Round Lake Schools (Waukegan, Gurnee, Round Lake Beach: low income, apartments, rent)

[Sue55]

Hi everyone,

I currently live in FL and am relocating to IL this summer. I am a teacher and have a job interview on Tue at a round lake elementary school. I'm noticing that their is a large hispanic population. It doesn't seem like, when looking at housing price maps, that it is a low income area. Despite this, the free and reduced lunch rate is about 40%. Can anyone help me gain some insight to the area. Where does the hispanic population come from? Is there a really "bad" part of town? Are they migrant workers? How bad would it be to teach there? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks
Sue

[IbeDavid]

Hi Sue. I live next to Round Lake in the town of Lake Villa. I do work in Round Lake as a self employed person. Although the area is high in hispanics and mexicans , it is not your typical depressed area in my opinion. In fact, the Village has taken tremendous strides in upgrading the town . I cant think of any 'bad' areas of Round Lake frankly ; from time to time you hear of a crime and the popular 'boom-boom' music plays from quite a few cars but there is a fairly strong police presence it seems. Round Lake has summer activities like carnival, outdoor music in the summer, etc...and is a family oriented Town for the most part. The Hispanics and Mexicans ive run across are hard working families and many are store owners/managers . Some dont speak english but its rare . This part of Lake County is nice , much quieter than the counties closer to chicago. Good shopping in Gurnee which is 15 minutes away. Do you have any other questions that i may be able to answer for you ?

[kmwheel]

I agree with IbeDavid. Before I student taught, I did some observation hours at a school in Round Lake (with a friend who teaches ESL)and I was overwhelmed with the good quality of the teachers and the administrators. The students were friendly and well-behaved, and really seemed to enjoy their time in school. One of my cohort classmates went on to teach at the middle school and really enjoyed it as well. There are some very expensive areas and some that are smaller/older homes, but I would not say there is a "bad" part of town. I wish you luck with your interview!

If I wasn't in the process of moving, I would definitely seek a teaching job there. In fact, I think they recently all got raises and have a good contract in place. I live in Antioch, and we shop and play in the Round Lake area quite often with all of our friends who live there.

[chet everett]

While it is an area with relatively high percentages of minorities I would agree that these are not the migrant farm workers that you might find in a agricultural area of FL, CA, or even a downstate IL vegetable canning operation. The people in RL have jobs that are fairly steady in various retail capacities or linked to labor intensive jobs that exist locally. RL is less dense than Waukegan to the east, but there are still pockets of apartments that do serve a less family oriented clientèle. There are also adjacent town like Round Lake Beach & Park that also make up some of the school district. I have distant relatives who work in law enforcement in RL and they have said about half of the crime, by race, committed by Hispanics/Caucasians that do the same stupid things as other people that get in trouble -- drink, fight and try to win over the wrong girl...

There are all sorts of "working class" in the area that have many of the same attitudes that make it a struggle to get kids interested in devoting time to more advanced schooling that would make it more likely to get higher paying jobs, but this is certainly not confined to Hispanics nor to Round Lake. Generally the cost of living is pretty high in Lake Co. . The retailers have to pay considerably more than minimum wage, as to the jobs in the trades/construction/outdoor maintenance. If you do search the surrounding area you will see that incomes are considerably higher in the southern reaches of Lake Co. IL, by quite a significant amount.


Estimated median household income in 2005: $91,200 (it was $88,828 in 2000)
[LEFT]Libertyville $91,200Illinois: $50,260[/LEFT]

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $361,500 (it was $263,700 in 2000) [LEFT]Libertyville $361,500Illinois: $183,900[/LEFT]

Estimated median household income in 2005: $77,700 (it was $75,742 in 2000)
[LEFT]Gurnee $77,700Illinois: $50,260[/LEFT]

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $272,800 (it was $199,000 in 2000) Gurnee $272,800Illinois: $183,900
Estimated median household income in 2005: $60,900 (it was $59,359 in 2000)
[LEFT]Round Lake Beach $60,900Illinois: $50,260[/LEFT]

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $168,600 (it was $123,000 in 2000) [LEFT]Round Lake Beach $168,600Illinois: $183,900[/LEFT]

[tm1982]

Hello,

I'm not sure if your inteview is at the Big Hollow school in Round Lake? I live quite close to that school and have to say that the surrounding area in not bad at all. Right next to it, you have Valley Lakes and Silver Leaf Glen which both have very nice single family homes. Like someone else already mentioned, there are rent areas around which might contribute to the high minority percentage. Overall, I think that once the economy picks up, the area is going to experience a lot of expansion. And with it, the schools reputation will improve. I say, go for it.