Lake County Gazette

The 2025–2026 school year began for PreK students in Zion Elementary School District 6, with young learners starting their first day filled with curiosity and excitement. The district, which serves Lake County and includes Beulah Park Elementary School, East Elementary School, Elmwood Elementary School, Lakeview School, Shiloh Park Elementary School, West Elementary School, and Zion Central Middle School, welcomed its youngest students as they embarked on their educational journey.

Zion Elementary School District 6 is a diverse community where 4.9 percent of students are White, 36.6 percent are Black, 50.9 percent are Hispanic, and 0.2 percent are Asian according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). More demographic details about the district can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

The district employs 164 teachers who earn an average salary of $58,629 before pension contributions; the staff is composed of 83.3 percent women and 16.7 percent men. There were no teachers with more than ten absences in a school year as reported by ISBE (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

In terms of financial investment in education, Zion Elementary School District 6 spent $27,927 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $69,342,294 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

PreK students' first day marks the beginning of what the district describes as an adventure full of learning and new friendships.