Columbia College of Missouri in Crystal Lake is one of four of the Illinois Campuses. It is one building with several classrooms inside as well as a study area, vending machines, and a computer lab. Columbia offers mutiple bachelor degrees, but specializes in business degrees. It also has associate and master degree programs.
First United Methodist Preschool is a part of First United Methodist Church, a congregation of about 1,500.
The preschool boasts a teacher-to-student ratio of 1-to-6, keeping two teachers in each classroom, which averages about 12 students per class.
Being connected to the Methodist church, the school offers daily prayer, Christian curricular topics and monthly chapel times.
All staff have several years of Early Childhood Education and each staff member gets recertified each year in CPR and First Aid.
The preschool offers convenient pick-up and drop-off procedures to make the process easier for parents of young children.
Walking into Bright Horizons, which opened in 1992, one is struck by the peace and order within. This child-care and early-education center strives to give the best care to the children in their charge, including serving organic foods. Bright Horizons has a place for children ranging from 6 weeks old to 6 years old (up to 12 years old for drop-in care). The center is located just northwest of the intersection of Route 14 and South Main Street, not far from the Metra station.
St. Elizabeth, located on McHenry Avenue in Crystal Lake near Crystal Lake South High School, is one of many Catholic Churches in the area. They do not offer any specialized programs, but have monthly/bi-monthly events and travel to different areas trying to reach others. It's a very family-oriented church.
Prairie Ridge High School opened its doors in 1996. The school serves more than 1,700 students from many area towns, including Crystal Lake, Bull Valley, Prairie Grove, Oakwood Hills, and Ridgefield.
The school sits on a large, open campus which holds a number of football fields, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and other areas for outdoor activities. Prairie Ridge offers a number of activities for its students, including clubs, student council, band, chorus, and athletic teams. The school's mascot is the Wolves, who compete in the Fox Division of the Fox Valley Conference.
Prairie Grove School District 46 is composed of two schools housing approximately 1,000 students. Prairie Grove Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade. This school employs more than 60 staff members and offers a number of activities such as Spanish, Young Rembrandts and Mad Science. Prairie Grove Junior High School serves students from sixth to eighth grades. The school offers a number of extracurricular activities such as drama, newspaper and choir. The Panthers compete in a variety of sports including basketball, volleyball, track & field, soccer and cheerleading. Victor Wight is the principal of the elementary school and Chad May is the principal of the junior high.
Located on the north side of McHenry Road, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church is part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod network of churches. It is home to My Father's World preschool and offers summer camps as well as youth groups throughout the year. Prince of Peace offers Bible studies and multiple worship choirs and bells and chimes, and is active in ministry, locally and internationally.
Opened in 1978, Crystal Lake South (CLS) High School serves almost 2,000 students, making it the largest school in District 155. CLS's students come from Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills and Lakewood.
The school was given the Outstanding Service Award in 2006 by the National Honor Society for its Operation Heifer Project. The project raised $7,000 to purchase livestock for underprivileged villages throughout the world.
CLS's teams compete in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference. The Gators won the IHSA state title for boys golf in 1980.
