Cambridge Lake Charter School in Pingree Grove

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	6/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Illinois Assessment of Readiness data from Illinois State Board of Education, and using 2025 Illinois Science Assessment data from Illinois State Board of Education.
Student Growth	5/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from Illinois State Board of Education.

Posted: December 18, 2025

Administration is lacking. Very poor leadership and high turnover. They treat teachers poorly here.

Posted: November 8, 2025

If your child has an IEP or 504 please consider a different school. You and your kids will feel othered and ignored. Mental health issues, and disabilities will be ignored. They care about scores not students. This year has been the worst thus far. Poor communication with parents.

Posted: August 25, 2025

Administration in this school is horrible. They treat teachers like garbage and dont pay them their full salary, misuse funds, and lack cohesiveness. There is no leadership here! Having worked in many schools, this is one of the worst Ive seen ran. As a teacher, I wouldnt send my children here.

Posted: December 19, 2024

Assistant upper school principle told my son she was going to check the cameras that record students to see if he was lying about another student calling him a racial slur. Were still wondering why she would assume he would be lying about such a thing and never got a straight answer from her neither. Im not sure but I was under the impression that children werent suppose to be recorded in school. This took place during lunch. They keep recorded material for 10 days according to her. My son replied by saying go ahead and she never raised the issue or spoke to US, his parents. She made him fill out a paper. Again, never speaking to us about it neither.

Posted: December 19, 2024

We tried to address racial issues within the school. A child called my son a racial slur but due to the bias at this school my son was labeled a bully. The child who said the racial slur along with additional explicit language has his mother volunteering there. The school functions in this manner. A good amount of children have there mothers volunteering or working there. In general, it wouldnt be a concern but here it has become very bias. If you expect your children to be treated fairly the only way to achieve this is for you to work or volunteer here. The mothers who volunteer here take it upon themselves to talk to other children and ask them about personal details. This was brought up and addressed with the upper school principle but instead her and few teachers are behaving like passive aggressive bullies to my children. This school constantly pushes for volunteers while there spending half a million dollars for a playground and an additional million dollars in it air conditioning and it has 6 principals. It ridicules.

Posted: August 8, 2024

The one on one support my son has received while struggling with a learning disability has been outstanding. He has a team of educators assigned to help with his development we hold quarterly meetings to discuss his success and areas of improvement. The campus is beautiful and well maintained, with a new gym. They provide chrome books, school supplies and breakfast. They also offer before and after school care at affordable rates for working parents. Theres sports camps on campus throughout the year for K-4 and allow 5th graders to participate in regular sports, most schools only offer at grade 6.

Posted: December 12, 2023

Able but unwilling to accommodate for IEP.

Posted: February 23, 2023

My kids have been in this school since kindergarten (my oldest is in 5th grade). We were in the charter school in the beginning but switched to the Academy blended program during Covid. We love the school, both regular and the Academy. The Academy works for our family because it is flexible (we travel a lot) and my students are self starters. My son has gotten the help he needed with his special education for speech as well. We really appreciate the academic environment at school. We highly recommend this school for those who want any academic experience and the option of a blended learning program.

Posted: September 19, 2022

I forgot to mention in my review that all students do receive chrome books and the charter does have a gym and a small library now as well.

Posted: June 29, 2021

I've had 2 young ladies graduate from Cambridge with high honors and a 3rd making her way through the school. They loved/love the size of the school and the one on one they get from the teachers. A huge shout out to all the teachers over the past 15 years plus the office staff that have been super professional and helpful to me and my family. Thank You!

Posted: May 21, 2021

Been in this school for 5 years. Full day school hours from 8am to 3:30pm and early drop or late pickup options with small fee. Not a lot of no school holidays which is accommodating for working parents. Great school.

Posted: February 7, 2020

There are good teachers here and good principals. Not enough. The teachers and principals need newer technology and administrative support to do their jobs well.

Posted: February 7, 2020

Bad environment. Something is really wrong here. Not open to change.

Posted: February 7, 2020

Too many things are for show and not true to the values the schools should be promoting.

Posted: February 7, 2020

M. Featherly is a bully and she is on the staff.

Posted: February 7, 2020

This school environment is unnecessarily and too political compared to other schools.

Posted: February 7, 2020

Equal time to struggling students is a myth. All of district 300 provides Chromebooks to their students except this school.

Posted: January 22, 2020

We are pleased with our experience. Both of children have been at Cambridge Lakes since Kindergarten (3rd and 8th). It has the normal hiccups of any school, but parents and school staff work closely together to do what's best for our kids.

Posted: January 22, 2020

Posted: May 1, 2019

Dont waste your time at this school. Nothing but disappointing.

Posted: May 1, 2019

Posted: January 22, 2019

The leadership is laughable. It is nothing but disorganization.

Posted: January 22, 2019

The only bullying I have been aware of is the administration toward the parents.

Posted: January 22, 2019

The teachers are the best part of this school.

Posted: January 22, 2019

Deplorable. There is a reason that a charter school, inside of a subdivision bubbling over with children, cant meet its enrollment numbers. The worst part of it is the teachers are outstanding, but the administration is so awful, that you cant look past it. There is no gym, no cafeteria, no library, no lockers, and it isnt coming anytime soon. Dont let them pull the wool over your eyes. Run from this school!

Posted: January 22, 2019

The teachers are always willing to help.

Posted: December 22, 2018

No, the new principal has clearly demonstrated lack of integrity and professionalism.

Posted: December 22, 2018

No, they place children according to available seats in class.

Posted: December 22, 2018

The children play on the playground while the teachers socialize.

Posted: December 22, 2018

Teachers do not have the resources to help the children.

Posted: December 22, 2018

Unfortunately the misuse of funds, specifically building a larger parking lot was not a good idea. The children at this school do not have a gym, library, cafeteria or chrome books. This combined with the bad leadership of the new principal is setting the children and this school up for failure.

Posted: December 22, 2018

Posted: May 9, 2016

My son had previously attended K-2 in his assigned public school which performed very poorly. I feel blessed that a friend told me about CLCS and my ability to send my son there. Immediately my sons grades, test scores, behavior and confidence improved 10 fold. The communication from the teachers is DAILY. My youngest child now also attends CLCS and is in 1st grade. We couldn't be happier with our decision to transfer to CLCS.

Posted: January 14, 2016

My daughter is in her first year here and we absolutely love it! Her teacher is amazing, the principal is very involved and the staff is so warm and caring. My daughter has learned so much in such a short period of time! Her teacher has inspired her love of learning and for that I am eternally grateful.

Posted: January 14, 2016

They are amazing!! They go above and beyond every day and develop real relationships with their students.

Posted: January 14, 2016

Posted: August 14, 2015

There are many problems that this school tries to hide and many programs are for show but don't add value to the school or the community. D300 was just voted within the top 50 school districts in Illinois. Cambridge Lakes is outside of that, as it is a charter school. Most parents who send their kids here are assigned to a lower standard school in the district.

Posted: June 18, 2015

My daughter went to Cambridge Lakes for 7th and 8th grade. She loves the school, the way of teaching, and the friendly staff that always wants the best for the students. She is now in high school and misses Cambridge so much. She even hoped she would've gone to Cambridge since Kindergarten! She received outstanding education and motivation that she is still carrying throughout her high school years. I couldn't have been happier about the decision to enroll my daughter in Cambridge Lakes Charter School.

Posted: March 8, 2015

Dedicated teachers with great ideas and open communication. High teacher/lower staff turnover. A lot of politics the higher you communicate. Some staff don't interact with parents well and should not be allowed to.

Posted: February 18, 2015

I couldn't be happier with the dedication from teachers and social workers at Cambridge Lakes.

Posted: August 26, 2014

The curriculum at this school is of a higher caliber and we continuously see our kids succeed and excel. We have 2 young kids attending this school for 4 years now and they both are testing above average numbers in all subjects and they are way above average in math and reading. We are involved in our kids education and we dedicate time everyday helping our kids with their homework and if they don't have any then we find homework for them to advance them further. We also have them read books to us every night and we read more difficult books to them. This school is great for our kids and they enjoy being there. I see many complaints about communication and I disagree. In my experience we have been informed of all activities and assignments by the teachers. There have been times that I learned of an activity late but it was my problem because I tried to read the email at work and then I moved on without ever reading it. So, communication is fine... you just have to keep up with all the emails and assignments posted on their homework site. In short, we highly recommend this school. It's working for our kids and we will continue with this school at least thru 6th grade.

Posted: August 21, 2014

We had our daughter in this school for the past three years and this year moved her to another school. First the positive - There is a greater emphasis on academics and the standard of education is quite high. The negatives are poor infrastructure, high teacher turnover, lack of communications and haphazard running of programs. For us finally the negatives outweighed the positives and we moved our child to the public school nearby. We now feel she is in a more nourishing environment that will be better for her overall development compared to cambridge lakes.

Posted: July 16, 2014

Wow have you met new principal Dr. Hussain she is amazing and returns emails, phone calls, and schedules parent conferences in a minutes notice. I informed her in an email of my child's health concern and before the end of the day she had scheduled a meeting with myself, my child, the nurse and herself! Now that is someone who is in touch with the community!! My family feels valued.

Posted: June 28, 2014

CLLC is amazing. My son attended the preschool program for 2 years and just completed kindergarten. I don't know what these other parents are talking about in terms of communication- my son's teachers have ALL been very responsive to emails, and send email updates daily or weekly. In K my son did much more advanced material than my niece, who was in 2nd grade in the reputable district 301. His desire to learn reflect that teachers are teaching him the RIGHT way (not teaching TO THE TESTS) and his test results demonstrate that he is getting all of the information most other kids his age get in school. My biggest complaint is that the kids don't come home with textbooks, so it was more difficult to monitor what my child was learning about in school. This isn't as big of a deal in Kindergarten, but as children get older it's important to me that we are able to monitor his learning for any bias. However, I don't know how the older classrooms handle textbooks, etc. The only way I will ever leave CLLC is if, for some reason, we move out of state. Otherwise, I am staying right here so my younger children can attend this school.

Posted: February 24, 2014

This is our first year @ Cambridge Lakes. My daughter is in all day kindergarten. I have to say we are very happy w/the schools curriculum. She is taking Spanish, Tech, Art, and has gym 2 days a week. There are only 15 students in her class w/a max of 18 students in a class room. Her teacher is wonderful. We get an update email at least once a week and if there is a special event she even send pics! The security at the school also gives me peace of mind. You need a electronic key to get into her class room! Before the school year stared she went to a 2 week readiness camp to make sure she was ready for a full day!

Posted: January 18, 2014

Poor communication. I live in this community and I prefer to drive my children to the public school which is 15 minutes away. Unprofessional environment . This school is used as a babysitting facility, free full time kindergarten. My children had no locker, no desk to put supplies in, no gym to play. My daughter was falling behind in math. Most teachers don't care. They have no funds to build or hire experienced teachers. The bathrooms are dirty , the children had to clean tables in order for them to eat...the list goes on.

Posted: November 5, 2013

We are 1st time parents who enrolled our daughter in the Kindergarden program and will be enrolling our 2nd child next school year. Every school has it's pluses and minuses. The pluses at CLCS far outweigh the minuses especially when you compare it to the public system. The kids are physically in school more days and for longer hours. CLCS is great if you are willing to go the extra mile with your kids. The teachers work with the parents and the kids LOVE going to school because they know mom and dad are active in their education . If you are not willing to work with your child every night on something that they are working on at school, this is not the program with you. If you have a passion for education and are looking for something "out of the box" CLCS is awesome. The curriculum is challenging, the kids learn something new everyday and subjects easily crossover into other areas of the day. The kids get gym, art, music, as well as various after school programs that enrich the curriculum being taught. I see what others are doing in other schools, and CLCS is way ahead of the game. We love CLCS and will keep supporting it as it strives to get better each year!

Posted: October 23, 2013

My daughter loves the school.I love the learning process and we see how much she improved an how excited she goes to school every day. The teachers are amazing and they do their best to teach those kids.

Posted: September 25, 2013

My son has been attending CLCS since K and is now in 5th grade. We are happy with the academics. But each parent has a difference perspective on situations. Communication has been excellent with the school. You can always come to the school and talk the principle or to the business office, If your kid is important a visit is rather better then an e-mail. The institution is school & business & teachers aren't union, but with public school issues & goverment background on managing schools, this not a bad thing. I rather have teachers stayed in the school becase of their performace and not becasue of unions. If it is managed as a business you want the brighter individuals to be sucessful, & your product to be superior, in this case our kids. Parents can volunteer in many ways if their schedules and time allows, and as for school not waniting to hear what parents have to say? I am not sure that is completely accurate, because everytime I see something at school that I have an opinion on, all I have to do is go in to the school and talk directly with the respective school principle or to the main business office.

Posted: June 12, 2013

Please be advised this institution is both a school and a business. While the curriculum and instruction are above average, the corporate board that oversees the school is not interested in parent feedback, does not communicate with families in a timely or appropriate fashion, and there is a high rate of staff turnover.

Posted: April 4, 2013

Cambridge Lakes Charter school- We joined as the virtual school. The problem I see is that the virtual students are not given the information from the school for upcoming events and tend to miss out on some opportunities, or get last day forms for money to be sent in. My child doesn't feel like they are part of the school. They can have specials with students in different grades instead of being with kids of their own grade. The response from the administrators and teachers is very slow if any reply at all. It seems they want less parent communication, I personally left several messages and finally sent an email to still get no reply at all. If they got a grade for communication it would be a D from me. While I like the virtual program, working with the pace of my child, the lack of respect in communication is enough to make me seriously doubt continuing.

Posted: January 15, 2013

Yes, I have a same problem of teachers do not respond to emails! Individualized learning plans & staffs are friendly, and Pick up issue got a lot better this year!

Posted: January 9, 2013

My kids attend this school, but I am thinking of taking them away from the school. My main complaint is that the teachers do not respond to emails, to any questions that you may have regarding your child.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Woodlake Apartments	Apartment Complex	Gurnee	IL	31.9 mi
2	Forrestal Military Community	Neighborhood/Subdivision	North Chicago	IL	32.4 mi
3	Forest City Nimitz	Neighborhood/Subdivision	North Chicago	IL	32.7 mi
4	Reserve at Eagle Ridge	Apartment Complex	Waukegan	IL	37.3 mi

#	Name	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	Libertyville	Libertyville	IL		28 mi
2	Waukegan	Waukegan	IL		35.7 mi

Base	Distance
Great Lakes Naval Station	33 mi.
Coast Guard Chicago	33.5 mi.

Cambridge Lake Charter School

Pingree Grove, IL 60140

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Cambridge Lake Charter School

Pingree Grove, IL 60140

School Ratings

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