Northwood Jr High School

The school is brand new and smart choices have been made to keep the building and equipment nice for the long run. The school hosts a dual-language Spanish-English program where kids from 2 elementary schools have started in the program since Kindergarten. The school is well organized and the staff is friendly and motivated.

This school is wonderful. First off, there is a wonderful diverse culture at Northwood Jr. High, along with the dual language program. (The dual language program is when students speak spanish fluently in the subjects spanish & social studies in Northwood). Another wonderful thing about Northwood Jr. High is that every year, Northwood holds their annual "Roots Fests" celebration. It's when students celebrate their roots (their background & nationality). Performers come from all over the place, & students showcase their "roots". Northwood is a wonderful place to go to school, & you learn so much there. You not only learn math or science, you learn about culture, & how to respect it. 5 Stars All The Way!

The vast majority of the teachers at Northwood are truly outstanding in their craft (and I don't say that easily). One received a golden apple recently, and I can think of several others who should receive one too. Like most public schools, Northwood has some mediocre teachers also who are kept around which is disappointing, but they are fewer and farther between than in our experience in other schools. The leadership is very dedicated, invested and always available, and they try to be innovative within the confines of the district and tenure/union rules. I couldn't give 5 stars though because they could be much more innovative and need to do something dramatic to get themselves off of the no child left behind, failing to meet adequate yearly progress list. The school also needs more extra curricular options. One thing many kids want to do is the annual play, but sadly two of the teachers who run it are unprofessional, yelling at the kids and favoring certain kids. So many parents and kids complain, but the same people are hired again to run the play the next year. These teachers turned my child (and many others) off of theater forever!

Now with 2 kids at Northwood I continue to be more impressed with the dedication of the teachers and staff. Each child is well known, strengths and weaknesses, and challenged accordingly. This is the most diverse school in Highland Park, with kids from Fort Sheridan and Highwood. Due to the nature of the transiency of military families, the test scores are skewed, but all the kids regardless of background are given the tools to excel if they choose to take advantage of them. The other schools in the district show better scores, but they have a less diverse population with one culture, which is fine, but not the real world (if that is what youu want for your kids)

I am a teacher at Northwood. The teachers at Northwood truly are invested in doing a great job and reaching all students regardless of their level. Maybe it is because we have a relatively smaller middle school (approx 450 students), but the commitment of the teachers is really inspiring. I am proud to work in this school!