Cheers disperse after each strut, friends are waving goodbye, cherishing their last moments before separating districts; your principal hands over your certificate in big print “Northlake Middle School” with a wide grin. Locations, houses, and boundaries determine where someone should attend high school, but is this always the case? 

Since 2020, many citizens have imposed a referendum, allowing all Northlake Middle School graduates to attend Leyden High School for a better education. Currently, the boundary mandates Northlake Middle School graduates to distribute evenly with high schools: West Leyden District 212 and Proviso West District 209. The graduate split of both districts creates dilemmas regarding the inconvenience of travel and safety. For instance, many Northlake graduates who attend Proviso West live closer to West Leyden. Concerning safety, Proviso West has higher rates of student violence than West Leyden. 

Many students of Northlake agree about expanding boundaries. Graduate of Northlake, and current junior of West Leyden, Reyna Morales claims “I would rather have gone to Leyden because I heard that there are a lot of fights at Proviso and some teachers don’t even care what you do in class’ rubbing her earrings,  “I think Leyden just has a better education and people are more respectful here.” 

Another West Leyden junior, Jesus Perez agrees, “I would have preferred to go to West Leyden because I would have gotten a better education and better program. West Leyden is way safer than Proviso.” Although the boundaries forbade many graduates from attending West Leyden, many of the exceptional students considered this opportunity a blessing but, this shouldn’t always be the case. 

Northlake Residents believe the boundaries shouldn’t mandate whether their children are eligible for a better education. Mayor of Northlake, Jeffrey Sherin’s Research shows residents want all of Northlake Middle School in District 212 and have “been advocating for it since at least the mid-90s,” for a change to occur, “a majority of residents in the district would have to sign a petition asking for the detachment, and then it would go to a hearing with the regional superintendent” Sherin claims. (Referendum: Northlake to ask residents if the city should support efforts to move small portion of students out of Proviso District 209 and into Leyden District 212.)

Security of West Leyden, Mr. Rush isn’t bothered at all,  “I think as long as they move into the district and they want a good education, we should give them that opportunity.” This shows staff of West Leyden is open to expanding District 212. “I also believe violence in Proviso West is far more severe because the environment isn’t as secure, If students would rather attend West Leyden for a better education but are stopped because of where they live, then there’s a conflict.” Rush added.

Not only does violence affect students physically, it also affects them academically. In agreeance, research from “Sage Journals” indicates, “A safe environment is a prerequisite for productive learning. Using a unique panel data set of survey responses…. findings show a consistent negative relationship between feeling unsafe in the classroom and test scores.”(The Academic Consequences of Feeling Unsafe in the Classroom) Given this information, Proviso West can negatively impact students which leads to many of the reasons why students would rather attend West Leyden. 

Social sophomore, Santino Falco expresses, “I would rather go to West Leyden because I feel like it helped me meet a lot of amazing people, I feel like West Leyden is a way better school because there’s a lot less fights.” Santino is grateful for being the very few selected for West Leyden, he believes all of Norhtlake should be given this opportunity. 

As the years go by, the graduate split will remain relevant and affect those involved. Numerous will think the boundaries are unfair. Perhaps in a few years, the referendum will be approved and all Northlake Middle School students will transition to West Leyden High School. 

Kim, Anna. “Referendum: Northlake to ask residents if city should support

     efforts to move small portion of students out of Proviso District 209 and

     into Leyden District 212.” Chicago Tribune, Anna KIm, 6 Oct. 2020,

     www.chicagotribune.com/2020/10/06/

     referendum-northlake-to-ask-residents-if-city-should-support-efforts-to-move-smal

     l-portion-of-students-out-of-proviso-district-209-and-into-leyden-district-212/.

     Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Lacoe, Johanna. “Too Scared to Learn? 

     The Academic Consequences of Feeling Unsafe in the Classroom.”

      Sage Journals, Sara Miller McCune, 24 Oct. 2016,

      journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042085916674059. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.