2023 Best School Districts in the Rockford Area

• Byron, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.4 out of 5  5 reviews

Senior: I like being able to be involved. Byron offers several opportunities to their students throughout the school year. The students also have a very close knit relationship, as it is a small town school. With this comes both positives and negatives. While most students who have been at the school for a long time make friends very easily, it is hard for new students to find a spot to fit in. The student atmosphere is full of cliques. Overall my experience at Byron was pretty good!... Read 5 reviews

• grade A

• Total schools 3

• Students 1,471

• Pecatonica, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.42 out of 5  12 reviews

Senior: Attending Pecatonica High School was such a blessing to me. I got to experience so much, meet so many people, and I got to establish connections with both the teachers in the students. While going to school here I felt as if I was involved and included in everything. In the end, I think I was very lucky in being able to attend this school, and I would do anything to repeat my experience again.... Read 12 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 886

• Rochelle, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.27 out of 5  11 reviews

Alum: My high school experience was truly life altering, in both excellent and heart wrenching ways. At home, I was having to face my parent's divorce where the secrets of their relationship were being revealed to our whole, small town. This caused my grades to drop and my 4.0 GPA to lower. Then, COVID hit and the pandemic had me stuck in my toxic house environment. Through this, I became a completely different person. My once bubbling personality drained into a person that people took pity on. Even though my world was collapsing, I hate a very supportive staff behind me helping me through. My counselor was reaching out and doing everything she could to keep me on track to graduate with my class even while I was falling behind. She also made sure my mental health was okay. I also had amazing teachers that were doing everything for me to be successful in their class and in the future. Rochelle Township High School has teachers who want to see their students happy and succeeding.... Read 11 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 2

• Students 889

• Stillman Valley, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3 out of 5  1 review

• grade B+

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,511

• Winnebago, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.95 out of 5  19 reviews

Senior: I have lived here my whole entire life and even though we are right next to Rockford I have never felt any danger. The academics are very good and some of teachers are very good with the exception of some more bad ones. This school really has stepped up in the way of getting you ready for college over the last couple years even. This includes holding an event like a job fair but for colleges, jobs, or the military. I have had no bad experiences yet at this school and I’m glad to have made some of the best friends I could have ever gotten. Our school is also very small so you get a personal touch with everyone.... Read 19 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,290

• Poplar Grove, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.13 out of 5  8 reviews

Junior: North Boone High school is a very good school. I have never had a problem with one of the teachers and the way they teach is easy to understand. If you ever have questions they work their best to answer them and if you have a problem they will help you find a solution. I genuinely feel that everyone wants what's best for the students at all costs and wants them to succeed. The school itself is well kept and cleaned. Also, I feel safe at my school while attending it everyday, which is an amazing feeling because I should not be in fear while trying to get an education. The learning environment is also a big thing because the teachers and school make it easy for you to work. While in class if there are any problems or distractions they make sure to handle them responsibly. If you are unable to focus in class for any particular reason you are able to go to a quiet room to work. The community at our school is kind and respectful making coming to school enjoyable.... Read 8 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 6

• Students 1,504

• Machesney Park, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4 out of 5  51 reviews

Alum: The teachers and other staff members at Harlem are supportive and great educators. There are plenty of sports and extracurriculars available, there is definitely something for everyone! The several AP classes that are offered helped me save time and money in college.... Read 51 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 11

• Students 6,324

• Belvidere, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.79 out of 5  29 reviews

Senior: I have had an overall very good experience in this school district. I do believe that most individual staff members and admin work very hard to support the students in the district. Not many things about this district were ever bad. I felt like the resources to support student's ability to excel beyond our little community have never really been there. I'm sure that schools are more focused on higher-priority students who need more assistance getting through high school, and teachers are generally overworked making it difficult to give special attention to individual students. I would have appreciated more resources to give more advanced students more opportunities to prepare for post-high school experiences that they don't need to seek out themselves. The biggest issue over the last few years in this school district was their execution of the grading system. Proficiency-based grading was a mess at the high school level and resulted in harm to many students' work ethic.... Read 29 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 11

• Students 7,539

• South Beloit, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.2 out of 5  5 reviews

Senior: South Beloit School District provides students with everything they need to know to be prepared for the world. The school district has provided me with various college field trips as well as ap courses. The teachers are always willing to help when you need the extra help.... Read 5 reviews

• grade C+

• Total schools 5

• Students 938

• Rockford, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.63 out of 5  72 reviews

Senior: At East High School, where I attend, I have been given an abundance of opportunities to grow. From the numerous amount of AP courses offered to the PLTW courses that have allowed me to broaden my engineering knowledge and move me down that path, there are endless opportunities. I have had great teachers that motivate, push, and inspire me to do better and to always work hard for what I want. My counselor and academy coach are also just as involved in my well being and education as my core teachers. The staff is dedicated to making a difference in the student's lives and help out in our social lives and extracurriculars as much as they can to support us even outside of the classroom. We have been given SAT prep courses for no charge, seminars and workshops for college readiness, and many other courses and activities to prepare us for life beyond high school. I am proud to say that I come from East High School.... Read 72 reviews

• grade C

• Total schools 46

• Students 26,739

• Kirkland, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.17 out of 5  6 reviews

Senior: My experience at Hiawatha High School has been one of the greatest 4 years of my life. I was able to play my favorite sport volleyball with all my teammates. The teachers are very nice and help you out a lot. There is constant positivity going around. They even play music for us in the hallways on Friday morning to brighten up our day.... Read 6 reviews

• grade C minus

• Total schools 2

• Students 408

• Roscoe, IL•

• School District

• grade A minus

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,692

• Rockton, IL•

• School District

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  2 reviews

Parent: Absolutely the best school district in the area, if not the entire region. It's the one reason the Rockton community has grown so rapidly in recent years.... Read 2 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 1,540

• South Beloit, IL•

• School District

• grade A minus

• Total schools 2

• Students 737

• Rochelle, IL•

• School District

• grade B minus

• Total schools 5

• Students 1,546