Best Public Schools in University Park, IL

Summary:

The city of University Park, Illinois is home to two schools - Crete-Monee Middle School and Coretta Scott King Magnet School. While both schools serve high-need populations, with over 99% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, Coretta Scott King Magnet School stands out as the clear academic performer in the area.

Coretta Scott King Magnet School consistently ranks in the top half of Illinois elementary schools, earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's test scores significantly outpace the district and state averages, particularly in English Language Arts and Science. For example, in 2023-2024, 37.2% of students were proficient or better in ELA compared to 27.2% for the district and 41.2% for the state. Additionally, Coretta Scott King Magnet School has a lower chronic absenteeism rate of 15.7% compared to 28.6% at Crete-Monee Middle School.

In contrast, Crete-Monee Middle School lags behind, with only 30.6% of students proficient or better in ELA and 9.2% in Math across all grades. The significant gap in test scores between the two schools suggests that factors beyond just staffing levels, such as curriculum, teaching quality, or school culture, may be contributing to the performance differences. Additionally, the low ranking and 1-star rating of the overall Crete Monee CUSD 201U district may be impacting the performance of Crete-Monee Middle School.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				ISA Science (2024)	IAR English Language Arts (2024)							IAR Mathematics (2024)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISA Science All Grades	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics 6th Grade	IAR Mathematics 7th Grade	IAR Mathematics 8th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Coretta Scott King Magnet School	Public	K-5	1009 Blackhawk Dr	University Park	60484	Will County	Crete Monee CUSD 201U	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 367-4700	268	18	14.8	100.0%	29 (10.8%)	195 (72.8%)	28 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.9%)	48.1	982^nd of 2067 public elementary schools	52.5%		57.6	785^th of 2077 public elementary schools	62.2%	197	48.6	39.1	39.6	31.4				37.2	19.5	31.3	14.3				22.5	$17,816	$895	$16,920
Crete-Monee Middle School	Public	6-8	635 Olmstead Ln	University Park	60484	Will County	Crete Monee CUSD 201U	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 367-2400	965	65	14.8	99.8%	138 (14.3%)	599 (62.1%)	170 (17.6%)	6 (0.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (5.2%)	26.5	970^th of 1363 public middle schools	28.8%		31.3	896^th of 1367 public middle schools	34.5%	74	35.3				29.7	29.8	32.3	30.6				9.7	9.7	8.2	9.2	$20,577	$1,200	$19,377

Cities Near University Park

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Park Forest	0.26 mi	8	689^th
Richton Park	0.97 mi	6	606^th
Matteson	2.61 mi	6	710^th
Monee	2.88 mi	2	729^th
Chicago Heights	2.99 mi	25	657^th

See the top IL Illinois cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.