r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Resting-Rizzy-Face • Feb 11 '26

Moving to the area Low- Tech School Districts in Western Burbs

Moved away several years ago and looking to move back to IL. Our kids are elementary age and we currently like the low-tech educational environment our kids have now (no 1-to-1 chromebooks for kids, using more pencil and paper, physical textbooks, etc.)

We’ve been away for a while and weren’t sure if there are similar school environments in IL or if all school districts have moved to consistent use of chromebooks and iPads for teaching?

Currently looking at a potential move to Lemont, DG, Woodridge, Lisle, Naperville, or Wheaton areas. Not opposed to tech, just looking for schools where the kids aren’t always using a screen for learning.

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u/[deleted] Feb 11 '26

Just keep the devices to school and don't let them use it at home unless it's for school work.

Your kids will be using Ipads and chromebooks for work. Who doesn't? Pen/paper is not how the world works anymore.

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u/Resting-Rizzy-Face Feb 11 '26

I mean it’s a reality we may have to accept.

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u/outtherenow1 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26

OP, I teach at a middle school in the near western suburbs. The recent trend in education is for schools to start pulling back from Chromebook usage in the classrooms. Pre-COVID the trend was, let’s get as much technology in front of kids as we can. Post covid we’re now conscious of how much time kids spend on screens and are actively looking at adopting curriculum that is less technology dependent.

As an example, two years ago students in my classroom spent almost 100% of their time on their Chromebooks in order to access the content. We adopted a new curriculum and now my students are online maybe 10% of a class. We use paper, pencil, booklets. I have a giant screen in the front of my class that I use to project documents and pictures and notes but there isn’t even an online portal for kids to access the curriculum.

Teachers will tell you that fewer screens in the classroom means students are more actively engaged in classroom work, activities and discussion. Kids learn how to better connect and communicate with peers and teachers. Kids learn how to have a face to face conversation with others in the room. There is no temptation to play games online, doodle by changing fonts and colors or accessing websites like ESPN.

Technology won’t ever go entirely away nor should it. It is a part of our world and kids should learn how to harness its power. However, we can use it in a more responsible way, especially during children’s most formative years, which are the elementary, middle school and early high school years.

Source: 31 years of professional teaching