Moving to Rockford area...HELP!!

[cavewoman]

Christian Life was awesome for my son when Harlem went on strike.
The middle schools in Roscoe and Rockton are great.
Plenty of private schools here. Boylan and Rockford Christian as well.

[lpbandmjc]

I went to Belvidere (the original Belvidere)and graduated there 5 years ago. and I have family who have attended both high schools since then. and lived there my whole life. Gangs. Yeah, whatever, they aren't going to be beating up your son for his milk money. They're in Belvidere and EVERYWHERE ELSE. But please don't act like Belvidere some gang ridden ghetto. It's soooo not like that at all. I think some people are being a little dramatic on this thread.

[czakaras]

I am moving to the Rockford area.. and with the current state of the economy it seems as if Cherry Valley is the most stable area as is loves park.. both have district 205 schools... which is betteR?

[mademmann]

Rockford IL has to be one of the worst places to live in the USA. Violence in the high schools alone is out of control. Girls get jumped in the halls between classes daily getting there heads smashed into the lockers and once down on the ground kicked repeatedly. One boy in my sons gym class was jumped in the locker room. The attacker took the locks off the lockers and smashed the boys face over and over. My sons said he had never seen so much blood. (Nothing was reported on the news or to the parents). This happened in November. Just last week a boy was stabbed in the restroom while being robbed. This is happening at one of the so called best High Schools in Rockford (Guilford). At Auburn High 2 boys were arrested last week for bringing guns to school. Usually most kids only carry knives. I have 17 year old twins and hear it all. My brother is a fireman and says the police and the media dont report half of the crimes that go on each day here to the public. There are no safe neighboorhoods left. I have lived here my whole life and have made the decision to move to Baraboo WI the last day of school. I'm telling you, everyday my kids come home from school alive and without bruises I thank god.

[proveick]

I'm sorry you are moving to Rockford. We lived in Byron and my wife commuted for 10 years. That was when the economy was still afloat, 1996 - 2006. I can just imagine that city now with close to 20% unemployment. Rockford truely is a pit. Actually the only think I found remotely nice about that city was the size of the street signs (BIG). RP

[falconsfan114]

Rockford is pretty bad, but you have to learn to adjust to it and be tough. The violence usually start for kids around 5th grade and progress through 6th - 8th grade. By the time they reach highschool most of those kids are either in a gang and get into fights and stabbings daily or get shot at. The ones that dont join gangs usually dont fight as much as they used to. Jefferson High School is basically the worst school you can go to, but a few years ago Flinn Middle School was 5 times worst. At Flinn there were at least 6 - 7 fights a day, alot being one on one the rest being kids getting jumped. Teachers would do nothing, and kids would bring knives and guns to school after a fight. Teachers would find big bags of weed, knives, and other things in lockers daily. Then it cooled down at Flinn because those kids were sent off to Jefferson where it was already really bad, making it even worst. More then 99% of these things were never reported outside of the schools. Jefferson had police officers being jumped, kids being stabbed, and has even stooped down to someone bringing a gun and shooting twice at a kid by the baseball diamonds. I watched most of these things with my own eyes and had to fight alot growing up just so i would be in the category of "Not to be ****ed with" so i would not get jumped daily.