Original Research by School Decision on Lake Roe
Lake ROE is a regional office of education, not a traditional operating school district, and it serves grades six through twelve across Lake County. As a regional entity, it does not operate its own schools or manage student enrollment in the way a conventional district does. Instead, it oversees a small set of alternative and specialized programs, most of them alternative learning opportunity (ALOP) schools, along with a technical campus.
The programs listed under Lake ROE's purview include the ROE Alternative Program, several collaborative alternative schools (one in partnership with Wauconda CUSD 118), the Lake County High Schools Tech Campus, the Bridges Program, and cooperative alternative programs. These schools serve students who need pathways outside the traditional classroom environment, whether for behavioral support, alternative scheduling, credit recovery, or career-technical training. A parent or student looking for an alternative to a conventional high school setting, or needing a more specialized learning environment, would explore these options through the regional office.
State assessment data, graduation rates, enrollment figures, and other standard district metrics are not available for Lake ROE, which reflects its nature as a regional coordinating body rather than an autonomous district with its own schools and students. The comparison metrics used to position most districts within Lake County do not apply here for the same reason.
The most recent parent-relevant changes affecting families in the towns served by this region come from individual districts within Lake County. In March 2024, voters in Community Consolidated School District 46, which covers Grayslake and parts of Round Lake, approved a limiting rate referendum. Publicly reported, this measure allows the district to retire long-term debt before a rate increase takes effect, with district officials stating the plan will lower property taxes and fund educational, facility, security, and operating needs. For families living in those areas, this shapes both their property-tax impact and their schools' capacity to invest.
Additionally, in September 2023, the Lake County Regional Office of Education launched a free mental health referral service in partnership with ReferralGPS. Publicly reported, the service links families and school employees across Lake County to therapists and counselors in the community. This represents a region-wide expansion of student and family mental health access that did not exist before.
Parents or residents looking at Lake ROE should understand it as a regional resource and coordinator of alternative programming, not as a district with assigned attendance areas or traditional schools. Questions about a specific town's main schools, enrollment, test results, and local property tax impacts belong with the individual districts serving that town.
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