In 2015, my family relocated to District 125. We moved from another district specifically because of Stevenson High School, and we did it when our kids were approaching school age. I've now helped many other families make the same move — and I've noticed that the same questions, and the same surprises, come up every time.
Here's what I wish someone had told me when we were going through this process.
When we started looking, we made the mistake of falling in love with communities before verifying the boundary. We'd drive through Buffalo Grove, find a street we loved, and then discover the address was on the wrong side of the D125 line. Do the boundary check first. Community character is the second decision. Boundary is the first.
The official source is the Lake County GIS/Mapping Division's Map 26-192 (Revised 2025). I use this for every address I work with. Check your address here →
This is the thing most relocating families miss. Stevenson is the destination — but your home address determines the entire K–12 path your children follow to get there. There are six sender districts, each with their own elementary and middle schools. Your experience in the years before Stevenson will be defined by which sender district your address falls under.
Ask Shilpa to identify the full pipeline for any address you're considering — not just "does it feed Stevenson" but "what elementary, what middle school, what's the experience like at each step."
I know this sounds alarming if you've been using Zillow for your research. But Zillow's school district information is sourced from third-party data providers who are often working from approximated or outdated information. I've seen Zillow incorrectly label addresses in both directions — marking non-D125 addresses as Stevenson and vice versa. Never make an offer based on Zillow's district label.
If you're relocating for work, check whether your employer is listed on the D125 area map. AbbVie (Abbott Business Center), Discover Financial Services, Motorola (Deer Park), CDW, and multiple Lincolnshire Corporate Center campuses are all inside or immediately adjacent to D125. Living inside the district for many of these employers means a very short commute.
Most relocating families underestimate how quickly D125 inventory moves. Homes in Lincolnshire and Long Grove — the most in-demand fully-inside communities — often receive multiple offers within the first week. If you're being relocated by an employer with a fixed start date, start the home search earlier than you think you need to. Work with an agent who has D125-specific inventory knowledge and can alert you immediately when something comes available.
If you need to rent in D125 while your permanent home closes or while you're getting your bearings, know that rental inventory in the district is thin. What's available tends to command a premium precisely because of the school district. Factor this into your timeline.
If we were doing our move over again, we'd start the boundary verification process before falling in love with any specific community. We'd identify the sender district for each address we considered so we understood the full K–12 picture. And we'd work with an agent who works exclusively in D125 — someone who can alert us the moment the right home comes available, not someone juggling six counties.
"The families who relocate most successfully to D125 are the ones who do their research before they fall in love with a specific house. Once you know your boundaries, your budget tier, and your preferred sender district — the right home becomes much easier to identify."
— Shilpa Nallapati, IL Managing Broker #471020148Shilpa made this move herself. She'll walk you through the boundary, the sender districts, the communities, and the timeline — so you arrive prepared, not surprised.
Full Relocation Guide →