East Lake Academy began as an idea in the heart of our founders in 2000, two Catholic families living in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Realizing the need for an additional Catholic school in Lake County, they set out to open East Lake Academy.
By fall 2001, East Lake Academy was formed as a private school based on the Catholic tradition. The school opened that first fall term with 13 students in kindergarten through third grade. During the summer of 2002, Francis Cardinal George of the Archdiocese of Chicago gave East Lake Academy canonical approval as a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Chicago. East Lake Academy is listed in the Official Catholic Directory.
In the fall of 2002, we acquired land in west Lake Forest, constructed our current facility and expanded to include a preschool for ages 3 and 4 along with grades one through eight. With the school now firmly established and proven successful in helping develop the young hearts and minds of our students, East Lake Academy is constantly expanding its educational facility to help alleviate the stress placed on the current building from the rapid growth East Lake Academy has welcomed over recent years.