HISTORY
The school was founded by Morris Schwabacher and V.P. Randall on the shores of

Long Lake, Michigan, on Memorial Day, 1913. These two men shared a desire to help

some of the many half-orphaned boys roaming around the stockyards of Chicago.

Originally named Chicago Junior School, it began as an active farm, with no more than

a tent and superabundant wilderness. This helped instill many life and work values in the students, characterizing the unique program of CJS. On Memorial Day, 1923, the school moved to its present location in Elgin. The new property was also a working farm, as still evidenced by the silo in the middle of campus.

In 2003, the Board adopted a new name for the school to better reflect what the school is and where it is located: Fox River Country Day School.

Like most other independent schools, Fox River Country Day School’s founders had a vision based on their deepest spiritual convictions. Today, the school continues to share practical expressions of its Christian heritage through exemplary personal and academic standards, an expectation of high moral and ethical practice, and a commitment to community values and service. While honoring spirituality through our Character Building Qualities, the school does not attempt to influence the members of the community (students, parents, faculty, staff) regarding their religious beliefs. There is no religious instruction at Fox River Country Day School. Parents alone determine a child's religious instruction.