Henry Ford II School was built in 1956 and now is better known as Ridge Central Elementary School. The building has gone through a metamorphosis with three additions, the most recent in 2004.  During this stage of construction a full, well needed library was added, along with a lunchroom, computer lab, and ten new classrooms.The 500 students of Ridge Central range from E.C./Pre-Kindergarten to 5th grade.  We have about 70 staff members who take pride in touching the lives of our students everyday.  

Our Vision Statement drives us to be leaders in learning and to lay the foundation to prepare our students for higher education.   Our diverse student population is what makes us special.   We have eighteen different languages spoken the majority are Arabic, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian to name a few.  We respect the many cultures and  encourage acceptance from  students and parents.

We are implementing the New Illinois Learning Standards Incorporating the Common Core that drives our instruction.  We have chosen to use the McGraw Hill materials to support our Math curriculum  and School Wide for ELA(English Language Arts) that supports the Readers and Writers Workshop model.  The students have daily exposure to the other content areas of  Science and Social Studies.  All student will have  Physical Education four days a week,  Art and Music twice a week, SMARTlab twice a week, and Library once a week.

Ridge Central is a place to learn, make friends, feel safe and grow to be a great person. Please feel free to contact the principal, office staff, teachers and support staff with any questions you may have by calling 708-636-2001.