“D220 named best unit school district in IL”
Yesterday, District 220 published the following on their Facebook page:
“In his Superintendent’s Report at our Oct. 15 Barrington 220 Board of Education meeting, Dr. Winkelman shared that Barrington 220 has been named the Best Unit (PK-12) School District in Illinois in the 2025 Niche rankings! Click here to check out all of the 2025 Niche rankings.”
That Facebook posting can be found here.
Yet on September 30th, WGN News published, “Report: Top three U.S. school districts are all in the Chicago area,” written by Jeremy Tanner and Ethan Illers. An excerpt from their report reads:
“The greater Chicago area is home to the top three best school districts in America, according to a new report from Niche.
Niche, an education research and rankings platform, weighed data for over 11,000 school districts for its annual selection. The rankings are based on ratings from current students, alumni and parents, along with quantitative data from the U.S. Department of Education.
The study comes at a time when young students across the country are still trying to recover from caused by the pandemic. After a record injection of $190 billion in federal dollars, some students’ test scores have improved but millions are still behind, a June analysis found.
‘Choosing the right school for our children can have a real ripple effect on their lives — from career path and earning potential to how they’ll contribute to society,’ said Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche, in a press release. ‘Our annual K-12 rankings empower families to make informed decisions and help lay a strong foundation for their children’s futures.’
The top district overall remains unchanged for the fourth straight year — Adlai E. Stevenson High School District No. 125 in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The district has nearly 5,000 students and received the highest possible rating for academics, teachers, clubs & activities, college prep and administration.
In fact, the greater Chicago area swept the top three spots with Cook County’s Glenbrook High School District 225 and Evanston Township High School District No. 202 in second and third, respectively.”
The top 50 school districts in Illinois according to Niche and the WGN News report are:
Did District 220 and/or Dr. Winkleman choose to use the term “Unit” to qualify their report to students, teachers, staff, the board and taxpayers (parents or not)?
From a purely technical perspective, perhaps it might be valid. But does this send the right message to voters being asked to decide on a significant financial referendum question November 5th?
You decide.
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