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Oak Brook’s Butler District 53 takes top two spots in magazine’s school ranking
Jaime Adams of Hinsdale and Patricia D'Agostino of Oak Brook sit and chat during the polo match at the Oak Brook Polo Grounds. | Steve Johnston~for Sun-Times Media
Updated: September 24, 2012 6:21AM
OAK BROOK — Butler Elementary District 53’s two schools were named the top two elementary schools in DuPage County by Chicago Magazine in its 2012 ranking of public schools.
The magazine’s September issue includes an analysis of data from more than 700 Chicago area schools. Brook Forest, which is home to students through fifth grade for District 53, was cited as the top elementary school in the county. Butler Junior High, which serves students in grades 6-8, was given the No. 2 ranking, which also made it the top-ranked junior high or middle school.
“We are thrilled at this designation from Chicago Magazine,” District 53 Superintendent Sandra Martin said. “It confirms what we believe. We are very proud of our students, grateful for their parents, and appreciative of our entire professional staff.”
In determining its ranking, the magazine analyzed and weighted three factors from the 2011-12 school year: spending per pupil, pupil-teacher ratio and percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. These factors, according to the magazine, are the most reflective of academic quality.
On the 2011-12 ISAT, 99.7 percent of Brook Forest students and 98.3 percent of Butler Junior High students met or exceeded state standards.
In 2006, Chicago Magazine also named the two District 53 schools as the best in DuPage County.
Schools from Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181 filled seven of the eight remaining spots among the top 10 in the magazine’s ranking of elementary schools; Gower Middle School of Burr Ridge Elementary District 62 ranked sixth.
Hinsdale Central was ranked as the top high school in the county.
