A decade before the Village was incorporated in 1869, families in the town made private donations to finance the first public school. Years later, before the first World War, a handful of citizens gathered to discuss starting a private preparatory school like those they had attended in the East. They ended up instead putting their efforts into the public schools.

But it was Carleton Washburne, the superintendent from 1919 to 1943, who was the architect of "The Winnetka Plan." His innovations - individualized instructions, hands-on learning, and attention to the development of the whole child - are now cornerstones of excellent schools across the country. Educators in Winnetka every day renew and extend this vision.