Education

Lifelong learning starts in Downers Grove with its award-winning elementary schools. Home to eleven public elementary schools, several private schools and two middle schools, residents make education a cornerstone of Village life. In Fall 2007, Pierce Downer School was honored as an outstanding learning environment when it was declared a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The school was nominated for the prestigious award due to its continuous improvement over the preceding five years and students' top-notch scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. The accolades don't stop there for District 58 schools. Pierce Downer, along with Belle Aire and Hillcrest schools, earned a 2007 Excellence Award from Northern Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Education for Exemplary Academic Performance on the Illinois learning standards.

Once grounded in the elementary schools, students continue to be challenged in the Community District 99 high schools. In its 80 years, Community High School District 99 has grown from one small building to two large modern comprehensive high schools, and from five original graduates to more than 1,400 graduates each year. Both schools are conference contenders, frequent conference champions and competitive state contenders. Recent state champions include football, girls' volleyball, badminton and the speech team, a perennial powerhouse in the state.

Education also goes beyond Village borders, and students are strongly committed to community service by planning fundraisers and donating more than $150,000 for the needy from New Orleans and Afghanistan to Africa. They also helped others closer to home, cleaning homeless shelters, buying and wrapping gifts for "adopted" families, visiting with senior citizens, making dinners and holding blood drives.

Education blossoms in Downers Grove through a number of private schools as well. One such independent school has deep roots in this community. The Avery Coonley School has provided a challenging environment for gifted children for more than 100 years. St. Joseph and St. Mary of Gostyn Catholic Schools are located near downtown Downers Grove and serve those who prefer a parochial education.

One of the Village's best kept secrets is Midwestern University. Founded in 1900 as the American College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, MWU relocated to Downers Grove in 1986 to a 105 acre campus including classrooms, laboratories, a new state-of-the-art library and auditorium building, and student housing.