I went here K-5. the school building was not very clean a crackly walls. But they added on to the…read moreschool and make it more clean still some walls. The school is like 100 yrs old.

This is a wonderful school with teacher's who genuinely care. There is a diverse student body and…read moreplenty of things to keep the kid's engaged. I would highly recommend this school.

***This review is about the track area after school hours. IT is not about the quality of education…read moreat the school.*** Now then, the track is fly! The grounds are well kept, people there are getting their workout on and the track is level. Enjoy a nice run without the gym fees, climb some stairs without a machine, do some lunges for free. Enjoy time outdoors and with the people. The place is even quiet enough to read. If you are lucky (or unlucky depending on if the parking lot is full) you can catch a soccer match. PLUS, I believe there is a bus nearby.

As a graduate from here class of 2016 I can assure you this is the worst school I have ever been…read moretoo. My senior English teacher once told me that he canceled our end of thr year presentation because and I quote "well nobody wanted to do it". Another teacher told me that they stopped giving out so many out of school suspensions because they did not want to make the student or the school look bad by giving out so many. Overall terrible experience especially with pampered pretentious classmates.

Unfortunately, this school has gone downhill significantly. It feels like many of the good teachers…read morehave left, and the overall quality and professionalism have declined. Communication is a major issue -- emails often go unanswered, messages left with the main office don't get returned.

I spent the second half of my grade school years here, before it was called an Academy. Back in…read morethe day it was just John H. Vanderpoel (poel pronounced pool) elementary school, which served grades K-8. No middle school back then, and grade school to high school was a big jump. No buses then, either. We walked to school. In the dead of winter, we walked. It wasn't far for me, though, about 5 blocks down quiet streets lined with huge trees. We lived next-door to my grandparents, who had lived in Beverly since before my mother was born, so I'm thinking my mom went to Vanderpoel, too, but I can't remember for sure. But I do remember the school, a 3-story old brick building that included swings on the playground. I remember my teachers, I remember the gym that doubled as an auditorium, I remember my classmates. The school was named after John H. Vanderpoel (in 1910?) as was Vanderpoel Ave., the street behind the school. John Vanderpoel, born in 1857 in the Netherlands, was an influential artist and taught at the Art Institute of Chicago for 20 years beginning in 1880. Georgia O'Keeffe was one of his students. She praised him as a teacher. Vanderpoel's book, "The Human Figure", was published in 1907. BOY could he draw in pencil & charcoal. Until 1929, his works were housed in the school, then moved to nearby Ridge Park Field House & displayed in the art gallery named after him. Vanderpoel School is indeed part of Beverly's rich history & I loved it there. I loved my neighborhood, my friends, my school, and the simplicity of growing up back in the day (not saying how long ago but it was....long ago). I still have many of my grade school papers & projects. Wow, so different from the work kids do today. Example: a geography project for a state (or country?) that exported cotton. In addition to a written essay, I glued a hunk of cotton to one of the pages. I got an "E" for excellent, no "A" back then at this school. My favorite class: art. I also took kiddie art classes at the Art Institute & then majored in Fine Art in college. I went on to have an art gallery in a Chicago suburb. I'm guessing Mr. Vanderpoel would like that. I'm guessing I would have liked Mr. Vanderpoel.

This is an amazing school in the heart of Chicago. The new building opened about a year and half…read moreago and it is really state of the art. The building may be new but this school has a lot of history in the city. There is a beautiful green space on the roof of the school. It is great to go up here and enjoy the urban jungle which is our city. There is also a fun play area for the students including nets overhead...we would not want a basketball going over the side and hitting someone in the head 3 stories below. Ouch!!! The staff here is great. They truly care about the students. The IB program here is also really great too. I wish I could go back to grade school and attend here. I also love the front office and the security guards too. Everyone here is so friendly and it makes the experience of school fun. I also must throw out some congrats to Kenneth Staral the school principal. He cares so much about education and the well being of all of the students. If it was not for him, I am sure that this school would not be this successful. He is a blessing for putting together such a great education plan for the students. In the warmer months, there is a guy that lives in the high rise, over the school on Oak, that will play his bag pipes on the top floor of his balcony. At first, I thought I was in some movie with hidden cameras but then realized this guy was up there practicing. So if you are ever walking around the school and you hear the music just look up and you will see this guy. I do get a tear in my eye when he starts playing "Danny Boy"! My little one will start to dance...he has even waved at us from 20 stories above. Fun Fact: The school is named after the first mayor of Chicago. Mr Ogden was involved in real estate, he also was involved with canals too. In fact, his company cut out the canal that made Goose Island in Chicago. He later moved on to the railroads and was president of Union Pacific. He built a railroad to Wisconsin to bring grain to Chicago and also a railroad out West too. He was on the cutting edge of progress and growing our nation. The parents, students, faculty and staff make the learning experience here at Ogden great and I look forward to many more years here.

When I was a kid, I had aced the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Did you know you could ace them?…read moreNeither did I. What I mean by that is that I scored a straight 99th percentile on every single one of my Iowa Tests and got a strange invitation in the mail. The invitation was from pre-International Baccalaureate Program to take an exam and potentially join Abraham Lincoln Elementary or William B. Ogden Elementary. Little did I know, this little invitation would change the rest of my life. At the exam, I met a friend that had moved away in third grade and we laughed wondering why we were both here. We both talked and said that Ogden School sounded better than Lincoln Elementary School, so that is what we decided. After taking their exam, I also had an interview. I was informed that I had scored the fifth best in the city and that I could pick Ogden or Lincoln. Seeing as my friend and I agreed on Odgen, Ogden it was. I missed my first day of school because the school bus did not show up until 9 in the morning, but by then I had already walked back to Volta Elementary as I did not know what to do. Over the years the bus was pretty consistent, except for the day that I missed it and decided to take the train downtown to school. Being eleven years old, sometimes you just don't know where you're going. I got off the train and started walking and then realized that I had no idea where I was. I walked into a police station and yelled, "Help, I need help!" After explaining that I was lost and late for school two cops drove me six blocks to school and apologized for swearing like pirates. I arrived to the playground in the back of a cop car and the kids thought that I had been arrested! With regard to the curriculum, it was a bar up from the Gifted Program that I had been in Volta Elementary and the adjustments took awhile because whereas before I was able to dominate, I struggled with the new social situation and had to take extra time to regain my bearings. By 7th grade, I was doing well in school again and liked French class the best since it was the most interesting. I still speak French today, which serves as a testament of the merits of Ogden's rigorous curriculum. At Ogden, you also learn to deal with kids coming from the deep south side and kids who live right around the corner on the Gold Coast. The pre-IB Program at Ogden set me up well for my future IB entry exams at Lincoln Park High School. The French curriculum is a must have for kids who will want to be speaking French in the future and is a cheaper alternative than sending kids out for private lessons. I also learned the ability to respect and tolerate the diversity of races and socioeconomic statuses of the various Chicagoans that will be found at this school. If you ever wonder who William B. Ogden was, he was the first mayor of Chicago. He worked extensively with land developers and reached the epic agreement that guarantees the land on our lakefront as public parks now and forever. Well forever until the city decides to lease it out for the next quick buck.

Jones College Prep is 100 on the US NEWS and WORLD REPORT Top 100 High Schools…read more I am so grateful for Jones College Prep, from which my eldest daughter graduated last night and from which my younger daughter will graduate in two years. For those of you who believe you must move to the suburbs to obtain a quality education for your children, it just ain't so!! Jones is small (700 students), academically rigorous as a public "Selective Enrollment School" (granted, with highly competitive admissions), and its most unique quality, remarkable diversity: 30% Hispanic, 24% White, 24% Black, 11% Asian, 8% Native American (in Chicago!), and 4% Multiracial. Here is one astonishing factoid that speaks volumes about the quality of education at Jones, and the depth and talent of the 200+/- member Class of 2008. Collectively, these kids were awarded $11.14 million in scholarships. That's something like $55,000 per student. Here is a representative list of the caliber of colleges represented by this year's graduating class: Bard, Barnard, Bennington, Carnegie Mellon, Coe, Cornell, Eugene Lang, MIT, NYU, Oberlin, Purdue, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wellesely, and many more. Not all public schools suck.

Jones is a wonderful school in the city of Chicago. Any child would be lucky to get in and go…read morethere. I currently have a daughter attending (sophomore), and my son will be joining her there, as a freshman, this fall. A true gem of a school in the south loop.

Best school in Bridgeport for the kiddos.. My son started here in September and since then I've…read morenotice so much improvement. the teachers are wonderful as well as office staff. A++

Located in the South Austin neighborhood on Chicago's Westside, on LaVergne between Maypole and…read moreFulton streets, Spencer Elementary range from Pre Kindergarten to 8th grade. The Seahawks colors are blue and white. Designated as a technology academy, the teachers use the latest methods and tech standards as part of the daily instruction to students. I have fond memories here

I am so happy I found Hope Montessori in Tinley Park! It's offered a peaceful, nurturing and…read moreintellectually stimulating environment for my son. The school is true montessori and the children's house. My son is in his third year there, meaning he is doing his kindergarten year there; and my daughter started her first year this year. They are very different in their personalities and how they learn; yet, the school has been able to engage and stimulate both. They come home very happy. I love what I see in the classrooms and how far my son has come, from learning number recognition to division and multiplication! From learning letter sounds to reading!