Tinley Park is a village of about 37,000 29 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. This fast-growing suburb plans its growth through the work of the village's Long Range Planning Commission. Industrial development includes major employers such as Union Carbide and H.B. Fuller Co. Recreational opportunities include the programs of the World Music Theater and Park District, as well as extensive forest preserve acreage surrounding the town. Schoolchildren attend schools in elementary districts 140, 145, 146, and 161, and go on to Tinley Park High School (district 228) or Victor Andrew High School (district 230). *See below for details on schools.

Transportation needs are served by area highways (I-57, I-80, I-294/Tri-State Tollway, I-55/Stevenson Expwy.), and major local roads (159th. St., Harlem Ave.). Commuter service to downtown is provided by Metra's Rock Island Line in Tinley Park. Travel time to the downtown Chicago station is about 43 minutes (express). Local bus service is available from PACE. The RTA Travel Info. Number is 1-800-972-7000.

City Hall: 708-532-7700 NICOR: 708-597-0110

Commonwealth Edison: 1-800-334-7661 Ameritech (Phone): 1-800-942-8163

Fire Dept. For emergencies, 911. Otherwise, 708-532-5656

Police Dept.: 911 for emergencies. Otherwise, 708-532-9111

Public Library: 17101 71st. Ave. 708-532-0160

Litle Company of Mary Hospital: 708-422-6200 Christ Medical Center: 708-425-8000

Palos Community Hospital: 708-460-5300 St. Francis Hospital: 708-597-2000

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 (Tinley Park only):

Victor Andrew High. 171st. St. & 90th. Ave., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-532-7300.

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

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Art Instruction, Music Instruction, P.E. Classes, Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Counseling, Special Education, Foreign Language, Computer Literacy, Sports, Extra-Curricular Activities, Summer School, Hot Lunch Program.

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

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

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

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation.

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

Tinley Park High School. 6111-175th. St., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-532-1900

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

School System Statistics: See table below.

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

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

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, Before- & After-School Care (Grades K-5).

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

Arbor Park Middle. 15900 Oak Ave., Oak Forest, IL 60452, 708-687-5330.

Morton Gingerwood Elementary. 16936 Forest Ave., Oak Forest, IL 60452, 708-560-0092.

Scarlet Oak Elementary. 5731 Albert Dr., Oak Forest, IL 60452, 708-687-5822.

Kimberly Heights Elementary. 6141 Kimberly Dr., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-532-6434.

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

17316 Oak Park Ave.

Tinley Park, IL 60477

708-614-4510

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Hot Lunch Program (Junior High, sack lunches for Grade School children), Early Childhood (Special Education), Tutoring, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, P.E. Classes, Extra-Curricular Activities (Junior High), Sports (Junior High), Industrial Arts (Junior High), Home Economics (Junior High), Foreign Language - Spanish or French (Junior High), Counseling, Band (Grades 5-8), Orchestra (Junior High), Chorus (Junior High), PTA, Special Education, Preschool Screening, Foreign Language - French or Spanish (Junior High), Gifted Program, Computer Literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL).

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

Personnel: Teachers in academic curriculum areas, plus Art, Music, P.E., Library, Special Education, Social Work, Nurse, Guidance, Vocational Education, (Home Economics, Industrial Arts, Career Exploration).

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

Extras: Hot Lunch, Field Trips, Transportation.

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

Extracurricular (Middle School): Sports, Band, School Clubs, Chorus.

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

District Schools (Tinley Park schools only):

Central Middle. 17248 67th. Ave., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-614-4510.

Fulton Elementary. 6601 171st. St., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-614-4525.

Memorial Elementary. 6701 179th. St., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-614-4535.

Sandidge Elementary. 16600 66th. Ave., Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-614-4540.

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

21133 S. 80th. Ave.

Frankfort, IL 60423

815-469-9103

School System Statistics: See table below.

District-Wide Programs: Hot Lunch Program, Special Education, P.E. Classes, Art Instruction, Music Instruction, Computer Literacy, Band (Grade 5 & up), Chorus (Grade 5 & up), Gifted Program, Tutoring (Upper Grades), English as a Second Language (ESL), Sports (Grade 5 & up), Counseling, Early Childhood, Preschool Screening, Full-Day Kindergarten, Learning Centers.

Features: Gym(s), Music Room/Area, Library, Auditorium/Stage, Computer(s)/Computer Lab(s), Cafeteria, Art Room/Area, Outdoor Playground (Grades K-6).

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

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

Extras: Hot Lunch (Bag Lunch), Field Trips, Transportation.

Special Needs: Learning Disabled, Hearing-Impaired, Sight-Impaired, Mildly/Moderately Retarded, Behavior Disordered, Gifted students. Speech Therapy, Counseling, Tutoring (Reading & Math) provided.

Extracurricular: Sports, Band, Chorus.

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

Summit Hill Junior High. 20130 S. Rosewood Dr., Frankfort, IL 60423, 815-469-4330.

Indian Trail Elementary. 20912 S. Frankfort Square Rd., Frankfort, IL 60423, 815-469-6993.

Frankfort Square Elementary. 7710 W. Kingston Dr., Frankfort, IL 60423, 815-469-3176.

Arbury Hills Elementary. 19561 S. Beechnut Dr., Mokena, IL 60448, 815-469-2106.

Walker Intermediate. 19900 S. 80th. Ave. Tinley Park IL 60477, 815-469-4330.

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.

16801 S. 80th. Ave.

Tinley Park, IL 60477

708-539-8698

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

Parent/Tot & Children's Classes/Leagues/Camps: Arts & Crafts, Music, Soccer, Baseball, Softball, Karate, Tennis, Computers, Reading/Stories, Dance.

Adult Classes/Leagues/Activities: Fitness, Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, Golf, Arts & Crafts.

Senior Adult Classes/Clubs/Services/Programs: Arts/Crafts, Senior's Group, Trips

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

Special Services: Adapted Materials, Remedial Help, Adapted Equipment, Member of South Suburban Special Recreation Association.

Other Services: Preschool, Summer Day Camp.