These websites contain information about local schools and educational opportunities in the community and across the country.
School report cards are available for area schools and are available from both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.
An excellent all-purpose higher education website is Peterson's, which has information on colleges across the country and provides help with test preparation, financial aid, and distance learning. College ratings are available from U.S. News and World Report and the Education and Social Science Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Denotes resources suitable for students in elementary and middle grades
Web resource 
Available with Skokie Public Library card 
Available in Library only
Continuing Education
Alliance for Lifelong Learning from Oakton Community College
Serving the Skokie area, Oakton Community College offers continuing education including professional, GED and ESL classes at various locations in the area. This site provides information and a schedule of classes.
Back to College
Back to College is an all-in-one resource for the returning student. Resources include information about scholarships, grants, and fellowships; accredited online degree programs, and searchable indices of curriculum and internships.
ChicagoLearningGuide.com
A directory of professional, personal, and recreational classes in and around Chicago.
ORT Technical Institute
ORT Technical Institute, located at 5440 Fargo Avenue in Skokie, offers short-term intensive programs in areas of high job market demand and also offers a comprehensive training program in English as a Second Language. The Institute provides computer-based training programs in business applications, computer technology, design and drafting, and other fields. All programs feature hands-on training, modern equipment, and a highly qualified faculty and staff.
Skokie Park
District
The Skokie Park District offers various classes and activities for Skokie residents and non-residents of Skokie. Their website includes brochures of upcoming events.
Literacy and English as a Second Language
The Library has a large number of books and audiovisual materials for those learning English as a second language and for adults learning to read. The collection includes textbooks, citizenship guides, TOEFL study guides, and much more. All of the materials may be checked out of the Library. Questions about the collection should be directed to the Reference desk.
ESLgold.com: English Study and Learning Materials
ESLgold includes more than one thousand pages of resources for ESL students and teachers. Students can visit vocabulary or grammar lessons, or practice for the TOEFL/TOEIC tests. For teachers, ESLgold offers lesson plans, handouts, and other ideas for the classroom.
Illinois State Library Literacy Office
The Illinois State Library Literacy Office administers the Adult Literacy grant programs that provide basic adult literacy instruction to enhance reading, writing, math, or English proficiency for Illinois residents.
Oakton Community College - ESL: English as a Second Language Classes
Free and fee-based classes are offered at locations around the Skokie area. Classes are designed for adults 16 years and older whose native language is not English. They teach listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills and introduce students to American (U.S.) culture.
Oakton Community College - Free Reading/Literacy Classes
Classes are for native and non-native speakers of English who wish to improve their reading. Lead teachers direct trained tutors to help students develop reading, writing, and/or math skills. Students must be at least 16 years old and not currently enrolled in high school. Classes are held in many locations in the area including Skokie Public Library.
TOEFL.org
The official website of the Test of English as a Foreign Language includes descriptions of the TOEFL and TSE (Test of Spoken English) and provides test registration information.
Elementary and High School
General Information
Cook County GED Testing Program
This site provides information regarding the GED in Cook County including test sites and dates, content of the test and registration information
Directory of K-12 Schools from SkokieNet
This site contains contact information and links to public and private schools in the Skokie area.
Illinois Certification
Testing System
This site contains information on registration and links to study guides for
teacher certification exams that are required of elementary and secondary
school
teachers in Illinois.
Note: Study guides require Adobe Reader.
Search for
Schools, Colleges and Libraries
Search for information on public schools, private schools, and libraries at this website provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Teacher
Resources from the Skokie Public Library Youth Services Department
The Youth Services staff has selected this collection of resources especially for educators to assist with curriculum development, lesson planning, and classroom challenges.
School Ratings and Report Cards
eReport Card from the Illinois Board of Education
This site provides school report cards required by state law with information on standardized test scores, expenditures, and demographics.
Interactive Illinois
Report Card from Northern Illinois University
Created with support from the Illinois Board of Education, this site contains standardized assessment scores, funding information, and other evaluative information on elementary, middle, and high schools in Illinois.
School District
Demographics from the National Center for Educational Statistics
This website provides access to school district
geographic and demographic data useful for describing and analyzing
characteristics of school districts, children, and
K-12 education.
Higher Education
School Guides
Colleges & Universities in the Skokie Area from SkokieNet
This website contains a directory and links to two- and four-year colleges in the Skokie area.
Back to College
Back to College is an all-in-one resource for the returning student. Resources include information about scholarships, grants, and fellowships; accredited online degree programs, and searchable indices of curriculum and internships.
Community
College Web
This site contains links to Community College websites across the United States and Canada.
Destination: College! from Skokie Public Library
This site is a guide to college resources at Skokie Public Library and contains a selection of web links for college and financial aid information.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Apply online for student financial aid at this United States Department of Education website.
IEE Passport
From the Institute of International Education, this online guide to international study options includes information about universities and private institutions that sponsor education abroad programs for United States students and adult learners.
IPEDS
College Opportunities Online
This online directory from the National Center for Education statistics provides information about colleges and universities across the country.
Peterson's
Peterson's provides information about planning and paying for college. Resources include online admission services and information about distance learning courses and online degree programs.
The Princeton
Review
This all-purpose site provides a guide to colleges (including online applications), admission test advice and practice, scholarship information, and general career advice.
Search Programs in
Illinois from the Illinois Board of Higher Education
This site provides the ability to search for college degree programs throughout Illinois. Search by institution type, degree programs, and subject area with geographic limits.
Rankings
America's Best Colleges
From U.S. News and World Reports, this site contains rankings of the top universities in the country covering liberal arts colleges, business and engineering programs, and master's universities. It also contains a "CollegeFinder" for prospective students and a guide to Graduate School with rankings.
Best 361 College Rankings
The Princeton Review offers their rankings of the top schools in academics and in many other categories such as parties, quality of life, extracurricular, and social.
College and University Rankings
Created and maintained by the University of Illinois Education and Social Science Library, this site provides links to college ranking resources, information about ranking controversies, and a bibliography of print material.
Online Classes and Tutorials
Atomic Training
Atomic Training contains short videos explaining specific tasks in many of the most popular software applications in use today.
The videos may be watched in sequence like a course, or watched individually to learn a specific part of a program.
Colleges Without Classes
This free, online directory lists over 5,000 distance learning degrees from almost three hundred accredited U.S. colleges and universities. Search by degree type, field of study, or key words. No registration is required.
eHow
This handy website provides online guides and tutorials for hundreds of topics.
Free-Ed.net
A collection of links to free education on the Internet. Courses are arranged in a catalog that covers topics such as business, careers, science, computer science, engineering, medicine, and more.
LearningExpressLibrary.com
Based on official tests, LearningExpressLibrary.com provides online practice
examinations for the SAT, ACT, ASVAB, GED, and Civil Service careers, along
with Adult Basic Skills quizzes covering reading, grammar, and math. Tests
are scored immediately and evaluations highlight strengths and weaknesses.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database available
Lynda.com Online Learning Library
Lynda.com Online Learning Library provides users with access to over 800 video training courses in computer related topics such as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, iMovie, or Twitter.
Mango Languages
Mango Languages provides access to a great variety of guided language learning programs, including foreign language and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. Users can register to track their progress on the Mango site or simply select the “Start Learning” option to begin without registering. Use Mango to pick up a few phrases, or learn the basics of conversation in languages from Arabic to Vietnamese.
Peterson's
Peterson's provides information about planning and paying for college. Resources include online admission services and information about distance learning courses and online degree programs.
SoYouWanna.com
This website features a broad range of online tutorials covering a range of topics, from running marathon to playing poker.
Test Prep Review
TestPrepReview.com is a free service of a nonprofit group of educators created to provide free practice test questions for students in a variety of career situations.
Research
ERIC
ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center) provides unlimited access to more than 1.4 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials, with hundreds of new records added multiple times per week. Links to full text are included, if available.
Coverage: 1966 to the present
Grants.gov
This site assists in navigating the numerous websites administered by the various grant-making agencies of the federal government.
ILEARN
ILEARN (Illinois Local Education Agency Retrieval Network) provides financial information about a specific county, school district, region, or area within Illinois. With ILEARN, you can compare your child’s school district to a similar district or region of the state.
Illinois Teacher & Administrator Salary Database from Family Taxpayers Foundation
From the Family Taxpayers Network, this site provides average salary per district and individual salaries for public school teachers and administrators across Illinois.
illinoisloop.org
The Illinois Loop is an informal group of parents, teachers, and school board members primarily in the Chicago suburban area. Their website contains a collection of educational resources to help inform parents and teachers about the educational process.
JSTOR
JSTOR provides access to articles from over 600 academic journals covering the arts, sciences, and business. Issue dates range from historical to current. All articles are presented in full image, appearing exactly as they did in the original journals.
National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES)
The NCES website provides data and statistics on all aspects and levels of education including the Digest of Educational Statistics and the Nation's Report Card.
School District
Demographics from the National Center for Educational Statistics
This website provides access to school district
geographic and demographic data useful for describing and analyzing
characteristics of school districts, children, and
K-12 education.