The Palos Area (Palos Heights, Palos Hills, and Palos Park) has a combined population of about 32,500. The towns are located about 22 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. Recreational opportunities for residents include the facilities of the nearby Palos and Sag Valley Forest Preserves, which feature tobagganing, horseback riding, swimming and birdwatching. In Palos Heights, grade school-aged children living east of Harlem Avenue attend district 128 schools and secondary students in that area go to Shepard High School (District 218). Residents west of Harlem Avenue attend district 118 elementary schools and Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park (District 230). In Palos Hills and Palos Park, grade school-aged children attend schools in district 117 or 118 and secondary students go to Alonzo Stagg High School (District 230) (See below for details on Schools).

Transportation needs are served by area highways (I-294), and major local roads (Harlem Ave./Rt. 43, 111th. St., McCarthy Rd.). Commuter service to downtown is provided by the Metra Norfolk Southern Line (NS). Travel time to the downtown Chicago station is about 60 minutes. Local bus service is available from PACE. The RTA Travel Info. Number is 1-800-972-7000.

Village Halls: 708-361-1800 (Palos Heights), 708-430-4504 (Palos Hills), 708-448-6150 (Palos Park)

NICOR: 708-597-0110 Commonwealth Edison: 1-800-334-7661

Ameritech (Phone): 1-800-942-8163. Public Library: 12501 71st. Avenue. 708-448-1473 (Palos Heights)

Police & Fire Dept. Emergencies, 911. Otherwise, 708-448-4272 (Fire) & 708-448-5060 (Police) - Palos Heights and Palos Hills. Palos Park: 708-448-0369 (Non-emergency, Police & Fire)

Palos Community Hospital: 708-361-4500 Christ Hospital & Medical Center: 708-425-8000

Little Company of Mary Hospital: 708-422-6200

10701 Kilpatrick Ave.

Oak Lawn, IL 60453

708-424-2000

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Computer Literacy, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, P.E. Classes, Band, Chorus, Sports, Gifted Program, Counseling, Foreign Language, Hot Lunch Program, Extra-Curricular Activities, Special Education, English as a Second Language (ESL).

Features: Art Room/Area, Music Room/Area, Computer(s)/Computer Lab(s), Gym(s), Auditorium/Stage, Outdoor Stadium/Arena,

Library, Cafeteria.

Personnel: Teachers in academic curriculum areas, plus Art, Music, P.E., Library, Vocational Education (including Computer Science), Special Education, Guidance, Social Work, Gifted/Talented, Nurse.

Curriculum/Courses: Math, Science, English, Social Studies, Art, Music, P.E., Vocational Education.

Honors/AP Courses: Math, Science, English, Foreign Language, Social Science, History.

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation.

Extracurricular: Sports, Orchestra, Band, Chorus, School Clubs, Theater/Drama.

IGAP Test Scores (Average): See table below.

District Schools (Palos Heights only):

Shepard High School. 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights, IL 60463, 708-597-6300.

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Extra-Curricular Activities, Sports, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, P.E. Classes, Band, Computer Literacy, Special Education, Gifted Program, Counseling, Tutoring, Foreign Language, Orchestra, Chorus, Hot Lunch Program, English as a Second Language (ESL).

Accreditation: Yes. State Department of Education, Regional Accrediting Agency.

Features: Music Room/Area, Gym(s), Auditorium/Stage, Computer(s)/Computer Lab(s), Swimming Pool, Art Room/Area, Cafeteria, Library, Outdoor Stadium/Arena, Science Labs.

Personnel: Teachers in academic curriculum areas, plus Art, Music, P.E., Guidance, Special Education, Library, Vocational Education, Social Work, Nurse.

Curriculum/Courses: Math, Science, English, Social Studies, Art, Music, P.E., Vocational Education.

Honors/AP Courses: Math, Science, English, Foreign Language, History.

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation.

Special Needs: Severely/Profoundly Retarded, Physically Handicapped, Hearing-Impaired, Sight-Impaired, Learning Disabled, Behavior Disordered students. Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Tutoring, Counseling, Some services provided through the Southwest Cook County Coop. Association for Special Education and/or the South Metropolitan Association for Low-Incidence Handicapped.

Extracurricular: Sports, Theater/Drama, Orchestra, Band, Chorus, School Clubs.

IGAP Test Scores (Average): See IGAP Scores Table below.

District Schools (Palos Area only):

Amos Alonzo Stagg High. 111th. & Roberts Rd., Palos Hills, IL 60465, 708-974-3300.

Benjamin Franklin High. 12800 S. Austin Ave., Palos Heights, IL 60463, 708-489-9490.

All IGAP Test Scores are from the '97/'98 school year.

6610 W. Highland Dr.

Palos Heights, IL 60463

708-448-0060

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Hot Lunch Program, Special Education, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, P.E. Classes.

Features: Music Room/Area, Gym(s), Auditorium/Stage, Art Room/Area, Cafeteria, Library, Outdoor Playground (Grades K-5).

Personnel: Teachers in academic curriculum areas, plus Art, Music, P.E., Special Education.

Curriculum: Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Art, Music, P.E.

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation.

IGAP Test Scores (Average): See table below.

Independence Junior High. 6610 N. Highland Dr., Palos Heights, IL 60463, 708-448-0737.

Chippewa Elementary. 12425 S. Austin Ave., Palos Heights, IL 60463, 708-388-7260.

Navajo Heights Elementary. 12401 S. Oak Park Ave., Palos Heights, IL 60463, 708-385-3269.

All IGAP Test Scores are from the '97/'98 school year.

8800 W. 119th. St.

Palos Park, IL 60464

708-448-4800

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Hot Lunch Program, Special Education, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, P.E. Classes, Early Childhood, Preschool Screening, Computer Literacy, Gifted Program, English as a Second Language (ESL).

Features: Gym(s), Music Room/Area, Library, Auditorium/Stage, Computer(s)/Computer Lab(s), Art Room/Area, Cafeteria.

Personnel: Teachers in academic curriculum areas, plus Art, Music, P.E., Special Education, Library.

Curriculum: Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Art, Music, P.E., Math, Library.

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation.

Special Needs: Physically Handicapped, Learning Disabled, Mildly/Moderately Retarded, Emotionally Disturbed, Behavior Disordered, Hearing-Impaired, Sight-Impaired students. Some categories provided for through the Southwest Cook County Coop. for Special Education and the South Metropolitan Association for Low Incidence Handicapped. Speech Therapy, Tutoring (Remedial Reading), Counseling provided. Some services provided through the Southwest Cook County Coop. for Special Education and the South Metropolitan Association for Low Incidence Handicapped.

Extracurricular: Chorus (Grade 4 & up), Band (Grade 5 & up), Sports & School Clubs (Middle School).

IGAP Test Scores (Average): See IGAP Scores Tables below.

Palos South Middle. 131st. St. & 82nd. Ave., Palos Park, IL 60464, 708-448-5971.

Palos West Elementary. 12700 S. 104th. Ave., Palos Park, IL 60464, 708-448-6888.

Palos East Elementary. 7700 W. 127th. Ave., Palos Heights, IL 60463, 708-448-1084.

All IGAP Test Scores are from the '97/'98 school year.

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Hot Lunch Program, Special Education, P.E. Classes, Band, Extra-Curricular Activities, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, Gifted Program, Computer Literacy, Preschool Screening, Summer School, Counseling, PTA, Early Childhood, Chorus (Grade 4 & up), Tutoring, English as a Second Language (ESL).

Features: Computer(s)/Computer Lab(s), Gym(s), Library, Cafeteria, Art Room/Area, Auditorium/Stage, Music Room/Area, Outdoor Playground (Grades K-5).

Personnel: Teachers in academic areas, plus Art, Music, P.E., Library, Gifted/Talented, Special Education, Nurse, Social Work.

PreK/K Activities: Art, Creative Movement, Music, Math Readiness, Reading Readiness, Stories, Science/Nature, Social Studies.

PreK/K Materials: Children's Books, Musical Instruments.

Curriculum: Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Art, Music, P.E., Library, Foreign Language (Before- & After-School).

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation, Summer School.

Special Needs: Gifted, Emotionally Disturbed, Behavior Disordered students. Tutoring, Counseling, Speech Therapy provided.

Extracurricular: Band, Chorus, Sports, School Clubs, Foreign Language (Before- & After-School - French & Spanish).

IGAP Test Scores (Average): See IGAP Scores Tables below.

District Schools (Palos Hills grade school only):

Conrady Junior High. 97th. & Roberts Rd., Hickory Hills, IL 60457, 708-598-5500.

Dorn Primary Center. 7840 W. 92nd. St., Hickory Hills, IL 60457, 708-598-5509.

Oak Ridge Elementary. 103rd. & 88th. Ave., Palos Hills, IL 60465, 708-598-5500.

Editor's Note: Annual tuition quoted in this table is for one child, Full-day Kindergarten (if available)/Grades 1-8 for Elementary Schools and Grades 9-12 for High Schools. For Catholic Schools, annual tuition quoted is for parishioners. For other denominations, annual tuition quoted is for members (whenever there is a difference between member/nonmember tuition). Any school with an asterisk (*) offers before- and/or after-school care. While we make a reasonable effort to maintain accuracy, we don't guarantee that all information is correct.

Editor's Note: Tuition quoted is the weekly rate for full-time care. Codes in parenthesis: I for Infant, T for Toddler, 2 for Age 2, P for Preschool (Ages 2-5 or 3-5), K for Kindergarten, SA for school-age. For part-time preschool programs (2, 3, or 5 mornings or afternoons per week), the tuition quoted is monthly, with 2x, 3x, or 5x in parenthesis to indicate the number of days per week for each program. While we make a reasonable effort to maintain accuracy, we don't guarantee that all information is correct. For any categories that are blank, please call the center for that information.

6601 W. 127th. St.

Palos Heights, IL 60463

708-361-1807

Equipment/Physical Features: Outdoor Playground(s), Handicapped Accessible, Computer(s), Gym(s), Tennis Court(s), Swimming Pool(s), Sports Fields.

Parent/Tot & Children's Classes/Leagues/Camps: Gymnastics, Volleyball, Tennis, Dance, Ballet, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Roller Skating, Hockey, Horseback Riding, Cooking, Computers, Photography, Piano, Arts & Crafts, Magic, Karate, Puppetry, Music, Bowling.

Adult Classes/Leagues/Activities: Fitness, Karate, Yoga, Basketball, Dance, CPR, Pet Obedience Training, Arts & Crafts, Volleyball, Golf, Roller Skating, Scuba Diving, Tennis

Senior Adult Classes/Clubs/Services/Programs: Fitness, Golf.

Special Needs: Physically Handicapped, Developmentally Delayed, Hearing-Impaired, Sight-Impaired.

Special Services: Adapted Materials, Adapted Equipment provided. Programs offered through the South West Special Recreation Association (SWRSA), 12521 S. Kostner Ave. in Alsip, 708-389-9423.

Other Services: Summer Day Camp, Child Care, Before/After-School Care, Preschool (Little Learners).

8901 W. 123rd. St.

Palos Park IL 60464

708-361-1535

Equipment/Physical Features: Outdoor Playground(s), Gym(s), Tennis Court(s), Sports Fields.

Parent/Tot & Children Classes/Leagues/Camps: Basketball, Baseball, Tennis, Golf, Horseback Riding, Gymnastics, Arts & Crafts, Cooking, Hockey, Volleyball, Ice Skating, Dance, Ballet, Judo, Softball, Soccer.

Adult Classes/Leagues/Activities: Volleyball, Golf, Tennis, Basketball, Fitness.

Other Services: Summer Day Camp (at Stagg and Sandburg High Schools).