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We have some friends that have recommended the Gurnee school district for my child that has high functioning autism. I can research all that stuff but I'd like to get some feedback from people that actually live in Gurnee. What are the best areas? What school(s) have good reputations? How's the quality of life? I'm a midwesterner so I'm familiar with the harsh winters and such. Any feedback is appreciated.
We have some friends that have recommended the Gurnee school district for my child that has high functioning autism. I can research all that stuff but I'd like to get some feedback from people that actually live in Gurnee. What are the best areas? What school(s) have good reputations? How's the quality of life? I'm a midwesterner so I'm familiar with the harsh winters and such. Any feedback is appreciated.
I dont have first hand experience with the school system, but i hear the Gurnee Schools are good or as much as can be expected from public schooling . Some favorable areas of Gurnee for housing depends on your finances, but, virtually any of the larger Housing Developments west of I-94 and between Gages Lake Road and Grand Ave are rather upscale and nice appearing .. in the way of single family homes and townhomes. Gurnee is very convenient to the Interstate and has many major roadways running thru it . It has alot of summer activities for families and children offered thru the Park District and there is a good live 'Music in the Park' program held on Thursday nights -- contact the Gurnee Chamber for information on events . The biggest draw to Gurnee, is of course Great America Theme Park and the huge Gurnee Mills Shopping Mall . I found the quality of life living in this area to be above average compared to where ive lived in other parts of Lake County, Il. Theres plenty of good restaurants around , a wide variety of stores, a few nice Parks and bike trails , and close to the lakefront for beaches and fishing . But if you take your family to the beach , id go up to Zion beach instead of Waukegan as its cleaner and has far less undesirables that frequent it . Plenty of good churches and one of my favorites was The Village Church which is non-denominational and has a really excellent kids program .
Other events which come to mind is a Friday night Classic car Cruise at the Grand Ave McDonalds at Gurnee Mills Mall which offers some nostalgic moments, as well as The King Richards Faire in the summer which is held 15 miles northwest of Gurnee just over into Wisconsin (County C . I believe) ; that is a riot for the entire family with Jousting, lots of comedy, mid-evil music / food, and daring entertaining acts -- you can make the day of it there. Its good if harsh winters arent a turnoff to you because far northeastern Illinois gets hit hard with off-the-lake snow at times ; it seems the summers have gotton way hotter over the years...and the winters have become somewhat milder in temps.
Hope that gives you a thumbnail sketch of the Gurnee area. If you dont mind the somewhat high property taxes, i think youll find that theres something for everyone living in this area .
P.S. If you need a superb Top Producing Realtor who knows Gurnee extremely well, PM me and ill give you her name and phone number. Shes with Remax.
That's great info 007.5. I appreciate your feedback. You spilled out exactly the info I was looking for. I particularly like that you mentioned that info about the church with the great kids program. I too was going to a Non-Den church (mega church) that had a very poor special kids program and because of that we left for another church. I'll have to look into this church you mentioned. Let me share this info with my wife...I may take you up on that info about the Realtor, although we're not looking at putting our home on the market until spring of next year. Being it's so close to the new school year we'd not want to rip them out at this time. Thank you.
That's great info 007.5. I appreciate your feedback. You spilled out exactly the info I was looking for. I particularly like that you mentioned that info about the church with the great kids program. I too was going to a Non-Den church (mega church) that had a very poor special kids program and because of that we left for another church. I'll have to look into this church you mentioned. Let me share this info with my wife...I may take you up on that info about the Realtor, although we're not looking at putting our home on the market until spring of next year. Being it's so close to the new school year we'd not want to rip them out at this time. Thank you.
Your welcome. Heres the link : Village Church of Gurnee . This is a very popular church in the area and it must have a good 1000 Attendees on a Sunday morning. Tons of programs for children and adults ..its exceptional at meeting the needs of Families in particular and its mostly young Families that are members. I was in a couple Bible Studies there and the Teachers are second to none ; always family oriented get togethers on a small scale and large entire church scale . Lots of home groups and it will be simply for you to make friends there in no time .
If you have any specific questions about the area, let me know.
First I want to state that I do have direct experience with Gurnee's school. I have friends that are still employees of the district. They are good people that work hard.
I also feel compelled to state that I have sevveral friends whose children are afflicted with autism specturm disorders. It is heart wrenching to see the struggles that these families deal with.
I strongly recomend that anyone with children in need of services for autism spectrum disorders contemplating relocating to Illinois seek out the assistance of the Autism Society of Illinois
Further, although I generally recommend that families relocating to Illinois give high priority to being within a reasonable commuting distance of their employer, when it comes to kids with special needs I would suggest using the recommendation of non-profits / advocacy groups to heavily influence your decision. Especially given the tenuous nature of many school district's budgets in Illinois I cannot emphasize enough how vital it is that parents get a firm grasp on the impact local property wealth has on the ability of schools to deliver high quality services to students, especially those students with special needs.
It wasn't so long ago that I talked to office staff at a district that provides a school for autistic children and also a school for special needs children who are not autistic. The crux of the problem is twofold. The American school system was never designed to educate special needs children. Secondly the "no child left behind law" places an extra burden on schools that can ill afford it. Even in this school system, which has made great strides, parents have had a battle for over 40 years that I am aware of. A friend of mine had four of her five children in special needs classes at the same time. It will continue to be a battle until the school system changes or the law changes. The schools that do not want to deal with minority or special needs issues simply do not make much effort without a real legal challenge.
Your welcome. Heres the link : Village Church of Gurnee . This is a very popular church in the area and it must have a good 1000 Attendees on a Sunday morning. Tons of programs for children and adults ..its exceptional at meeting the needs of Families in particular and its mostly young Families that are members. I was in a couple Bible Studies there and the Teachers are second to none ; always family oriented get togethers on a small scale and large entire church scale . Lots of home groups and it will be simply for you to make friends there in no time.
Another excellent church is Gurnee Community Church. It also is a non-demonational church with all of the same programs mentioned above. I know because we joined GCC about a year ago and it has been a life-changing experience. It's not a "mega-church"...far from it. Average attendance at each of the Sunday morning services is less than 200. But this church has a very intimate feeling and an opportunity to meet and interact with some of the friendliest people you'd ever hope to meet. We found that a "smaller" church allows us to not "get lost in the crowd". Plus, the Senior Pastor is one of the more dynamic and interesting speakers we've heard. I'd give it a try before making a final decision. We had intended to try three or four other churches in the area (including Village Church) but we went to GCC first and never felt the need to try any of the others.
Another excellent church is Gurnee Community Church. It also is a non-demonational church with all of the same programs mentioned above. I know because we joined GCC about a year ago and it has been a life-changing experience. It's not a "mega-church"...far from it. Average attendance at each of the Sunday morning services is less than 200. But this church has a very intimate feeling and an opportunity to meet and interact with some of the friendliest people you'd ever hope to meet. We found that a "smaller" church allows us to not "get lost in the crowd". Plus, the Senior Pastor is one of the more dynamic and interesting speakers we've heard. I'd give it a try before making a final decision. We had intended to try three or four other churches in the area (including Village Church) but we went to GCC first and never felt the need to try any of the others.
Looking at your name I have to ask...they allow you to live in Gurnee and not be a Bears fan? LOL. I'm in Phoenix now (5 years and not liking it). Before that I lived in Milwaukee and are too a Packers fan. I'm sure they give you grief! Thank you for the feedback. Does your church do anything for children with learning disabilities? My 7 year old son's high functioning Autistic.
Looking at your name I have to ask...they allow you to live in Gurnee and not be a Bears fan? LOL. I'm in Phoenix now (5 years and not liking it). Before that I lived in Milwaukee and are too a Packers fan. I'm sure they give you grief! Thank you for the feedback. Does your church do anything for children with learning disabilities? My 7 year old son's high functioning Autistic.
What's your opinion of the Gurnee area?
We have tons in common. I was born and raised in Milwaukee...lived in Phoenix for a couple years in the mid-80s and now living in what I refer to as Ill-Annoy. It was hard adjusting to the property taxes, the tolls, the Bears fans and the Cubs fans...other than that, I guess it's okay. I work with mostly Bears fans (hey, everyone has their faults) and my office is full of Packer stuff. Luckily the Packers have owned the Bears the past few years so it's been good (for me, at least).
As for the church, I seem to recall them doing something for autistic kids, but can't say for sure. They do have a ton of kids programs, though. I do happen to work for a pediatric specialty group in Vernon Hills (just south of Gurnee) and one of our programs is Neurology. We have a neurologist who has a special interest in treating kids with Autism.
We have tons in common. I was born and raised in Milwaukee...lived in Phoenix for a couple years in the mid-80s and now living in what I refer to as Ill-Annoy. It was hard adjusting to the property taxes, the tolls, the Bears fans and the Cubs fans...other than that, I guess it's okay. I work with mostly Bears fans (hey, everyone has their faults) and my office is full of Packer stuff. Luckily the Packers have owned the Bears the past few years so it's been good (for me, at least).
As for the church, I seem to recall them doing something for autistic kids, but can't say for sure. They do have a ton of kids programs, though. I do happen to work for a pediatric specialty group in Vernon Hills (just south of Gurnee) and one of our programs is Neurology. We have a neurologist who has a special interest in treating kids with Autism.
We were told that Northern Illinois is probably one of the best places in the nation for children with spectrum autism to get an education and services. The weather I can live with, the Bears fans...hmmmm I guess I can deal with that as well. Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition hey? My issue will be jobs. I work in I.T. so I may have to commute to Kenosha or go into Chicago but the priority is my son's condition and getting him the help he needs. My wife too was born and raised in Milwaukee, works in the medical field, and never seems to have a problem getting a job. We're not as worried about her finding work. I'll have to let her know what you do. Who knows you may see us there for something should we find our way there. I'll look into that church you recommended and see what they offer for children with special needs. I really appreciate the feedback. Hang in there loyal Packer Fan. I can only imagine the harassment you receive.
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