Indian Hill Elem School, Round Lake Heights IL

Original Research by School Decision on Indian Hill Elem School

Indian Hill Elementary is a small public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Round Lake Heights, a tight-knit residential community on the northwest edge of Lake County. The school enrolls a student body composed largely of Hispanic students, with a sizable share of Black students and smaller numbers of white and Asian students. Free-and-reduced-price lunch data was not available in the records reviewed, so details on economic hardship are not reported here.

The school's academic performance in 2024-25 shows proficiency rates well below the median for Lake County districts. In English language arts, a quarter or fewer students at each tested grade meet state standards, with fifth-grade slightly higher than third and fourth. Math performance is notably weaker, with less than one-fifth of third graders meeting proficiency, dropping to under one-tenth of fourth graders, and only a handful of fifth graders scoring proficient. In science, just over one-sixth of fifth graders met proficiency. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of Lake County districts overall. A parent may want to look into what instructional supports or interventions are in place, especially in elementary mathematics, which showed the softest results.

The school enrollment sits at just under five hundred students fairly evenly distributed across the five grade levels. Enrollment data by special populations such as English learners or students with disabilities was not available. The school is not a Title I school according to available records.

Round Lake Heights itself is a modest residential village of single-family homes, mostly built in the 1940s, with a family-oriented character. The community has no commercial downtown; residents shop and dine in neighboring Round Lake Beach, home to chain retailers and local dining. The housing market in the 60073 zip code shows median home values in the mid-range for the Chicago region and median rents below regional averages, making it a relatively affordable corner of Lake County. Job concentrations for area residents lie in manufacturing, retail, and finance, with major employment outside the immediate village.

The school sits within Round Lake CUSD 116, which underwent structural changes in fall 2024. The district shifted its elementary grade 1-5 model to what it calls a Partner School model and returned students from another building called Pleviak. This reorganization directly affected where students attend school and how grades are grouped. The district has also deployed a one-to-one iPad program (1:Wonder Technology Program) across all grades K-12, embedding digital tools into daily instruction. For 2025-26, the district plans major curriculum adoptions in mathematics: i-Ready for grades K-8 and a new vendor for high school math, both of which will change the tools teachers use in core instruction.

The district faced budget challenges in 2024-25 when a forecasting error was discovered partway through the year. To address the shortfall, the district is reducing administrative positions, leaving some vacancies unfilled, and limiting overtime spending across multiple years. This situation reflects financial constraints that may affect staffing levels and operations in ways families weigh when choosing a district.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 20% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 14% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 8% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 27% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 24% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 21% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

This schoolRound Lake CUSD 116, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.