Top Rated 15 Schools in Chicago, IL - A Guide for Parents and Students

dionna rilling The teachers are great. Failure is not an option. My only issue is that they have out demerits like tictacs. You can barely sneeze without being a demerit. Id love to see a give and take there. Maybe show the children how good behavior is rewarded, that not everything they do is bad. 05/22/23 Edit: My son graduated in 2017 and my younger son is on track to graduate in a few weeks. Theyve gotten a lot better with demerits. Still a great school with young teachers who are eager to teach. Dont knock a charter until youve tried one.

Willie Campbell My student was accused of something, the teacher saw it and he will not meet with me, one of the Deans scheduled a meeting with last week foer today he didnt show up for work today. My appointment that the Dean scheduled was at 7:30 a.m. this morning I then ask to speak to the head of school or presiding principal Barry Rodgers or Melissa Zaikos I was told the werent available and have no direct lines. I dont know what is going on, I just want answers.

heyy_rkive Honestly if I had an option, I would give it 0 stars. I used to go to this school for my middle school years and it was probably the worst experience someone would like to go through. I was and still am, a straight A student who behaved well in school and would like to share my experience. 7th grade definitely changed who I was and changed the perspective of how I viewed different people and things. First of all, a teacher was fired for pulling a girls hair. Second of all, (this is not the schools fault ig) there was shootings and power outages. Third of all, when something happened, they wouldnt tell the students about it and inform them what to do in different situations. 8th grade was honestly worse. Teachers would talk about a student behind their backs, teachers would try to get into students business without their consent, teachers wouldnt last more than a few months and more. Some teachers are actually nice but most of them arent and dont know what they are doing. Another thing is that they wouldnt tell the popular kids anything when they did something wrong and when it came to those students that actually behave good and do the minimum thing, they would give them detention. (They also gave detentions for no reasons) Now the students. There was a fight literally every week when I was there. (They occurred for dumb reasons too). The kids wouldnt respect the staff and would talk back to them. At this point, the students have more power over the school than the staff. There is a lot more about this school, but this is so far the main things I experienced in this school. Just one of the worst schools out there. (I transferred to foreman and honestly I was scared because of the bad reviews but honestly I am having a better time here than at intrinsic).

Laura Drea-Todman LET. THE. GIRLS. CHANGE. THEIR. FEMININE. PRODUCTS. FFS! No job/college dictates when a person can use the bathroom, yall are sick! Also, is it only men teaching here???? How, as a woman could you enforce these disgusting (and unsanitary) policies on your students? Whats wrong with you? Like I said....yall are sick!

N Willis People should be allowed to go to the bathroom whenever they want. You have to trust that your class is engaging enough that they want to come back. Having an actual policy in place to allow girls to wrap a sweatshirt around their bloody pants that occured because they werent allowed to go clean and maintain themselves when they needed to is weird to say the least. I would never allow my child to go to that school because this cant be the only weird draconian thing going on there.

Dallan Wortham I have walked through the halls of many of Noble School’s campuses and the staff and students are so friendly. It is so cool to see educators that care about the whole student. The focus on college prep is palpable and inspiring.

Sarah Walter We have been an Ancona family for 10 years now, and each year keeps getting better. Many families are drawn to Ancona for its progressive Montessori preprimary and primary programs, but as a parent of a now Middle Schooler, I can say that the upper grades are just as amazing! Class sizes are small allowing for lots of individualized attention, and the teachers are incredibly talented, kind, and focused on meeting each student where they are. It is a rigorous academic program without being unnecessarily stressful and the school puts a lot of thought into the high school preparation process. We continue to be so happy that we are a part of this warm and welcoming school community.

Aremu Mbande I am grateful that a learning center like Ancona exists. Safety, joy, and community are overarching goals of this school and it has been an exceptional experience seeing our children develop here. AMAZING teachers and wonderful families.

Todd Neumann An amazing place full of amazing people. If you want your child to grow academically, socially intellectually and emotionally, you need to look at this school. The Faculty is incredible. Its a diverse welcoming community. I have two graduates who had their choice of high schools. But more importantly, Ancona helped them become confident, informed citizens of the world. And, there is financial aid available.

Beem Lela (Grateful Yoga) Our kids have been going to Friends School for several years. It’s a beautifully nourishing educational environment that allows each kid to express themselves. The mixed-age approach offers a community feel like I’ve never seen at a school. My kids always say their favorite thing is the hour-long recess. As a parent, my favorite thing is the values-based non-religious foundation of this Quaker school. Tiny but mighty!

Sabrina D We have been so incredibly happy during our first year at Chicago Friends School. While popular on the East Coast, we had never heard of the Friends school philosophy in Chicago. Our son was in a fantastic CPS Pre-K program, but thrives in small group environments which was not an option at CPS. We took him along with us during our first visit, and they let him spend the morning with the kids to see if he felt comfortable. He instantly bonded, and asked to stay the afternoon. They are so welcoming, both students and teachers that you instantly felt part of the community. We have found that they are willing to work with each individual child at their pace to make sure they are always challenged, and never left behind no matter what their pace may be. Communications and involvement from parents are encouraged and welcome. And with so many hands-on activities including a community garden, daily recess, art, drama, language and field trips, each child gets to experience learning in a variety of settings to help foster the love of learning. I highly recommend this school to anyone looking for a unique learning opportunity in a caring, educational environment.

Cameron My son transferred this year to CFS as a fifth grader and the experience has been really positive. Hes excited to go to school every day, loves the individual attention from having small class sizes, finds the academic work engaging, and has been welcomed with understanding and kindness by kids and teachers alike. I also find the community very welcoming, and really appreciate how Quaker values like integrity, peace and community service are woven throughout the educational approach. Its a great fit for our family and we are happy we made the decision to join!

John Zajeski International school

Anne S A wonderful school with excellent teachers and facilities.

Erica Smith Wonderful early childhood school that will serve 2 year olds thru 8th grade

Rickie Kostiner We love Bennett! The school environment has been enriching, nurturing, challenging, and a breath of fresh air for education with a focus on hands on project based learning.

Jessica Solares Friendly staff and well-organized school, a wonderful educational experience for any child!

Ivan Perez Very cute, free rooftop, attached to the movies, nandos, and a shopping mall. Definately a great place to spend on a warm day.

Victor Manuel Got to take some professional shots!