Relocating to Buffalo Grove (Chicago, Schaumburg: houses, school districts, taxes)

[csewfava]

My husband, two kids (6 and 4) and I will be relocating to the Chicagoland area. My husband's job will be in Buffalo Grove. I've heard that Itasca and Wood Dale might be better options instead of Buffalo Grove. Taxes look a bit lower in Itasca and Wood Dale. Are the schools comparable? I'm a teacher and am not sure if DuPage county would be a better place to teach than Lake. Thanks for any insight! Our price range is $350-$450K.

[linewalker]

My Sister lives in Itasca near irving pk(rt19) and 53.Its nice up there .I lived in Streamwood for about 8 years when I was a teen..Which is 7 miles west of Itasca.Itasca is kind of cool got a lot of woods and the town in my opinion is sort of rustic.There is a jet route from Ohare that crosses over the town.Its kind of neat seeing the jets fly over, but could be somewhat annoying.Ive heard the neighbors are friendly but you know how that goes.

[ahava]

The elementary/middle schools are comparable, high schools not at all. Most of Buffalo Grove (the Lake county portion) attends Stevenson High School, which is consistently ranked as one of the best high schools in the country. The Cook county portion of Buffalo Grove attends Buffalo Grove High School, which is very good as well. The Itasca and Wood Dale school districts feed to Lake Park High School, which is a good school, but I would not say it's at all comparable to the other two.
As for teaching, I don't think that most of DuPage county differs much from most of Lake county, except that you'll get paid more in southern Lake county. I've been teaching in Lake county for 13 years, so if you have any specific questions feel free to ask!

[csewfava]

Thanks for your reply! I am currently teaching ESL in Florida (K-5), am certified K-12 in both Spanish and ESL here in FL. I also am K-12 certified to teach Spanish in NJ (I taught HS Spanish in NJ). I started looking over the paperwork to apply for an IL teaching certificate. I want to make sure I land (if possible) in a good school...which to me means a supportive administration. If we can afford something in Buffalo Grove, I'm thinking the elementary schools are good, right??? I've heard Stevenson is amazing, though that's a few years away for my kids. Thanks for any input.

[ahava]

You should have no problem finding a job in the suburbs. The market is tight right now for teachers who aren't special ed or ESL certified. You will need an IL teaching certificate, however. Most schools won't consider you until you have one. If you're interested in teaching high school, Stevenson is looking for both a Spanish teacher and an ESL teacher for next year. I currently teach at Stevenson and I love it here. I'm not alone - most teach here until they retire, because we all love working here. The administration is very supportive. We are reimbursed for attending conferences, and every teacher is given a laptop computer. There's a huge emphasis on collaboration. We have meetings every Monday morning and longer meetings on late arrival days once a month. It's great to be able to bounce ideas and get feedback, but to me the meetings get old, because I'd rather be in the classroom. You get to know your colleagues very well though, and several of mine are close friends. There are some incredibly talented people teaching here. If you're looking to teach elementary school, the teachers I know in some of Stevenson's feeder districts - 96, 102, and 103 - are all very happy. District 112 in Highland Park is good too. I know the principal of Lincoln Elementary; he's fantastic. Other high school districts I'd recommend teaching at are 128 (Libertyville/Vernon Hills), 113 (Highland Park/Deerfield), 211 (Palatine/Schaumburg area), and 99 (Downers Grove).
And yes, the elementary schools in Buffalo Grove are great, especially if you can afford to live in District 96. District 102 isn't as good as it used to be, as they've had a lot of turnover in their administration over the past decade. But I would have no problem sending my kids to school there.

[csewfava]

That's great to know. Thanks for the info. Would Libertyville also have decent elementary schools? I started checking out houses there and it seems (albeit) slightly cheaper than BG. I've started filling out paperwork to apply for an IL teaching certificate. I know I'll have to take a state content-area test for each, but I'm not too worried about those. Thanks for the encouragement. Stevenson sounds like a great place to be, but I bet tough to get in...So you think I need to have my IL certificate in hand before I apply anywhere? I was thinking of reaching out to some schools to test the waters and let them know my paperwork was in process...??? I'm glad to hear District 96 is good...a lot of the houses I've seen online are there. My husband starts his job 4/2, but I'll be here (FL) through 5/26 or so with the kids to finish out the school year. That means I may be too late for a lot of the schools which I'm sure have already started interviewing. I'm pretty flexible...I just want to be sure I can teach! Your response made my day

[ahava]

I'm glad I could help. Libertyville's school district, District 70, is comparable to the Buffalo Grove districts, but portions of Libertyville attend other districts which are not.
I have heard that you do need to possess an IL certificate before schools will even look at your application, but I'm sure some districts are more lenient than others. The problem is that the popular districts will receive well over 100 applications for one position, so formalities like that are easy ways to cut down on the number of applications they have to review. It certainly doesn't hurt to contact schools directly though. And yes, many schools have already started interviewing. You may have to spend your first year in IL teaching at a less than ideal school, but that will make it easier to get into a better school the following year. Suburban districts seem to like teachers who have experience in other suburban districts. I think it is pretty competitive to get into Stevenson now. I was fortunate enough to start working here before the school became nationally recognized. They hire a lot of first-year teachers, a fair amount of teachers from other suburban districts, and then there is one other way I've seen people get in here recently. The school hires certified teachers to work as tutors in the resource centers, and people who do that for a year or two and then apply for a regular teaching position always get it. I do know that subbing for a district (any district, not just Stevenson) does not help you get a job there, so don't waste time doing that if you can get a teaching position anywhere else, because as I said, local experience will help you get into the better districts.
There are so many schools in the Chicago suburbs; with your education and experience I wouldn't worry too much about finding a job. I know that in DuPage county, the Bloomingdale/Glendale Heights area has a large Hispanic population, so you'd probably do well finding a job there, though I don't know what it's like to teach in those districts. Good luck!