School districts in Northern IL (Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove: rental, houses, neighborhood)

[Laughkc]

This summer, I'll be relocating from Southern CA to Northern IL for work. My company is located in Deerfield. Where I live now, a mid-sized town of 3 high schools, 3 middles schools, and about a dozen elementary schools - I can choose any school I want for my son except for the few magnet schools which have a lottery every year. In Los Angeles County they have assigned schools, but students may attend a school that is within the district of the parents' work location. I'm curious if this is the case in Northern IL?

[4122]

In Illinois, you go to the school you're assigned to. You can only go to any school in the district if your assigned school doesn't make the AYP. Also, some districts have option areas where kids who live near the border of two high schools' boundaries can choose to attend any any of those two high schools.

[chet everett]

The size of most school districts in Illinois is generally on the small side. Districts that include k-8 and high-schools are rare, those would be "unit districts" in Illinois-education-speak.

More common are districts with just high-schools and the feeder districts are most commonlly structured with elementary school serving pr-5, middle school 6-8. Some flip 5th up or 6th down.

Intra-distict attendance boundaries are often but not always aligned with major roadways or subdivisions. Kids close enough to walk save the the district busing costs. If you desire to attend a school in the district but outside your attendance boundary you have to provide transportation. Magnet schools are uncommon outside the low performing urban areas. Work location means NOTHING -- 100% driven by where your residence is!

The Illinios Interactive Report Cards hosted at NIU help to give a uniform view into how kids perform on the admittedly weak State assessments.

[4122]

District 214, which has Wheeling HS, Buffalo Grove HS, Prospect HS, Hersey HS, and Rolling Meadows HS, is a great school district and is one of the biggest high school districts in the state. I like Hersey HS and Rolling Meadows HS the best out of all the District 214 schools. Hersey HS is in Arlington Heights which is next to Rolling Meadows and is about 20-25 minutes southwest of Deerfield.

District 128, which is Libertyville HS and Vernon Hills HS, has an option area in Libertyville about 15 minutes northwest of Deerfield that's zoned for Vernon Hills elementary schools and middle schools. Libertyville HS and Vernon Hills HS are highly regarded schools.

There's also an option area in District 113, another highly regarded school district, which is Deerfield HS and Highland Park HS. The option area are the Colony Point and Kings Cove subdivision of Deerfield and the neighborhood by Northbrook Court and all of Highland Park that's west of 41. Most of the option area is in the Highland Park elementary and middle school district, but a significant portion is in the Deerfield elementary and middle school districts. I know District 113 very well since it's my home district and I'm very familiar with both high schools and prefer Highland Park HS. Highland Park and Deerfield are some of the most expensive towns in northern Illinois. If your budget is below $450k, you went find any good houses unless you find a good deal like I did.

[4122]

District boundary maps

https://d128.org/map

[4122]

District 113 Boundaries

http://https://dist113.org/ABOUTUS/MAP/Pages/default.aspx

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by 4122

District 214, which has Wheeling HS, Buffalo Grove HS, Prospect HS, Hersey HS, and Rolling Meadows HS, is a great school district and is one of the biggest high school districts in the state. I like Hersey HS and Rolling Meadows HS the best out of all the District 214 schools. Hersey HS is in Arlington Heights which is next to Rolling Meadows and is about 20-25 minutes southwest of Deerfield.

Prospect and Hersey are by far the strongest performers in 214. Then Buffalo Grove. Then Elk Grove. Then perhaps Rolling Meadows.

There really isn't a whole lot to recommend about Rolling Meadows... it's averaged just 64.2% over the past five years on the PSAE exam. Then there it's reputation for gang activity and sporadic bouts of violence. Nobody likes that.

[4122]

Rolling Meadows HS PSAE scores this year are higher than BG, EG, and Wheeling.
Rolling Meadows- math avg. 74.6% reading avg. 66.5% combined 141.1
Elk Grove (forgot it was in D214)- math avg. 75.6% reading avg. 64.6% combined 140.2
Buffalo Grove- math avg. 71.6% reading avg. 68.5% combined 140.1
Wheeling- math avg. 62.3% reading avg. 53.5% combined 113.8

Best High Schools in Illinois - IL School Rankings

Hersey is one place ahead of Highland Park

Hersey- math avg. 82.7% reading avg. 80.3% combined 163.0
Highland Park- math avg. 80.1% reading avg. 82% combined 162.1

If you decide to move to Arlington Heights, not all of the town goes to Hersey HS, so make sure you know what HS a house is zoned for before you buy it.

[Laughkc]

Thanks everyone for the info! I'll be renting to start out, and have already found that there are very few rental properties available in/around Deerfield, and the few there are they out of my price range. Libertyville, Wheeling, and Buffalo Grove are where I've narrowed my searches, but as someone said, I still need to make sure it's within the boundary of the school I want. I was hoping I could be less selective about residence if my son was able to attend school near my office location, but since that isn't the case I guess I need to be diligent about finding something with an excellent middle school as my son will be in 7th grade next year. There is a chance I'll be ready to buy by the time he is in 9th grade (if I survive the first 2 years in IL lol) but it would be nice to be in a very good high school district should that not be the case. Hoping to set up some school tours in the Spring! There's nothing like moving half way across the country :-D Thanks again everyone for making this haul a bit easier!

[Laughkc]

Originally Posted by 4122

District 214, which has Wheeling HS, Buffalo Grove HS, Prospect HS, Hersey HS, and Rolling Meadows HS, is a great school district and is one of the biggest high school districts in the state. I like Hersey HS and Rolling Meadows HS the best out of all the District 214 schools. Hersey HS is in Arlington Heights which is next to Rolling Meadows and is about 20-25 minutes southwest of Deerfield.

District 128, which is Libertyville HS and Vernon Hills HS, has an option area in Libertyville about 15 minutes northwest of Deerfield that's zoned for Vernon Hills elementary schools and middle schools. Libertyville HS and Vernon Hills HS are highly regarded schools.

There's also an option area in District 113, another highly regarded school district, which is Deerfield HS and Highland Park HS. The option area are the Colony Point and Kings Cove subdivision of Deerfield and the neighborhood by Northbrook Court and all of Highland Park that's west of 41. Most of the option area is in the Highland Park elementary and middle school district, but a significant portion is in the Deerfield elementary and middle school districts. I know District 113 very well since it's my home district and I'm very familiar with both high schools and prefer Highland Park HS. Highland Park and Deerfield are some of the most expensive towns in northern Illinois. If your budget is below $450k, you went find any good houses unless you find a good deal like I did.

What about District 125? Is Stevenson the only high school? Many of my colleagues have mentioned this district -this school in particular.