Officially incorporated 109 years ago, in 1901, District #128 began as a one-room school operating in various store fronts before moving into a community building prior to 1938, when major development began in the area.  By 1941, the district was operating the old Palos Heights School at 127th Street and 69th Court.  In a few years, the district would see the development of a Parent-Teacher Association, a hot lunch program, and the first successful Education Fund referendum, and class sizes would increase from a modest 8 to 125 total enrollees by 1947.  In the years following World War II, class sizes at the younger grades would continue to increase before reaching a plateau around 1980.  Burgeoning enrollment was a constant challenge to the staff of the school, and eventually more buildings were built.  Today, Independence Junior High, Chippewa Elementary School (grades 1-3), Navajo Elementary School (grades 4-5), and Indian Hill Early Learning Center provide education for the children of the community. 

The district has much of which to be proud.  As noted by Mr. Willms, students from #128 consistently rank highly at the local public high school, and many undoubtedly find similar success in nearby private schools.   For many years, the commencement addresses at the junior high featured highly successful alumni, such as Dave Dumbrowski, a 1970 graduate who became General Manager of the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals).  In 1965, the district instituted girls’ sports, 8 years before the onset of Title IX required it.  Today, Independence is the district’s junior high and its mascot is the Patriot, but formerly the junior high was Crab Orchard School (now the Recreation Center); many will remember the very successful Crab Orchard Blue Devils basketball team.  One alumnus of the program, 1966 graduate David Anders, set a scoring average record at H.L. Richards High School of 23.3 points per game, a record that stood for 30 years until broken – by Dwayne Wade, who now plays for the Miami Heat.

- Palos Heights School District #128: A History 1901-2004 by James M. Willms
From the Palos Heights Public Library Local History collection