River Forest Public Schools - District 90

District 90 Overview

River Forest Public School District 90 serves grades K-8 through three schools: Lincoln (K-4), Willard (K-4), and Roosevelt (5-8). Current total enrollment is around 1,350. Our students are high achievers, with 94.3 percent of all students in grades 3-8 meeting or exceeding the Illinois Learning Standards in reading, and 97.5 percent meeting or exceeding those in math. District 90 schools have won numerous Academic Excellence Awards from the Illinois State Board of Education and Northern Illinois University, to recognize superior academic achievement sustained over time.

To see a copy of the most recent Illinois State Report Card data for District 90 and each of our schools, click on the links below to download PDFs:

• District 90
• Lincoln
• Roosevelt
• Willard

District 90 enjoys a high level of support from the community, which has allocated significant resources to maintain excellent staff, facilities, and programs. The District’s per-pupil operating expenditure is $12,329, with the majority of the District’s budget going directly toward instructional expenses. The average teaching experience of the District’s full-time teachers is 12.9 years, with 85.7 percent holding master’s degrees. Every teacher in the District is ranked “highly qualified” by the State’s Department of Education.

In addition to offering an engaging, well-rounded curriculum, our schools also offer programs for academically talented students and students with special needs. District 90 schools are well known for exceptional art and music programs, and we offer Spanish, French and Italian. We have a popular and well-attended summer school program as well.  

History of District 90

District 90 was founded in 1850, with 14 students attending classes in a 12-foot-square shed at the corner of Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue. It was replaced by a red frame schoolhouse the following year, which itself was replaced in 1859 by the Harlem School, the historic brick building that now serves as the District headquarters at the corner of Lake Street and Park Avenue. At the time, Harlem School was the largest school building between Chicago and Elgin and was renowned for amenities that included its own well water and individual room stoves for heat.

By 1889, the number of students had grown to nearly 300, warranting the addition of a second school building on the same property; called the Central School, it eventually became today’s Lincoln Elementary School. When the population of River Forest grew to more than 1,000 in 1894, the town chose its first school board. Roosevelt School opened in 1924, serving children in grades K-5 and 8; in 1953 it became a junior high and in 1979 a 5^th- through 8^th-grade middle school, which it remains today. Willard Elementary School was built in 1928, to accommodate the growing number of families settling in the north part of town.  

River Forest Today

The Village of River Forest is in west central Cook County, Illinois, approximately 10 miles west of downtown Chicago. Incorporated in 1880, the Village of River Forest today has a population of around 11,600 and is a mature, largely single-family residential community. The Village of Oak Park borders the River Forest to the east, and students from the two villages attend Oak Park-River Forest High School, located in Oak Park. River Forest is home to two private institutions of higher learning, Concordia University and Dominican University. Some 25 parks and recreational facilities and 54 churches and synagogues serve the Oak Park-River Forest community.