Peru Public Schools...170 Years of Rich History
Originally established in 1840, what is now Peru Public Schools District 124 has grown over the past 170 years into one of the outstanding elementary school districts in Illinois with a long standing tradition of academic excellence. The district serves well over 1,000 students from preschool through the 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, Spanish, state of the art technology including the Synergistics lab, a gifted program, 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 or the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). This has continued at the college level where our graduates have gone on to attend a wide variety of top colleges and universities, including, the University of Illinois, Northwestern, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In recent history, our community strongly supported the Board of Education's plan to build Parkside Middle School, which is fully funded with local sales taxes with 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, while children in grades 2 through 4 are at beautiful Washington Elementary School and our youngest in preschool through grade 1 attend our excellent Northview Elementary building. Both Washington and Northview have also undergone recent renovations.
Most importantly, our parents and community members are extremely supportive of the students and staff of Peru Public Schools. More school district history will be provided here in the near future.
