Sunnybrook School District 171

Sunnybrook School District 171 has two schools serving prekindergarten through grade 8: Nathan Hale Elementary School (PK–4, 525 students) and Heritage Middle School (grades 5–8, 500 students). Across the district’s 1,025 students, the clearest shared concern is math: in 2025–2026, both schools were well below the state proficiency rate of 40%, with Nathan Hale at 20% and Heritage at 12%.

The schools stand out in different subjects. Heritage leads in ELA, with 58% proficient in 2025–2026, 2 percentage points above the state rate; Nathan Hale’s 30% is 27 points below the state. In math, Nathan Hale is 8 points ahead of Heritage, but both schools trail the state: by 20 points at Nathan Hale and 27 at Heritage. Heritage’s strong overall ELA result reflects its upper grades: seventh- and eighth-grade results were above their state rates, while fifth and sixth were below. SchoolDigger’s 2025–2026 rankings also place Heritage higher, at the 35th percentile with 2 stars, versus Nathan Hale at the 5th percentile with 0 stars.

Recent test-score changes are mixed, and they do not erase the math shortfall. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Heritage’s ELA rose 5 percentage points while Nathan Hale’s fell 2; Nathan Hale’s math rose 2 points, while Heritage’s dipped slightly. Meanwhile, SchoolDigger’s statewide percentiles declined at both schools over the longer period: 18 points at Nathan Hale and 12 at Heritage. For additional context, the schools reported similar free/reduced lunch eligibility in 2024–2025—60% at Nathan Hale and 59% at Heritage—while Heritage had a lower student–teacher ratio (13.5 versus 16.9). These figures describe the schools, but do not explain their test results.