Original Research by School Decision on Lake Forest High School
Lake Forest High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving grades nine through twelve in an affluent North Shore suburb on Lake Michigan, about a half-hour north of downtown Chicago. The school enrolls a moderate-sized student body with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the grade levels. The student composition is predominantly white, with meaningful representation from Asian and Hispanic students; counts of Black students and other groups are small.
The school is located in Lake Forest, a slow-growth, high-value residential community shaped by Beaux Arts and Tudor Revival architecture, large estates, and a compact, walkable downtown anchored by Market Square. The city's major employers include the Chicago Bears' Halas Hall headquarters, automotive and consumer products companies like Tenneco, and Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital. Housing values in the area are substantial, and homes sell relatively quickly. The median listing price for homes has been rising, and rental costs are high relative to incomes, though mortgage affordability is better than rent. This is a community where most families have meaningful household incomes and significant property wealth.
Lake Forest High School sits in the District 115 high school district, which encompasses Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Knollwood. A recent bond referendum narrowly approved by voters in April 2023 is funding major capital improvements to the high school building. The improvements include security upgrades, replacements of roof, plumbing, and electrical systems, renovations to science labs and classrooms, HVAC work, ADA accessibility enhancements, and instructional technology upgrades. Bonds were sold in October 2023, and construction is being executed in phases over several years. For families considering a move into the district, this means the school is undergoing substantial modernization, with both the tax-supported debt service and an upgraded facility expected to remain in place for an extended period.
Illinois state assessment data for Lake Forest High School was not available for this profile, and no graduation rate was reported. The comparison of this school's performance against others in Lake County could not be completed because proficiency measures, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism data were not provided. A parent or resident seeking to evaluate academic outcomes or understand how the school compares to neighboring high schools may want to contact the school or district directly for current test results, graduation data, and program information. The school's website, course offerings, enrollment trends, attendance patterns, and details about special populations served were not included in the data available for this profile.
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