Education is, and always will be, a top priority in Joliet. The community is well equipped with knowledgeable and committed faculties, active school boards and highly involved parents, who all come together to ensure high-quality learning opportunities are provided to students at all levels.
The area’s youngest learners are served by numerous daycare and early childhood education centers in the area – great options for busy parents looking for a good start to their children’s education. Joliet also hosts a multitude of private and parochial institutions offering everything from preschool and kindergarten programs through secondary education. Leading options include Joliet Catholic Academy and Providence Catholic High School in nearby New Lenox.
Joliet Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school for boys and girls co-sponsored by the Joliet Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate and the Carmelites of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. With an enrollment nearly 700 and a student-to-teacher ratio of 15:1, personal and individualized academic attention is given to each student.
The Providence Catholic High School family embraces the gospel of Jesus Christ in an atmosphere of acceptance, respect and love. Providence Catholic High School is a diocesan co-educational, college preparatory school under the leadership of the Order of St. Augustine.
The majority of the area’s students (around 11,000 each year) enroll at one of more than 20 schools in Joliet Public Schools District 86. In addition to more than a dozen traditional elementary schools and four junior high schools, District 86 operates four magnet-designated schools, an early childhood center, a gifted center and an alternative school. The district recently unveiled its newest preK-5 school, Isaac Singleton School, in011, the third school to be built since 2003.
All District 86 students receive a basic skills curriculum consisting of language arts, mathematics, science, social science, fine arts and physical development/health. Joining these core areas are opportunities for gifted education, bilingual instruction, unique before- and after-school programming, intensive reading programs and comprehensive special services.
Upon graduating eighth grade, the greater part of the community attends one of two comprehensive high schools managed by Joliet Township High School District 204. Whether attending the Central or West campus, all students receive a diverse education fashioned to prepare students for what’s next – continuing their learning at a college or university, or entering the workforce.
The district’s comprehensive curriculum includes coursework from the foundations of math, science, English and social studies, as well as foreign language, computer technology, applied life, industrial technology and the fine arts. The district also offers a range of specialized educational programs, including gifted & talented courses, Advanced Placement options, an alternate high school for at-risk students and the Academies program, which is designed to increase student achievement and career preparedness through a smaller, more focused learning environment.
For more information on the public school systems serving Joliet, visit www.joliet86.org and www.jths.org.
When it comes to higher learning, college-bound students and adult learners alike have several excellent options within the Joliet area.
JOLIET JUNIOR COLLEGE
With a proud history as the nation’s first public community college, Joliet Junior College is a leader and innovator in higher education. Offering more than 100 degree and certificate programs, the college serves more than 35,000 students of all ages and backgrounds at its six campuses and education centers, and numerous satellite locations. The college encompasses a fast-growing 1,442-square-mile district in seven counties.
Joliet Junior College is the college for students who want to go to school close to their home and job, who want further training to get ahead in the field they already work in, who want to explore different subjects before settling on a major, who want a smooth transfer to a four-year university in two years, who want options to combine online and classroom learning, who want to go back to school and complete their degree, and who want a college that is excellent, and also affordable.
UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS
The University of St. Francis offers four degree completion programs and 38 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and allied health and social work. Additionally, the university presents 12 graduate programs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.
The university’s Arts & Design Department operates out of its modern facilities at the renovated historic Rialto City Center campus in downtown Joliet. The university also operates a federally funded Health and Wellness Center in the downtown area. This is the first nurse practitioner managed center in Will County.
The University of St. Francis is a “Yellow Ribbon” university, welcoming military veterans, and is ranked in the top tier of U.S. News & World Report’s edition of “America’s Best Colleges.” The university is also noted in The Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges: Region by Region.”
LEWIS UNIVERSITY
Located just north of Joliet on Route 53 in Romeoville, Lewis University is a comprehensive, Catholic university with a richly diverse student body, including traditional-age students, as well as adults of all ages. The ninth-largest among more than 80 private colleges and universities in Illinois, Lewis University offers approximately 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, 22 graduate programs and accelerated programs for working adults through the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Nursing and Health Professions. Students attend classes at the main campus in Romeoville and at sites throughout the Chicagoland area, including campuses in Shorewood, Hickory Hills, Oak Brook and Tinley Park.
Lewis is a dynamic, coeducational university sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. The university provides its nearly 5,800-student population with programs for a liberal and professional education grounded in a values-centered curriculum. Among Lewis’ many offerings is a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership for Teaching and Learning. Lewis has the largest undergraduate nursing program in the state of Illinois, and is the only university in the Midwest to offer the Air Traffic Control program.
RASMUSSEN COLLEGE ROMEOVILLE/JOLIET
Founded in 1900, Rasmussen College is a premier provider of online educational experiences, delivering regionally accredited degree programs through its network of 17 campuses. The Rasmussen College Romeoville/Joliet campus is the third Rasmussen College campus to open in Illinois, and provides an interactive learning environment for students featuring a resource center with Internet access, healthcare labs and a mentoring center to support both residential and online students.
Rasmussen College offers programs that will help qualify students for an in-demand career upon graduation. The associate degrees offered at Rasmussen College Romeoville/Joliet will provide students with a well-rounded education along with preparation for future careers. With specialized Schools of Allied Health, Business, Justice Studies and Technology and Design, Rasmussen College helps students gain the knowledge they need to succeed.
PRAIRIE STATE COLLEGE
Prairie State College has grown in many ways –in size, in facilities, in breadth and depth of educational options, and in reputation. Prairie State College’s 130-acre campus is located at South Halsted Street and Vollmer Road in Chicago Heights, Illinois.
The main campus, located south of Vollmer Road, houses administrative offices, classrooms, laboratories, and student services facilities such as the bookstore, the Counseling and Academic Advising Center, the Student Success Center, Enrollment Services, and the Business Office. The main campus also is home to the Conference Center, a place for special events, meetings, conferences, and the site of the Christopher Art Gallery. The Adult Training and Outreach Center, where the College’s English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Education, and GED classes are held, and the Illinois workNet Center are also located on the main campus.
University of Phoenix
The University of Phoenix provides access to higher education that enables students to develop knowledge and skills necessary to pursue their professional goals, improve the performance of their organizations, and provide leadership and service to their communities.