the 1920s and 30s, and the Avery Coonley School was a widely known model of these theories in action.
Avery Coonley was featured regularly in ''Progressive Education'' and other professional journals,
[Brown, Finn and Brown 1988, p. 22.] and in 1938, the editor of ''Progressive Education,'' Gertrude Hartman,
published a profile of the Avery Coonley School in her book ''Finding Wisdom: Chronicles of a School of Today''. She noted, "
sitors from all parts of the United States and from foreign countries
ame #REDIRECT AME
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
to see the school—sometimes as many as thirty in a day." Hartman described in great detail the curriculum and daily life of the school, which had by then added a seventh and eighth grade, commenting that
the most noticeable thing about it is the spirit of earnestness and joy which pervades it ... There is a fundamental philosophy of life and education underlying the work of the school, which gives clear direction to all its activities. Broad areas are planned, which form the framework of the curriculum. These however are flexible and subject to modification depending upon conditions.
The book described the progress of the students from their first year of kindergarten through their ten years of study, capturing in photos, stories, and examples of students' work their encounters with nature, history, art and other subjects through creative play and collaborative projects. She concluded with observations about the importance of the daily life of the school in developing social responsibility:
It is the belief of those concerned with the school that out of the kind of education described here will emerge more socially enlightened members of society than the education of our generation has produced ... The method in which those in the school place their faith is the building into the very nature of growing boys and girls, through their growing years, those qualities of mind and spirit from which alone a new attitude towards human relations can evolve.
''Finding Wisdom'' became a classic in the education field and solidified the Avery Coonley School's national reputation as a model of progressive education.
Morse died in 1940, after 34 years as director, and several years went by without a strong local leadership. To ensure a sounder footing for the future, Coonley merged Avery Coonley with the National College of Education (NCE, formerly the Chicago Kindergarten College and now
National Louis University
National Louis University (NLU) is a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has locations throughout the Chicago metropol ...
) in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
, in 1943.
The two institutions had close ties dating back to Morse's Kindergarten College days, and the arrangement took advantage of the NCE's financial and teaching resources while Avery Coonley provided a living laboratory for teacher training and educational research. Under NCE management, ACS continued to offer a curriculum that emphasized practical learning, outdoor education—including farming—and hands-on activities like automobile repair. German and French were added in 1949, with students beginning conversational French in first grade.
![Queene Ferry Coonley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Queene_Ferry_Coonley.JPG)
Coonley died in 1958;
ACS had looked to Coonley for her leadership over the years but even more so for her philanthropy. ACS began charging tuition in 1929, but still relied on Coonley's financial support, and her death caused serious financial hardship. Under the direction of newly appointed
headmaster
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...
John Malach, a summer program was launched in 1960, open to all children from the surrounding area, to increase revenues and visibility. A swimming pool was added in 1961 to bolster the program. Enrollment had declined over the years and Malach marketed the program aggressively, personally interviewing prospective students. In 1964 enrollment again reached 200 students, which brought in additional tuition and much needed financial stability.
In 1965, the benefits of the National College of Education partnership were less evident and the Administrative Board purchased Avery Coonley from the NCE.
Under Malach's leadership, ACS continued to experiment and innovate. Despite widespread skepticism among contemporary educators that kindergartners were ready to read, ACS launched an early reading program in the early 1960s. Malach's stance was that "we don't believe a child should be taught because he or she is now 6 years old or in 1st grade. Our children begin to learn to read when the teacher determines the child is ready. Then the teacher works individually with the child at his or her own pace."
By this time, however, the once-radical ideas of progressive education had become "conventional wisdom" and kindergarten was a ubiquitous feature of American public schools. As part of Malach's "bid to reforge the leadership role that Avery Coonley School had played during its early years", ACS joined the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) in 1961. ISACS was founded in 1908 to promote
best practices
A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...
in independent schools, and instituted a mandatory accreditation program for member schools in 1961. Avery Coonley served as the headquarters of ISACS from 1970 until the central office was dissolved in 2000.
Malach also established the Institute for Educational Research (IER) in 1964 as a center for educational experimentation. The Institute, headquartered at ACS, was a joint venture with more than thirty public school districts, which collaborated on research projects and shared in the findings. The large number of schools involved ensured that statistically significant research samples were available and multiple projects could be pursued at one time.
In one of the first projects of the Institute, 36 history teachers wrote over 2,000 test questions to help demonstrate that "many teachers want assistance in writing better evaluation items based on behavioral objectives".
Examples of other projects include kindergarten speech programs, elementary science programs, and
speed reading
Speed reading is any of many techniques claiming to improve one's ability to read quickly. Speed-reading methods include chunking and minimizing subvocalization. The many available speed-reading training programs may utilize books, videos, ...
in
junior high school.
Gifted education (1960s–present)
The kindergarten reading program was the first step in the Avery Coonley School's transition to a new focus on the education of the
gifted
Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...
, which coincided with a growing public awareness of the needs of gifted children in the late 1960s. The increasing focus on gifted education was symbolized by the 1972
Marland Report
The Marland report, officially ''Education of the Gifted and Talented: Report to Congress'', is a 1972 report to the Congress of the United States by Sidney P. Marland Jr., which contains a widely known definition of giftedness of children. It is ...
to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, which was the first acknowledgment of the characteristics of gifted children and their specific educational needs. The report found that "gifted children are, in fact, deprived and can suffer psychological damage and permanent impairment of their abilities to function well which is equal to or greater than the similar deprivation suffered by any other population with special needs". The report highlighted the necessity for educational services for the gifted, and the near total lack of such programs in the public schools at the time. Malach believed that the educational philosophy of Avery Coonley was well aligned with the most important objectives of a gifted program, namely, "the stimulation of individual interests ... the development of student initiative, the development of self-acceptance, concept development, and recognition of the early ability to undertake complex learning tasks."
![09 ecam farmyardfun 010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/09_ecam_farmyardfun_010.jpg)
In 1960, ACS began screening applicants for high intellectual potential, requiring a tested
IQ above 120, achievement test results one and a half grade levels above national norms in reading and math, and intensive in-person evaluations.
At the same time, the teachers began adapting the curriculum to meet the goals of a gifted program, allowing even more
differentiation for each student, accommodating different learning styles, and incorporating enough flexibility for all students to progress at their own pace.
More accelerated classes were added, but the core of the gifted curriculum remained the individualized approaches and learning by doing that had long been central to the Avery Coonley curriculum. Nature study was still prominent in the student's activities, with music, art, and drama. The traditional learning themes and school projects involving maple trees, Native Americans, ancient Egypt and other topics were preserved but adapted to serve the gifted curriculum.
In early 1980, an early childhood (EC) program for three-year-olds was launched, designed to cater to the needs of gifted preschool children and prepare them to transition from home to kindergarten. Again departing from the prevailing educational theory, Avery Coonley introduced academics in the EC program, with the same focus on nature, music, movement, and practical skills as the higher grades.
Campus
1929 building
![ACS Cloister](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/ACS_Cloister.jpg)
The campus occupies off of Maple Avenue in
Downers Grove
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...
.
It borders the Maple Grove Forest Preserve, created in 1919, one of the oldest forest preserves in the
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is a governmental agency headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois. Its mission is to acquire and hold lands containing forests, prairies, wetlands, and associated plant communities or lands capable of being re ...
system.
The preserve protects "the largest remaining remnant of the vast maple forest that became Downers Grove",
and has been categorized a globally endangered
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
.
Its
black maple
''Acer nigrum'', the black maple, is a species of maple closely related to '' A. saccharum'' (sugar maple), and treated by some authors as a subspecies of it, as ''Acer saccharum'' subsp. ''nigrum''.
Identification can be confusing due to the t ...
and upland
sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...
communities are host to many threatened and endangered plant species, and bloom with
trillium
''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
,
trout lilies
''Erythronium'', the fawn lily, trout lily, dog's-tooth violet or adder's tongue, is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family, most closely related to tulips. The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek () "red" in ...
,
violets
Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...
,
buttercups
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed in Europe, ...
, and
wild geraniums in the spring.
The forest is a refuge for a wide range of birds, including
great horned owl
The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extre ...
s and several species of
hawks
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...
,
as well as a stopover for several species of migratory birds, including the
Indigo bunting
The indigo bunting (''Passerina cyanea'') is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern Sout ...
, which nests there during the warm breeding season and migrates south by night in the winter.
A hiking trail winds through the preserve, crossing a small creek and passing a nearby pond.
The preserve is used by students in their science and nature activities.
The designer of the grounds,
Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to:
* Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team
* Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chi ...
,
[Grese 1992, p. 47.] was known as the "dean of the world's landscape architects",
and "the father of the Chicago park system",
for his creation of
Humboldt Park,
Garfield Park, the
Cook County Forest Preserves
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are mostly set aside as natural areas ...
, and his masterpiece,
Columbus Park, in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Jensen's work became famous for his exclusive use of plants and materials native to the local region,
and was characterized by his use of open spaces, flowing water, gently curving lines, and "council rings", or low circular benches where people can gather.
All of these features are evident on the Avery Coonley campus, which makes use of wholly natural settings in lieu of formal gardens. The original landscaping was largely forgotten over the years and poorly maintained. A complete restoration of Jensen's landscape design was completed in 2006 as part of the ACS centennial celebration.
The building was designed by Coonley's son-in-law Waldron Faulkner,
who, with his son (also an architect) Avery Coonley Faulkner, later became significant contributors to the design of
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
and
American University in Washington, D.C.
The design ties the building to the land in the style of the Prairie School, at the same time employing the handcrafted features and human scale typical of the American
Arts and Crafts (or
American Craftsman) style.
[Follett 2006, p. 18.] The easy access to the outdoors, ground floor classrooms, separate science laboratories, and planned outdoor play area are among the features of the design that would later be adopted by schools throughout the US after World War II.
The building surrounds a courtyard with a large reflecting pool. The classrooms are oriented outward, to provide views of the surrounding forest. There are no interior passages in this part of the building; each class area has an exit to the outside, and students pass between rooms via the covered cloister, even in inclement weather. The design is meant to reinforce the "home and school" atmosphere that dates back to the Cottage School, with child-sized classrooms, ten working fireplaces, draperies, and other home-like details.
![ACS Learning Spaces](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/ACS_Learning_Spaces.jpg)
Decorative tiles designed by
Henry Chapman Mercer—one of the leading figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the U.S.—are placed throughout the building. These tiles (known as Moravian tiles after Mercer's
Moravian Pottery and Tile Works
The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the County of Bucks, and operated by TileWorks of Bucks County, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The museum was individually listed on ...
) feature deep colors and a handmade appearance that complement the simple brick buildings. The tiles on the fireplaces and entry floors boast patterns in literary and educational themes, such as ''
The Canterbury Tales'' in the old library. A large, tripartite tile mural on the north wall of the courtyard, also by Mercer, depicts the eastern and western hemispheres united by a ship on an allegorical journey of education.
In 1970, exploring new designs in school furniture, the Institute for Educational Research worked with the Design Department of
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
to create a series of interconnected
truncated octahedron
In geometry, the truncated octahedron is the Archimedean solid that arises from a regular octahedron by removing six pyramids, one at each of the octahedron's vertices. The truncated octahedron has 14 faces (8 regular hexagons and 6 squares), 36 ...
s known as "learning spaces", which resembled an oversized beehive. Each child had his or her own semi-private space with a fold-down seat, reading light, and bookshelf. The goal was to provide private spaces where third grade (eight-year-old) children could develop good study habits, and the school found that the children spent 90 percent of their work time in their learning spaces.
The structures were featured in local news stories and in ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' magazine. ACS patented the invention and sold models to several local schools.
The original structures are still in use in the third grade classroom in 2014.
The Avery Coonley School was designated a historical site by the Downers Grove Historical Society in 2006, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, which cited the educational program along with the building and grounds for their "unique design and features that have exerted a long-lasting influence on schools throughout the country".
Recent additions
![ACS Theater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/ACS_Theater.jpg)
A new wing was added in early 1980 to provide additional space for the arts, with a large room for orchestra and music and another for studio art. Filling in the previously open east side of the courtyard, the design is nearly identical in design to the original school, built of red and white-washed brick with a cloister on the courtyard side. The Gatehouse, which was built in 1929 and had served as the headmaster's residence, was remodeled to house the early childhood program in 1988.
Increased enrollment in the late 1980s and the need for more space led to another addition in 1992.
This addition included a new 17,500-volume library, a 16-station computer lab, and a 236-seat Performing Arts Center (PAC).
Moravian tiles around the new foyer fireplace and library doors pay homage to the original building.
[Follett 2006, p. 35.] The PAC "is known for its excellent acoustics",
and hosts student productions and outside artistic groups, including the Beck Institute for the Arts, which stages musical recitals there.
Avery Coonley added a full-day kindergarten program in 2005, again requiring more space, and a $4 million,
middle school wing was constructed, financed through tax-exempt bonds from the Village of Downers Grove. Its cream and red bricks, hipped roof, deep eaves, and detailed brickwork harmonize with the style of the earlier building.
The project added modernized math and science labs, two computer labs, and seven
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
classrooms using
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being com ...
technology, videoconferencing, and computer controlled overhead projectors.
Curriculum
The founding educational philosophy is still evident in the modern day curriculum in the focus on learning by doing, teaching based on broad themes that cross subjects, an emphasis on collaborative projects, and a de-emphasis of textbooks. There remains a close integration of art and nature in daily activities and a focus on the development of social skills and education for social responsibility. These principles, adapted in the 1970s for gifted students, have been further extended to accommodate new developments in technology and educational research.
ACS refers to grade levels as groups, a practice rooted in progressive education that dates back at least to the Junior Elementary School. There are three divisions of students: the early school, which includes the early childhood Program (EC) for three-year-olds and junior kindergarten (JK) for four-year-olds; the lower school for kindergarten through group four, and middle school for groups five through eight. Each class in kindergarten through group eight has 32 students. Each lower school class is team taught by two teachers.
The student-to-teacher ratio in the lower and middle school is 16 to 1,
11 to 1 in kindergarten, 8 to 1 in junior kindergarten, and 7 to 1 in the early childhood program.
Academic program
![Avery Coonley Maple Tree Tapping 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Avery_Coonley_Maple_Tree_Tapping_2010.jpg)
As of 2009, the curriculum is
accelerated for each group, which is separated by grade and age; students are instructed a minimum of one year above their current grade level. (For example, the first group is taught at a second grade level.)
Students are grouped within their class to allow each of them work at the level of their ability, and they may work several years beyond their current level if they can do so.
Students may join older groups to study subjects, which they are exceptionally advanced; however, age groups are usually kept together "for social and emotional values".
All middle school students complete a high school level
honors course
An honors student or honor student is a student recognized for achieving high grades or high marks in their coursework at school.
United States
In the US, honors students may refer to:
# Students recognized for their academic achievement on lis ...
in mathematics in either algebra or geometry.
Students explore broad learning themes at each level that allow them to learn across subjects and engage them in creative and collaborative projects. The second group, for example, spends much of their year on the study of trees, using trees as a focus for biology, mathematics, art, and creative writing. Students adopt and study a personal space in the nearby forest preserve. The year culminates with the tapping of maple trees to make syrup, which they share with the rest of the school. Each group engages different themes and group projects. Lower school students simulate an airplane flight to Paris and host a Japanese luncheon. The fourth group holds a Native American Fair, the fifth group creates an original Egyptian style
mastaba, the sixth group presents a World's Fair, and the eighth group organizes an Immigration and Ethnic Fair.
Science studies are enhanced by nature and outdoor experiences. Students participate in nature programs sponsored by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...
, such as adopting a "Bass in the Class", and monitoring the growth of
macroinvertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate s ...
in the
DuPage River
The DuPage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Des Plaines River in the U.S. state of Illinois.
Course
The river begins as two i ...
. Competition in regional and state science fairs and
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school team ...
is considered an integral part of the science program. All students are strongly encouraged to participate, and the seventh group students are required to do so.
All students study French, which is taught by
language immersion
Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...
, a technique in which they only speak French during language study.
All signs in the building are written in both French and English. Students begin French instruction in junior kindergarten, and continue on to study French four times a week in groups one through eight. They culminate their study with a week-long experience in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
in group eight, during which they only speak French.
Visual art study begins with drawing and painting and then advances to more complex techniques such as sculpture, stained glass, architecture, photography, and pottery. Students learn in a variety of media, including watercolor, oil pastels, charcoal, and clay. Music study begins in the early childhood program. As they progress, Avery Coonley students participate in vocal music, playing
Orff instruments and recorders, dancing, and public performance. In middle school, students develop music literacy by reading and writing music, playing choir chimes, and choral singing. The study of music in culture and the history of jazz and opera are taught alongside theory and performance.
The drama program begins in acting and dramatic writing, directing, and the technical arts in the fourth group. Students practice both rehearsed and improvised performances to create pantomimes, monologues, films, and short plays. Their theatrical work culminates in the eighth group with the performance of one-act plays the students write and direct themselves and the production of a professionally scripted full-length play. Artistically inclined students can extend their arts studies outside of class in optional activities including Art Club, Chorus, Orchestra, Tech Club, Drama Club, and the Variety Show.
Technology
Avery Coonley began using computers for instruction in 1971 and offering computer programming to students as young as the fourth group in 1976.
Desktop computers were brought into the classrooms to teach math, language arts, music, art, and computer programming, in 1978. Students begin learning basic keyboard and mouse skills in kindergarten and progress to multimedia presentations, data management, and software coding in the eighth group.
In what ACS calls "one-to-one computing", every student in the fifth group through the eighth group receives a tablet computer, which they use to manage their daily schedules, work on class assignments, and prepare special projects. Students in early childhood and junior kindergarten have shared tablets available, and each kindergarten through the fourth group class has at least four.
Students study in classrooms equipped with wireless overhead projectors, manipulate programs and presentations on
touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
-equipped
SMART board systems, and engage in self-paced classroom learning using ActiveExpression wireless response systems. Students, teachers, and parents communicate and interact online via a school-wide
intranet and an
extranet
An extranet is a controlled private network that allows access to partners, vendors and suppliers or an authorized set of customers – normally to a subset of the information accessible from an organization's intranet. An extranet is similar to ...
for parents. Sixteen dual platform
iMac
iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms.
In it ...
s were added in 2009 for computer lab work.
Traditions
![Avery Coonley Thankgiving](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Avery_Coonley_Thankgiving.jpg)
A hallmark of the curriculum in the earliest days was study organized around major themes—trees, Shakespeare, Egypt and other subjects—that built over the school year into major class projects, performances, and all-school gatherings. Many of these themes and events have grown into lasting school traditions, with which the school community has come to identify each group and certain times of year. One of the school's most cherished traditions, tapping maple trees to make syrup, began with the move to the new building in 1929.
The Spring Fair, in which groups one through five each prepare and perform their own dance, has been held annually since the 1930s—the
Maypole dance by the fifth group dates back to the beginning of the Cottage School.
The annual third group overnight nature trip to
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, dates back to 1974,
and the eighth group French immersion trip began in the 1970s with trips to Paris and since the mid-1990s to Quebec. Other lower school traditions, such as the Native American Fair and class visit to the Coonley Estate, also have a long history at Avery Coonley. Middle school traditions include the alternating annual Greek and
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
Fests, the sixth group World's Fair, and a seventh group trip to Washington, D.C.
In the annual
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
Program, the students, in identical brown capes, silently construct a large
cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
of fruits and vegetables in a ceremony choreographed to music prepared by each class. The food is later donated to
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
. It is the most treasured of the school traditions, and has been performed every year, virtually unchanged, since 1929.
Extracurricular activities
Many of the extracurricular activities offered at ACS offer an extension of classroom subjects and an opportunity for students to pursue those studies in additional depth. Within the arts program, chorus, creative writing, drama, art, and three levels of orchestra are offered as optional activities. Students in these groups have opportunities to perform and exhibit their work throughout the year. The Book Club is available to students in groups six and above to extend the reading program. Computer Club, Creative Writing Club, Art Club, French Film Club, and Drama Club also offer opportunities to build on classroom activities.
Student Council is primarily a service organization, which organizes charitable fund raising and community service opportunities in which all students can participate. Two representatives are elected from each group, one through eight, for each school year.
Students may also volunteer for the Annual staff, which edits and produces the yearbook, ''Reflections''.
Intramural sports
Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...
are offered to students in group five and interscholastic sports are available in groups five through eight. ACS competes in the West DuPage Elementary School Association (WDESA) Conference. Team sports include co-ed
soccer and girls'
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
in the fall, boys' and girls'
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
in the winter, and co-ed
track in the spring. There are no team tryouts and all students are free to participate.
ACS students participate actively in academic competitions at the state and national level, including
Mathcounts
Mathcounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a nationwide middle school mathematics competition held in various places in the United States. Its current lead sponsors are Raytheon Technologies and the U.S. Department of Defense STEM.
Topics covered inc ...
, Science Olympiad, and other math and science competitions, as well spelling bees, geography bees, and contests in other subjects. The Chess Club competes locally, and won the first-place trophy in the Naperville Chess Tournament in 2009.
Student body and finances
Admission is competitive and decisions are based on evaluations of applicants' intellectual ability, social and emotional maturity, and readiness for the accelerated program of study.
Applicants for kindergarten through eighth group must submit IQ test results at or above the 95th percentile (at or above 124 on the
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) is an intelligence test designed for children ages 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months developed by David Wechsler in 1967. It is a descendant of the earlier Wechsler Adult Intellig ...
(WPPSI) or
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) is the most recent version.
The WISC-V takes 45 to 65 minu ...
(WISC)), with consistent subtest scores, to qualify for consideration.
Evaluations are based on report cards, parent questionnaires, teacher recommendations, and in-person assessments by the faculty. Early childhood through kindergarten applicants are screened in one-hour play sessions. Applicants for groups one and two are invited for a half-day school visit, and older applicants for an entire day, where they are assessed by teachers in the actual classroom setting.
Avery Coonley serves 378 students aged 3 through 14 as of 2010, with a nearly even ratio of males to females in each grade.
ACS seeks to achieve ethnic diversity in every group,
and offers limited need-based aid to families of children who would otherwise be unable to attend.
The student body is "primarily middle- and upper-class white suburban children",
and students "come from some of the most affluent families"
in Chicago's western suburbs, but thirty percent of the students are non-white.
Tuition for kindergarten through group eight was $23,950, junior kindergarten was $11,700, and early childhood $6,200 in 2018.
The Annual Giving Fund makes up 3.5 percent and the Annual Auction another 5 percent of the operating budget ($5.9 million in 2008–2009).
Academic achievement
"Avery Coonley reports that scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, an exam given in schools across the United States, are in the top 1 percent in the nation",
with average scores of 99 in all eight grades and all four test sections (vocabulary, comprehension, language arts, and mathematics).
Avery Coonley was one of seventeen Illinois schools recognized as a
Blue Ribbon School by the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...
in 1987–88
for "excellence in student success, school philosophy, curriculum, leadership, and climate".
Over five percent of Avery Coonley graduates since 1989 have been admitted to the nationally recognized
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public secondary education institution in Aurora, Illinois, United States, with an enrollment of approximately 650 students.
Enrollment is generally offered to inc ...
(IMSA), Illinois' public, competitive-entry, boarding school for top math and science students.
Avery Coonley students have a record of top honors at the state and national level in science, math, geography and other subjects stretching back as far as 1989. In recent competitions, students won 24 Gold Medals at the 2009 Illinois Junior Academy of Science (IJAS) Science Fair, and won the Science Olympiad Jr. High State Championship. Avery Coonley won the 2009 IMSA Junior High Mathematics Competition (with four out of five first place awards) and placed second in the 2009 Illinois State MATHCOUNTS competition. In 2008, a seventh group student placed in the top 0.2 percent of competitors from around the world with a perfect score in the 24th annual
American Mathematics Contest The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) are the first of a series of competitions in secondary school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The selection process takes place over the ...
.
In 2009, the seventh and eighth group Social Studies teams both placed third in the nation at the National Social Studies League contest and an ACS student won the Illinois Geography Bee, The same year, two eighth group students received perfect scores on ''Le Grand Concours''—the National French Contest of the
American Association of Teachers of French
The American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) is a professional organisation for teachers of French in the United States founded in 1927. Teachers may be involved in primary, secondary, or university education. Additionally, retired and stu ...
. Of the 40 Avery Coonley students who took ''Le Grand Concours'', 32 placed in the top ten in the nation at their grade level. Avery Coonley third group students "won highest honors in the WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition"
in 2007, placing eighth in the nation out of more than 200 teams.
Controversy erupted in 1994, when ACS won the Illinois State Science Fair team competition for the fourth year in a row, prompting the IJAS "to banish the school from team competition for
henext year, on the grounds that their students were 'just too good. The incident attracted national attention and was decried as an example of the "dumbing down"
of education and the victory of self-esteem over excellence in schools. The IJAS relented under pressure from the media, but eliminated the team competition altogether in future years. Avery Coonley students won 24 top individual awards the following year.
Notes
References
Works cited
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery Coonley School, The
Private elementary schools in Illinois
National Register of Historic Places in DuPage County, Illinois
Private middle schools in Illinois
Educational institutions established in 1906
Gifted education
Downers Grove, Illinois
School buildings completed in 1929
Schools in DuPage County, Illinois
1906 establishments in Illinois
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
Private K–8 schools in the United States