Proviso Township High School District 209, which draws students from 10 different feeder towns, is mostly populated by residents of three municipalities, D209 data shows. The district used data from the 2010 U.S. Census and residency to determine the breakdown by village.
Students from Maywood and Melrose Park make up the majority of students at Proviso East High School, while the majority of Proviso West students come from Bellwood, according to district figures. The data was released at the Nov. 20 school board meeting.
The district’s 10 feeder communities range in size. Four villages, Berkeley, Broadview, Hillside and Stone Park have total populations less than 10,000 residents. Forest Park is among the three mid-sized communities, which include Westchester and Northlake, that have few residents attending the district.
Edward Moyer, D209’s executive director of assessment and planning, presented the data last week. Moyer said he was attempting to determine how performance correlated with home community and whether there was a socio-economic connection with academic achievement.
New 2010 U.S. Census data was the source of average income figures for feeder communities. Moyer said the census indicated Melrose Park and Maywood had the lowest median home incomes — $48,427 and $48,427 respectively. Westchester had the highest family median income of $66,669.
“The difference, of $26,000 or nearly 50 percent, is not insignificant,” Moyer said.
Forest Park’s average income was $50,797, ranking fifth of the 10 communities.
“Forest Park is right in the middle,” Moyer said.
The district’s feeder communities also vary by race. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Westchester, Northlake, Stone Park, Berkeley and Melrose Park have majority-white populations.
Bellwood, Maywood and Broadview have minority-majority populations.
Forest Park has a 49.7 percent non-Hispanic white population, according to the census. Forest Park’s African-American population is 32.5 percent. Residents of Hispanic and Asian ancestry make up 9.9 percent and 6 percent respectively.
Of the Forest Park students in D209, 161 attend Proviso East High School and 52 attend Proviso Math and Science Academy.
Of the three villages with the most students in D209, Maywood sends 1,226 students to Proviso East, 26 to Proviso West and 142 students to PMSA. Melrose Park is the home of 537 Proviso East students, 173 Proviso West students and 198 students who attend PMSA. Bellwood sends 1,077 students to Proviso West and 100 to PMSA.
