Excellence in Education Since 1869
Elementary School District 159 (the “District”) is located in Cook County, Illinois and serves portions of the communities of Matteson, Richton Park, and Tinley Park. The student population of 1,935 is served by five sites: four grade schools- Woodgate, Armstrong, Yates, Sieden Prairie and one middle school, Colin Powell. The district’s Administration Center is located on Vollmer Road on the site of the original two-room Sieden Prairie Schoolhouse, originally built in 1869.
Our District prides itself on its excellent program offerings including an award-winning band, National Champion Heritage Bowl tradition, and numerous South Suburban junior high school athletic honors. Art, music, physical education, and technology are core programs in all schools and our middle school offers strong foreign language and speech programs.
Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, we are implementing a dual-language program. In addition, a district-wide full-day preschool for all program will begin Fall 2019 and is a commitment to give our youngest children their best start for learning. We provide a full range of services for students with special needs and educational programs are individually designed to meet each student’s needs.
Colin Powell Middle School underwater robotics program is among the best in the Midwest and has received awards, won several championships and has often competed against high schools over the past several years. Our middle school also has a state-of-the-art applied technology lab with a broadcast and production studio. In our effort to provide students with every opportunity to stay abreast of technology, we also offer a 10-week Saturday coding class for elementary students. Our students and staff have 24/7 access to a technology learning and working environment. We are entering the fifth year (2019-2020) of a five year 1:1 initiative which has provided every student with a mobile device.
Elementary School District 159 supports several community outreach initiatives including Red Nose Day in partnership with Walgreens and Cancer Walks and April Foods Day in partnership with the United Way and Sickle Cell research. Our commitment to service-above-self resulted in a partnership with the Timber Ridge Mobile Community, which is an unincorporated area of Matteson. In January of 2018, we partnered with Timber Ridge to address some of their needs. Working together throughout the year, we transform a rarely used room on the premises of the administration building into the Timber Ridge Community Resource Center. We donated 8 computers, wall art, and approximately 200 books. About 800 additional books were donated by community members and Half Price Books. In the Summer of 2019, we partnered again to establish the Timber Ridge Adult Learning Center and provided Chromebooks, books and wall art.
Elementary School District 159 also has a strong Family & Community Engagement Program that hosts monthly workshops geared towards parent involvement and student achievement. This year we established our Free Six-Week Math Courses for Parents as well as our Free Six-Week Introductory Parent’s Spanish Course. The district’s Superintendent’s Advisory Group and PTO are key to the outreach and programs we create to achieve maximum community support. This year, we are celebrating our 150th anniversary throughout the year with the theme, “Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future.”
