What Elementary School District 159 does

Elementary School District 159 (ESD 159) is a public K-8 school district and political subdivision of the State of Illinois, headquartered at 20700 Matteson Avenue in Matteson, Illinois. Founded in 1869 on the site of the original two-room Sieden Prairie Schoolhouse, the district serves approximately 1,935 students across portions of Matteson, Richton Park, and Tinley Park in Cook County through five campuses: four elementary schools (Woodgate, Marya Yates, Sieden Prairie, and Neil Armstrong) and one middle school (Colin Powell Middle School, grades 6-8). The district is governed by a seven-member Board of Education with a Superintendent as chief executive, and it is funded entirely through local property taxes, state aid, and federal grants — there are no tuition or enrollment fees.

The district's product surface spans standard K-8 academics plus a set of differentiated programs: an award-winning band and a National Champion Heritage Bowl tradition, an underwater robotics program at Colin Powell Middle School that has won regional championships and competed against high schools, a state-of-the-art applied technology lab with a broadcast and production studio, a 10-week Saturday coding class, a dual-language program launched in 2019-2020, district-wide full-day preschool launched in Fall 2019, a 1:1 mobile device initiative (entering its fifth and final year in 2019-2020) providing 24/7 technology access, and the ESD 159 STEM Center offering Summer of STEAM programming. The technology stack is built on the Edlio CMS for the public website, with PowerSchool as the student information system, Clever for SSO, and a broad set of instructional platforms (Discovery Education, NWEA MAP, Accelerated Reader/Renaissance, Lexia, Khan Academy, Study Island, Follett Destiny, Math in Focus, Easy IEP) integrated for curriculum, assessment, and special-education management.

The business model is non-commercial: as a public entity, the district does not sell a product and does not generate tuition revenue. The model is tax-funded, with operating economics driven by Illinois state-aid formulas, local property tax base, and federal Title I and special-education allocations. The district monetizes its facilities and community presence through ancillary channels such as a facilities rental program and community-resource partnerships (Timber Ridge Resource Center and Adult Learning Center, United Way, Walgreens, Matteson and Richton Park public libraries, Candor Health Education). Stakeholders include students, families, the Board of Education, the Superintendent's office, the Illinois State Board of Education, and district staff, with family and community engagement (F.A.C.E.) positioned as a strategic pillar.

Name

Elementary School District 159

Legal name

Elementary School District 159

Website

https://dist159.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1869

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Elementary School District 159 is a public K-8 school district in Cook County, Illinois, serving roughly 1,935 students across Matteson, Richton Park, and Tinley Park through four elementary schools, one middle school, and a STEM Center. It is tax-funded, governed by a Board of Education, and offers differentiated programs including underwater robotics, dual-language, full-day preschool, and a 1:1 device initiative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public K-8 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Elementary Schools (EDAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE), Specialized Programs & Classrooms (Autism, Emotional/Behavioral, Intellectual/Developmental, Multi-Disability) (EDAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Public K-8 education
• Elementary school district
• Middle school education
• STEM education programs
• Bilingual education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Matteson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Elementary School District 159 provides free public K-8 education to approximately 1,935 students across four elementary schools and one middle school in Matteson, Richton Park, and Tinley Park, Illinois. Its core offerings include standard K-8 academics, full-day Pre-K, dual-language and bilingual services, special education, and enrichment programs such as underwater robotics, band, athletics, and STEM/STEAM activities delivered through the ESD 159 STEM Center.

Product overview

Elementary School District 159 is a public school district serving portions of Matteson, Richton Park, and Tinley Park in Cook County, Illinois. The district operates four elementary schools (Woodgate, Neil Armstrong, Marya Yates, and Sieden Prairie) and one middle school (Colin Powell), plus the ESD 159 STEM Center. The district website, built on Edlio CMS, provides access to the PowerSchool Parent/Student Portal. Educational programs include award-winning band, National Champion Heritage Bowl, underwater robotics, dual-language program, full-day Pre-K, and a 1:1 technology initiative providing devices to all students. The district integrates with multiple educational technology platforms including PowerSchool, Clever, Discovery Education, NWEA, Accelerated Reader, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Colin Powell Middle School: Middle school serving grades 6-8, featuring underwater robotics program, state-of-the-art applied technology lab with broadcast and production studio, award-winning band, and Heritage Bowl tradition.
• Marya Yates Elementary School
• Neil Armstrong Elementary School
• Sieden Prairie Elementary School
• Woodgate Elementary School
• ESD 159 STEM Center

Products and services

• Colin Powell Middle School (Grades 6-8) Public middle school for district residents in grades 6-8, offering academic instruction plus foreign language, speech, underwater robotics, applied technology with broadcast studio, and an award-winning band program.
• Woodgate Elementary School (Grades K-5) Public elementary school (K-5) for district residents, located at 101 Central Ave, Matteson, IL 60443.
• Neil Armstrong Elementary School (Grades K-5) Public elementary school (K-5) for district residents, located at 5030 Imperial Drive, Richton Park, IL 60471.
• Marya Yates Elementary School (Grades K-5) Public elementary school (K-5) for district residents, located at 6131 Allemong Drive, Matteson, IL 60443.
• Sieden Prairie Elementary School (Grades K-5) Public elementary school (K-5) for district residents, located at 725 Notre Dame Drive, Matteson, IL 60443, on the site of the original 1869 schoolhouse.
• ESD 159 STEM Center District STEM/STEAM education center offering Summer of STEAM programming, creative media arts, family STEAM nights, and hands-on STEM challenges for students.
• PowerSchool Parent/Student Portal Online portal for parents and students to access grades, attendance, registration, and school communications.
• Underwater Robotics Program Award-winning robotics program at Colin Powell Middle School, ranked among the best in the Midwest, that has won championships and competed against high school teams.
• Full-Day Pre-K Program District-wide full-day preschool program for all students, launched Fall 2019 to provide early childhood education and school readiness.
• Dual Language Program District-wide bilingual education program implemented starting 2019-2020 school year offering instruction in two languages for participating students.
• Saturday Coding Class 10-week Saturday coding class offered to elementary students as part of the district's technology education efforts.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Timber Ridge Mobile CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership with Timber Ridge Mobile Community, an unincorporated area of Matteson, began January 2018. District transformed a room into the Timber Ridge Community Resource Center, donated 8 computers, wall art, and approximately 200 books. In Summer 2019, established Timber Ridge Adult Learning Center with Chromebooks, books and wall art. After-school tutoring program partnership with Timber Ridge Community is in full swing.
• United WayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with United Way for April Foods Day in support of sickle cell research
• WalgreensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Walgreens for Red Nose Day community initiative
• Half Price BooksminorOthersCommunity book donations, approximately 800 additional books donated by community members and Half Price Books for Timber Ridge Community Resource Center
• Richton Park Fire DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity outreach partnership - fire department visited schools for Fun Day events
• Matteson Public LibraryminorOthersLibrary resources referenced for student use - Matteson Area Public Library District
• Richton Park LibraryminorOthersLibrary resources referenced for student use - Richton Park Public Library District
• Candor Health EducationminorOthersHealth education resource partnership with Candor Health Education for student wellness curriculum

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• PowerSchool: Student information system and parent-portal vendor used by ESD 159 and the vast majority of U.S. public K-12 districts. Comparable as the underlying operating platform for grade, attendance, and registration workflows.
• Discovery Education: Digital curriculum and K-12 content provider used by ESD 159. Comparable as a core instructional-content layer that defines how differentiated STEM and core-subject content is delivered to district classrooms.
• Edlio: K-12 website, communications, and parent-engagement CMS platform powering ESD 159's website and mobile app. Comparable as the underlying digital-communications infrastructure used by a large share of U.S. public school districts.

Emerging players

• Stride Learning (formerly K12 Inc): Publicly traded provider of online K-12 education and learning platforms. Represents the digital/alternative K-12 delivery model that competes for school-age families in the same Illinois regulatory and funding environment as ESD 159.

Broad incumbents

• National Heritage Academies: For-profit charter management organization operating K-8 schools across multiple states. Comparable as an institutional operator of elementary education at scale, providing a benchmark for school-level operating efficiency and standardized curriculum delivery.
• Chicago Public Schools: Illinois' largest public school district serving Chicago. Operates the same public K-12 funding and governance model as ESD 159 but at vastly greater scale, providing a benchmark for board governance, funding-formula exposure, and union dynamics.

Direct peers

• Rich Township High School District 227: Public high school district serving Park Forest, Richton Park, and Matteson—the same feeder communities as ESD 159. Directly comparable as a south suburban Cook County public school district operating under Illinois State Board of Education oversight with property-tax funding.
• Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163: Public K-8 district serving Park Forest and Chicago Heights, adjacent to the ESD 159 catchment. Directly comparable as a south suburban Cook County elementary district with overlapping geographic service area and similar funding mechanics.
• Country Club Hills School District 160: Neighboring public elementary district in Country Club Hills, Illinois. Comparable in scale, governance, and student demographics to ESD 159, competing for similar in-area families in south suburban Cook County.
• Prairie Hills Elementary District 144: Adjacent public elementary district serving Markham and Hazel Crest in south suburban Cook County. Directly comparable as a similarly sized Illinois elementary district with K-8 enrollment funded through property-tax and state-aid mechanisms.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ESD_159
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcMwdJewiDKdR11crGAQ1QQ/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/ESD159
• Instagraminstagram.com/thriveinesd159
• TikToktiktok.com/@thriveinesd159

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Elementary School District 159