Glenbrook District 225 named Best School District in U.S. with A+ in Excellence and B in Diversity:

In an educational landscape of over 11,000 districts, one has risen to the pinnacle. Glenbrook High School District 225 was ranked the ”Best School District in America," by the ranking site Niche in October 2025.
The public school district, which serves more than 5,000 students at Glenbrook South in Glenview and Glenbrook North in Northbrook, earned an "A+" grade in nine of Niche’s ten categories, including academics, college prep, and clubs. The district was lauded for its strong academic programs, extensive extracurricular activities, and overall student experience. Niche is considered the authority on school rankings, and for its analysis, the website analyzed millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education, according to the site. It then factored in rankings for state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality, public school district ratings and more.
Overall, more than 11,000 school districts nationwide were evaluated, with grades assigned based on how each school performed in certain categories, including teachers, academics, college prep, diversity, clubs and activities and more. Topping the list was Glenbrook High School District 225.
However, the district's report card was not perfect. In Niche's Diversity category, the district earned a B. That might be due to the most recent U.S. census report showing Glenview has a black population of 1%, one of the lowest in the suburbs. The report shows 519 African Americans in Glenview, which had a population of 48,705 at the time of the census. According to the Illinois report card 2023-2024, Glenbrook South High School only has 54 black students. There are not many diversity programs at the high school in Glenview or the village in general. The B+ might have just been given to them. From the numbers they earned a C-. The census report is done every 10 years but early estimates indicate there will be little change.
The national accolade was celebrated by families with firsthand experience in the district. Thirty-four-year Glenview resident Diane Gosser’s daughter Michael went to Glenbrook South High School for four years and participated in gymnastics and swimming. “South has an excellent sports department,” said Gosser. “My daughter loved attending school there and went on to get a degree in biology at University of Denver.”
Diane herself attended New Trier West for four years. “I was there the first year the campus opened - back then we attended all four years at the west campus,” added Gosser. Now the west campus is used for freshmen only. “My first two years girls were not allowed to wear blue jeans,” Diane recalled.
While Glenbrook High School District 225 took the top national spot, it was not listed as the best place to teach - that honor went to New Trier Township High School District No. 203. That district, in Northfield and Winnetka, also came in fourth place overall and was ranked by Niche as the No. 1 place to teach in Illinois.
Other local districts also placed highly in the national rankings. Township High School District 113, which includes Deerfield High School and Highland Park High School, landed in the No. 5 spot. In Vernon Hills, Community High School District 128 ranked No. 6. Hinsdale Township High School District No. 86 also made the top 10, landing in the No. 8 spot.
Currently, Glenbrook South has 3,080 students while Glenbrook North has 2,077, together forming the new champion of American public school districts.
Photo: Glenbrook South High School in 2025.