Quick answer: All homes in Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, and Glencoe feed into New Trier High School (District 203) - along with only portions of Glenview and Northfield. But which elementary and middle school your kids attend depends on a separate, smaller district tied to your specific address, and those boundaries don't always follow town lines. Here's how it actually breaks down.
This is the question I get asked more than almost any other, and it's also the one that's hardest to answer with a generic search - because these boundaries genuinely don't map cleanly to town borders. Buying a home two blocks from where you thought you were buying can put you in a different elementary district entirely.
High school: New Trier District 203
New Trier serves Glencoe, Kenilworth, Wilmette, and Winnetka in full, plus portions of Glenview and Northfield. If a home is listed as "Glenview" but you want New Trier, don't assume - the boundary line runs through parts of town, not around all of it. This is one of the first things I check on any Glenview listing for a family prioritizing New Trier.
Elementary and middle school: it's more fragmented than people expect
This is where it gets specific, and where a lot of buyers get surprised after closing:
Wilmette — two separate districts:
- District 39 covers most of Wilmette, K-8, funneling into Highcrest Middle School and Wilmette Junior High before New Trier.
- Avoca District 37 covers a smaller, differently-shaped area that actually spans parts of Wilmette, Glenview, Winnetka, and Northfield — so an "Avoca district" home isn't necessarily in Wilmette at all.
Winnetka — District 36: Covers Winnetka's elementary and middle schools (Greeley, Crow Island, Hubbard Woods for K-4, feeding into Skokie School and Washburne Middle School), all leading to New Trier.
Kenilworth — District 38: The entire village of Kenilworth is served by a single school, The Joseph Sears School (PK-8) — but the district's boundary also pulls in sections of neighboring Wilmette and Winnetka. So a home with a Wilmette or Winnetka address can, in some pockets, actually belong to Kenilworth's district.
Glenview — mostly a different high school entirely: Most of Glenview feeds Glenbrook South (District 225), not New Trier. Only specific pockets of Glenview fall inside the New Trier boundary. If New Trier is non-negotiable for your family, a Glenview home needs its address verified against the boundary map before you fall in love with it — this is the single most common misunderstanding I see with buyers relocating from outside the area.
Why this trips up so many buyers
The pattern I see constantly: a family finds a home they love listed under one town's name, assumes the schools that go with that town's identity, and doesn't discover the actual district until later in the process — sometimes not until after closing. Because Avoca, Kenilworth's District 38, and the New Trier boundary itself all cut across town lines rather than following them, "which town is this in" is often the wrong question. "Which district boundary is this specific address in" is the right one.
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Quick reference table
Town | Elementary/Middle District | High School |
|---|---|---|
Wilmette (most) | District 39 | New Trier (203) |
Wilmette (parts) / Glenview (parts) / Winnetka (parts) / Northfield (parts) | Avoca District 37 | New Trier (203) |
Winnetka | District 36 | New Trier (203) |
Kenilworth + sections of Wilmette & Winnetka | District 38 (Joseph Sears) | New Trier (203) |
Glenview (most) | Glenview CCSD 34, etc. | Glenbrook South (225) |
Glenview (specific pockets) | Varies by address | New Trier (203) |
Boundaries have specific street-level exceptions. Always verify a home's exact district before writing an offer — this is one of the first things I confirm on every listing I send a family.
If school district is driving your search, start here
I check district boundaries on every home before I send it to a client - not after you've already toured it and asked. If you're house-hunting with a specific district in mind, reach out and tell me which district matters most to your family. I'll build your search around verified boundaries from the start, so you're never touring a home that doesn't actually feed the school you want.
FAQ
Does every home in Wilmette feed into New Trier High School? Yes, all of Wilmette is within the New Trier District 203 boundary. The elementary/middle school within Wilmette varies, split between District 39 and Avoca District 37.
Is Glenview part of the New Trier district? Only in part. Most of Glenview feeds Glenbrook South (District 225). A smaller section of Glenview falls inside the New Trier boundary — this needs to be verified address by address.
What elementary district is Kenilworth in? All of Kenilworth is served by Kenilworth School District 38 (The Joseph Sears School), which also includes sections of neighboring Wilmette and Winnetka.
Can two houses on the same street be in different school districts? Yes, in some pockets — particularly near the Avoca District 37 and Kenilworth District 38 boundary lines, which don't always follow town limits. This is why address-level verification matters more than the listed town name.
