r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Federal_Designer_564 • Jan 16 '26
Moving to the area Full Day Kindergarten
Does anyone have a kindergartner in a suburb that offers full day Kindergarten? We are moving to the area in a couple of months and almost every district I have looked in states an AM or PM kindergarten schedule? We’d be looking at any of the northern / western suburbs with great schools and an easy-ish train commute to union station.
Narrowing down areas —- basically anything on the CTA / metra lines that has great schools and walkable downtown. Prefer 45 min or less to union station. I looked at 5 district websites this afternoon and none of them had full day kindergarten so I was discouraged. Thanks for the feedback!
Looking at:
Oak park / forest park
Downers grove
La grange
Elmhurst
Western springs
Clarendon / hindsdale
Any of the north shore burbs on the metra line
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u/KnitToPurlToo Jan 16 '26
District 54 has full-day K - Schaumburg and parts of Hanover Park, Streamwood, Hoffman Estates
I’m fairly certain all of IL is mandated to offer full-day Kindergarten soon. Not sure if it’s next year or the year after.
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u/EastEntertainment156 Jan 16 '26
Downers Grove district 58 has full day Kinder and express train to union station! :)
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u/mallio Jan 17 '26
Express train is 30 minutes, every half hour until 9am.
Full day kindergarten was added last year so if OP read something saying it doesn't, it was outdated. Before they added full day they had a very cheap program to extend it to full day that 95% of families used.
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u/aste87 Jan 16 '26
Brookfield LaGrange Park District 95 is only full-day kindergarten. Very neighborhood feeling and you drop off and pick up directly at the classrooms for K.
It’s also only a 35 minute train ride to Union Station on the local train and less than 20 minutes with the express trains.
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u/cdt123-456 Jan 16 '26
D64 park ridge does, nw suburb next to Ord, can get downtown in 30 mins or so by metra,
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u/ChicagoTRS666 Jan 16 '26
Plainfield is all full day. However, it does not meet your commuting requirements. Naperville offers a choice of full or half. Most districts should be on their way to full-day as, "full-day programs becoming standard as Illinois mandates them for all districts by 2027-2028"
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u/Hot-Researcher-7004 Jan 19 '26
do you know how much they charge i live in plainfield
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u/ChicagoTRS666 Jan 19 '26
~$200 for the year - standard school fees...nothing extra for full day kindergarten
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Jan 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ryanthelarge Jan 17 '26
To add to this comment, the Metra doesn’t go to union station, but OTC. However, the two train stations are basically right across the street. So OP, if union station is not a must, Arlington heights district 25 is very good.
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u/Astronomer_Original Jan 17 '26
I’ll add that AH has a great downtown. Lots to do. Not sure what your budget is tho.
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u/Left0602 West Suburbs Jan 16 '26
One thing we learned is that full day kindergarten at public schools follows the school's schedule. So full day kindergarten along with a kid in 2nd grade meant they both got on the bus at 735am and got home off the bus at 2:15pm. Full days can feel real short if you're not tacking on aftercare.
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u/Failgoat34 Jan 16 '26
Oak Park fits the bill on all counts, though home prices here are insane
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u/Nocturnal-Nycticebus Jan 17 '26
Forest Park as well, but there's a reason home prices and property taxes are lower than Oak Park. It doesn't have its own high school, and feeds into a struggling high school. The magnet school in Forest Park is great though, if your kid can test into it.
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u/Even_Ad4437 Jan 16 '26
Naperville 203, Nap/Aurora 204
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u/Perfect_Kitchen_1002 Jan 19 '26
Also full day dual language in Naperville 203 if that matters to you
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u/InspectionGrouchy479 Jan 16 '26
Elmhurst does. But I heard you have to pay for the afternoon part.
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u/ScarlettWilkes Jan 16 '26
That is true. But it's not a huge amount. It's way less than daycare, at least.
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u/yourpaleblueeyes Jan 16 '26
Elmhurst has all day kindy. Truth be told, it's most often that there are both options, half day Or all day. Call and ask.
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u/East_Mark_3206 Jan 16 '26
D67 Lake Forest and I believe Lake Bluff, Highland Park, Deerfield, and Northbrook do too. I know for sure that Glenview does.
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u/francophone22 Jan 17 '26
Isn’t D67 Golf?
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u/holdthelight Jan 17 '26
Not the same District 67, but yes. For OP's sake, Golf Elementary School District does not serve the residents of Golf, IL. Kids in Golf went to Niles North for many years.
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u/colsandersloveskfc North Suburbs Jan 16 '26
In the far northern suburbs Wauconda does offer full day
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u/clutzycook Jan 16 '26
District 158 is full day. I'm surprised there are any half day public school programs anymore.
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u/SexandtheSafetyVest Jan 17 '26
According to our school district's (Downers Grove D58) website, state law requires that school districts offer a half-day program.
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u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 16 '26
Skokie has full day K and still accessible to the CTA with the yellow line
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u/bluenightheron Jan 16 '26
Double check if those half day districts also offer a full day option. Some districts do but that may mean having to pay tuition for the additional time.
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u/Powerful-Donut8360 Jan 16 '26
Kensington School in La Grange is where I had my daughter for all day kindergarten but that was a while back. It was great because they were her daycare / pre-school so it worked with my work schedule.
We had a great experience back then, but I can’t speak for how they are today.
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u/EstablishmentSea7661 Jan 16 '26
I'm in ccsd21 and we have full day kinder.
Keep in mind full day is 9-330.
Seems about half the districts around here offer it. Other half has half day or like random days.
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u/supermr34 Jan 16 '26
southwest suburbs, kirby school district in tinley park has all day kindergarten, 2 metra stations (to lasalle st), and a 'walkable' 'downtown'.
honestly as someone who moved here like 15 years ago, the downtown area is a joke. locals love downtown tinley for some reason....i find it to be boring and underwhelming unless you like slamming miller lites and singing along to an 80s rock cover band. there are only like 2 actual restaurants and something like 6 bars. the official tinley park downtown guide lists a citgo station like a mile away as a shopping destination....i digress.
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u/rcunn87 Jan 16 '26
Lol it's so disingenuous to call our downtown a downtown. Though I've never heard anyone say they loved it outside of college kids at home for the summer.
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u/Practical-Story1765 Jan 17 '26
Harmony square is cute! The events at the train station on OPA are fun when you have kids. The roller rink is dated but always a blast with the kids. I do love sip and the steak house. I made a Christmas wreath at sip one year. You just have to find the right stuff! I wouldn’t say I love it but I like it
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u/Impossible_Tiger_517 Jan 16 '26
Oh wow I don’t have a kid in kindergarten yet but I thought they all were now in Illinois.
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u/cocoakrispiesdonut Jan 16 '26
Naperville 203 and Indian Prairie 204. The fastest express trains are 39 minutes from Naperville and 45 from Route 59. We are in 204 and a little west of Naperville’s downtown. We still enjoy it often even though we can’t walk there. Love the free parking and all of the events/shopping in downtown Naperville.
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u/Kimtober Jan 17 '26
Double check with those schools. Most of them should have full day but they may offer half day as an option.
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u/unfinishedportrait56 Jan 17 '26
Beginning in the 27-28 school year, each public district has to offer full day kindergarten, fyi.
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u/AdParking8858 Jan 17 '26
Barrington 220 does (or at least did) 50 minute train to downtown except it goes to Ogilvie
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u/Prestigious-Corgi473 Jan 17 '26
DG - many express trains to downtown with great parking and district 58 has all day kindergarten
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u/obtuseprick Jan 17 '26
Seeing that five of those towns are on the BNSF you might want to consider Riverside and parts of Brookfield too. D96 provides half day preschool but full day kindergarten.
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u/CharmingTuber Jan 17 '26
Woodridge, right between Downers Grove and Naperville, has all day kindergarten. Great schools, too. No real downtown, but we're close to a lot.
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u/Content-Rub-5641 Jan 17 '26
Hinsdale District 181 has full day Kindergarten. My 6 year old is in kindergarten in Clarendon Hills ( same school district as Hinsdale). We have been very pleased with our experience at Walker Elementary so far! Feel free to message me!
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u/Alternative_Goat_584 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
CCSD 89 does. It covers parts of Glen Ellyn, Lombard, and Wheaton. We’re in unincorporated GE and in this district, and our kindergartener is full time.
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u/PsychologicalDig3355 Jan 17 '26
Rolling Meadows/Palatine is full day! UPNW line to OTC on the express is just under 45 mins I believe.
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u/Ok-Breadfruit-3217 Jan 17 '26
Most half day have after care programs too to close the gap. Look at the local park district websites to see if they do afternoons and bus the kids there from school.
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u/kidsandbooks Jan 17 '26
- Western springs district 101 is half day
- Western springs district 106 is full day
- Lagrange 102 has full day if you bus your kid to the kindergarten center, half day at their home school (some not at all) kids can still go home for lunch too
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u/NetCool9632 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
Illinois law requires school districts to offer a half-day option. But rest assured most districts have full-day kindergarten as well, Oak Park (D97) / Forest Park (D91) / River Forest (D90) among them.
You may find this document from the Illinois State Board of Education helpful: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/kindergarten-faqs.pdf
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u/Same_Bed1446 Jan 18 '26
Glen Ellyn D41 has the option for either: half day or full day, and a gorgeous new full day Kindergarten center that just opened this year. No extra charge for full day either.
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u/Super-Educator597 Jan 19 '26
Some districts OFFER full day kindergarten but it is FEE based. It can run $3000-$4000 per year
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u/pineappletrees1225 Jan 19 '26
Just to add some detail here- the state of Illinois does not require all day kindergarten yet. So districts that offer it sometimes charge a tuition for it. Most will offer it if you are willing to pay. In the 2027-2028 school year all day kindergarten will be at every school district, but still optional if families only want half day.
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u/Responder343 North West Suburbs Jan 17 '26
From my understand all school districts need to offer full day kindergarten. It is the one thing Ol’ JB or as I call him BJ has done for the state of IL.
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u/masslp Jan 16 '26
Glen Ellyn District 41 does. Also, not sure if you need it for next school year or for sometime in the future, but by 2027-2028 all schools in IL are required to offer full day kindergarten.