Meadowbrook Elem School vs Greenbriar Elem School

Greenbriar Elem School and Meadowbrook Elem School sit 0.7 miles apart in Northbrook, Illinois, and both rank among the state's very best elementary schools — but Greenbriar holds a narrow edge. Greenbriar Elem School earns a 9.7/10 overall rating against Meadowbrook Elem School's 9.5/10, a 0.2-point gap that translates to a meaningful positional difference: Greenbriar ranks #15 of 3,813 Illinois elementary schools while Meadowbrook ranks #28 of 3,813. Both placements put these schools in the top 1% statewide, so parents choosing between them are choosing between two genuinely exceptional options rather than a strong school and a weak one.

On academics, the two schools are indistinguishable — both Greenbriar Elem School and Meadowbrook Elem School score 9.9/10, the highest tier possible. The separation opens up on growth: Greenbriar's growth score is 9.4/10 versus Meadowbrook's 9.1/10, a 0.3-point delta suggesting that students at Greenbriar are advancing at a slightly faster rate year-over-year relative to their starting points. For families who care not just about where their child performs but how quickly they progress, that gap is worth noting.

The two schools differ more noticeably in size and staffing. Meadowbrook Elem School enrolls 482 students to Greenbriar Elem School's 367 — a 31% larger student body. That scale difference shows up in the classroom: Greenbriar's student-teacher ratio is 10.2:1 compared to Meadowbrook's 12.1:1, nearly two additional students per teacher. Both ratios are strong by national standards, but Greenbriar's lower ratio means each student commands more individual teacher attention on average. Both schools serve the same grade span, kindergarten through fifth grade, so families with children at any elementary age can access either school.

Beyond the numbers, both schools serve Northbrook District 28 and share comparable resources and a high-income community context. The practical choice may come down to proximity to home or sibling placement rather than any measurable quality difference — though families prioritizing student-teacher contact time or the single-digit growth score edge will find Greenbriar Elem School's profile marginally stronger on both counts.