A Long History and Tradition of Excellence
Launch the media gallery 1 playerOriginally established in the mid-1800's, what is now Peru Elementary School District 124 has grown over nearly 175 years into one of the outstanding elementary school districts in north central Illinois with a long standing tradition of academic excellence. The district serves approximately 1,000 students from preschool through eighth grade. Today, children in the district benefit from an outstanding faculty and staff, small class sizes and a rich and challenging curriculum that includes art, vocal and instrumental music, state of the art technology including the STEM Lab, the Bright Futures preschool program and the opportunity for all of our children to eat a nutritious breakfast and lunch at school.
Many of our graduates have gone on to distinguished academic careers at the high school level at either LaSalle-Peru Township High School, St. Bede Academy and even the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). This has continued at the college level where some of our graduates have gone on to attend a wide variety of colleges and universities, including the University of Illinois, Northwestern, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In recent years, the administration and Board of Education have pursued a very proactive facility planning process, which has resulted in strong community support for over $32 million of new school construction. This resulted in the opening of Parkside Middle School in the fall of 2009. Parkside was fully funded with local sales taxes through the cooperation of our mayor and city council. This was indeed a dream come true for our school district, as well as our community. Children in grades 5 through 8 enjoy a state of the art, 95,300 square foot building at Parkside.
Most recently, we completed a similar project at Northview Elementary School. When we opened the "new Northview" in the fall of 2015, the building more than doubled in size when a 40,000 square foot addition was completed, and now serves all of our students in grades PreK through 4. The building was totally modernized and renovated, and all of the district's facilities are climate controlled. This $12 million construction and renovation project was almost entirely funded with a state grant. All of this construction work that has taken place in the district since the work started in 2008 has resulted in no increase in local property taxes.
