Winnetka IL Transportation, Schools, Parks
For a small town (3.95 square miles), Winnetka has an awful lot to offer. It has miles of Lake Michigan beach front, an 18 and 9 hole golf course, a driving range, indoor and outdoor tennis, three distinct shopping districts with all kinds of unique shops and restaurants, three train stations, bike paths leading up to Wisconsin or down to Chicago, parks and more parks, a large 117,000 volume library, a community house, a children's theatre, several nursery schools, an ice arena, the indescribable beauty of the Skokie lagoons, public schools that always rank in the top 5% statewide, and really nice people. You should be living here!!
Getting There:
Winnetka is situated about 40 minutes from the loop by train, close enough to make trips to the city on a regular basis for whatever reason, but far enough away to retain its small town feel. There are three train stops: Indian Hill, Winnetka, and Hubbard Woods. This is fairly remarkable considering that the only other towns after Chicago with three or more stops are Evanston and Highland Park. These towns have populations more than triple that of Winnetka. As a part of a WPA project, Winnetka's train tracks were placed well below grade. The dirt was moved to the Skokie Lagoons creating beautiful ponds and bike trails. The result of this project is that traffic through Winnetka moves easily and safely, never stopping for trains passing through town. And, the noise level caused by passing trains is greatly diminished. By train, it takes 37 minutes to get to the Ogilvie Transportation Center. For more information regarding schedules and times, you can visit Http://www.metrarail.com .
Public Schools:
One of the main reasons people move to Winnetka is for its schools. Consistently, Winnetka schools have very high test scores. Parents are involved in the schools and the children thrive in the academic atmosphere they offer. There are three public elementary schools. First is Crow Island. This school is where my children attended. It is listed on the National register of historic buildings (http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Crow_Island_School.html). Crow Island is located on Willow Road at Glendale. Most of the 450+ children that attend Crow Island either walk to school or take the school bus (for an annual fee). Of all of the elementary schools in Winnetka, Crow Island has the largest outdoor recreation area and it is adjacent to Crow Island Woods, giving it even more. The third grade cirriculum includes a study of pioneer life and the school has its own pioneer room to complete the experience. Each classroom has outside exposure on three sides and a private entrance to its own semi-enclosed courtyard. Docent tours are offered from time to time and they are worth taking. There are so many cool features to the building.
Hubbard Woods is located in the northwest part of Winnetka at 1110 Chatfield Road. It is a beautiful red brick building with a slate roof nestled among quiet neighborhood streets. Like Crow Island, most of its children walk or take the bus and it scores very consistently above the state on its test scores. All of the Winnetka elementary schools offer optional Suzuki for the children as well as fee-based before and after school care. Hubbard Woods has its own unique television studio where the children in 3rd and 4th grades produce a daily television program.
The last of the three public elementary schools is Greeley. Located east of Green Bay Road and near New Trier, it is nestled among some of the prettiest and priciest properties in Winnetka. Parental involvement is very high with a host of volunteer opportunities for parents. School children at all three schools have the option of coming home for lunch and many of them do on some or all school days. For a more in-depth look into the three elementary schools, visit http://www.winnetka36.org.
Private Schools:
There are two Catholic elementary schools in Winnetka, one on Hill Road and one near Hubbard Woods. The one on Hill Road and Linden is named Saints Faith, Hope and Charity. It offers classes from pre-K through 8th grade. It is a very popular walk-to school attended by boys and girls from Winnetka and neighboring communities. The other Catholic school is Sacred Heart located near Hubbard Woods on Gage Street. This is also a fine school that draws from area communities as well. Finally, Winnetka is also home to North Shore Country Day School which offers a traditional education, an exceptionally challenging curriculum, and small class sizes. They host informational open houses and "shadow days" for families considering applications to the school.
Middle Schools:
After the 4th grade, all of the elementary schools feed into one school for 5th and 6th grades. Skokie School is a wonderful environment for learning. Children have two teachers, one for English and Social Studies and one for Math and Science. The school offers a wide choice of curriculum outside of the core courses. The next step is a middle school for grades 7 & 8. At Carleton Washburne the academics are stepped up significantly in preparation for New Trier.
Here there are four core teachers on a "team." My son loved his experience at Washburne. The principal, Dan Schwartz, has just retired and the search is on for his replacement. The school is underwent major renovations in 2008-2009 and is now quite state-of-the-art!!
New Trier High School:
Once the children graduate from 8th grade, they move on to New Trier West. This is a school solely for the 9th grade. It is the first time that all of the communities that feed into New Trier are together in one building. The academics are rigorous and the extra cirricular activites have no end. Students can be involved in so many things. For my kids, New Trier West was a very rewarding experience. Finally, the children move on to New Trier East for the 10th-12th grades. New Trier is widely respected nationally. It is very competitive and very large. Class sizes hover around 1000. But don't let that fool you. Because the student population is so large, the choices of academic and athletic paths are equally vast. Pretty much anything your child wants to do is available to him or her. My older son even had his own radio show at WNTH 88.1. His show aired on Saturday mornings. And now my younger son has a show as well. In the spring of his junior year, my older son and his classmates in the New Trier symphony orchestra played at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Experiences like these are not found at many high schools. New Trier won a Grammy for the best music program in the country. Wow! In addtion to music, if your child is an athlete, New Trier is the place to be. They win state titles all the time for a bunch of sports. In fact, the Boys Lacrosse captured its 6th straight state championship in 2010 against Loyola, New Trier rowing placed in the top 4 places at the regional regatta in 2010 and Boys Tennis just won first in the state. There are many more state championships not listed here.
Parks and Recreation:
There are 28 community parks, three swimming beaches, 1 boating beach, 1 dog beach (for doggie play dates), and 18 and a 9 hole golf course, a driving range, 8 indoor tennis courts and 12 outdoor tennis courts, six platform tennis courts, an indoor ice arena and two winter outdoor ice rinks, outdoor skate boarding, several baseball fields on the 160 acre playfields, cross country skiing, and year-round recreation programs for youth and adults alike. The Winnetka Park District publishes booklets every season for all of its programs.
Winnetka Utilities:
Here are the utility companies for this area:
Water and Electric: provided by the Village of Winnetka 847-716-3558
Gas: North Shore Gas 847-336-7400
Telephone and DSL: 800-244-4444 (cheaper than Comcast, just as good)
Cable and Telephone: Comcast 866-594-1234
Nursery Schools:
I am working on this list. For now, you can check with the Winnetka Alliance at www.winnetkaalliance.org for a very good and comprehensive list.
