I graduated from this Catholic school over 20+ years ago, which was eventually closed down in 2006…read moreand turned into a charter school. I assume the school closed down due to lack of enrollment and outdated teaching resources. By then, there were a few nuns as teachers. I'm uncertain if the convent still exists, but I do know there's still a rectory that conducts its business. My experience as a student was that there were less than 10 asians in my class and there were usual cliques. Recess was dodgeball, jumpropes, and roller racers within the confines of the parking lot. With the exception of kindergarten, there were 2 classrooms per grade level.

IHM School was closed in 2006, but I had to write this to balance an earlier review that appears…read morehere. Years ago, IHM provided a wonderful and warm school experience. The sisters who taught gave their lives to solid, rich instruction and character development for their charges. Days were filled with meaty academics, as well as religion, patriotism, values, and family participation. The decline of IHM began the same way as it did for so many Catholic schools, as they became infected with the same fuzzy constructivist junk that has crippled public education. (For more on that, see: http://www.illinoisloop.org/catholicschools.html) The decisive blow to IHM school occurred when both the principal and pastor positions were filled (at that time) by individuals wildly unsuited to the task. Since these two positions have absolute power in a Archdiocese Catholic school (parents and the school board have mere advisory roles), this spelled disaster. Enrollment plummeted, and the school was closed. The neighborhood is the loser from the loss of IHM school.

OPRF has been a great high school since 1873. Residents have always expected their public high…read moreschool to be as good as any private prep school, and it is. Large enough to offer a selection of courses and activities that small schools don't even dream about. 90% of graduates go to college. This school has produced at least four Pulitzer Prize winners, one Nobel Prize winner (Ernest Hemingway, class of 1917), a Miss America, Olympic athletes, Oscar and Emmy nominees, leaders and award winners in many professions, and thousands of well-educated human beings. I had the good fortune to attend and graduate from Oak Park in the '60s. The demographics have changed a lot since then, but not the quality education or the results. I have attended seven colleges and universities in three states since then, earning a BA, two master's degrees, and a post-master's certificate along the way, and I'll put my OPRF diploma up against the high school education of anyone I met in any of those schools.

We've had an excellent experience so far at OPRF high school with two children attending a total of…read moresix and a half years at this point. The quality of their educations has been extraordinary and both children thrived with clubs, intramurals and other extracurricular activities including a study-abroad in Ireland trip for one child and a Washington DC Art History field trip for another. Shout out to the amazing counselors, Special Education team, and social workers. My kids have favorite teachers but too many to name personally. The arts program is the highest quality. Theater, too! The school board has been doing some wonderful work in the past few years. We appreciate the recent policy in support of transgender students and their work on improving racial equity. We have been really happy at OPRF and my kids are lucky to attend.

Good School! Enjoyed all my years there. The boys don't "Harass the girls" thank opt very muchread more

The school is run by a principal who lives in the neighborhood and who has children at the school,…read moreteachers that live in the neighborhood and have children at the school. The children who attend the school are from people who never left the neighborhood. If your child or you yourself are not from the neighborhood and do not drink the kool-aid you and your children will be treated poorly and graded poorly. The school does not encourage diversity, the staff is not diversified. The staff is comprised of mostly people from the area. Many parents are entitled police and fireman with the gangsta in a uniform mentality, which in turn the children mimic. This in turn makes the school environment hostile for children, who are learning intolerance for people different than them. Instead of being sensitive and aware of the problem, the leadership is more concerned about their hyper inflated ego and the fact responses are to conflict are threatening to you and your child's education. The best one I heard was "I am responsible for the largest school in the Archdiocese" and I personally, and I..I..I. No addressing situations that cause concern for your child. Just I..I..I. There are a few great teachers who do not deserve this review. There are others that I question their mental fitness to work with our youth. In one instance I questioned a grade for my child who loves school, and my child was torn down, made accusations against, and our family was torn down with my child. All for noticing a grading discrepancy. Don't expect anything less than South Side drama here.

I love this school! Def recommend. Go Jags!! a bunch of nice welcoming students and amazing…read moreteachers!

Have 3 kids here. Amazing school with 2 track religion curriculum. Catholic and world religion…read more Rigorous academic curriculum with emphasis on social emotional learning/development. Quite a bit of volunteering as well to help keep the kids grounded and caring about the world around them. A rare combination of an independent school with a catholic underpinning where other religions are not just welcomed but celebrated. I didn't have that exposure until I was in college. Glad I can expose my kids to this diversity early on. And did I mention they are crushing all their academic/standardised tests!!!

When we moved out to the suburbs, our goal was to find an outstanding school that would provide the…read morebest learning environment for our children. While the neighborhood public schools are fine, we selected St. Francis Xavier School (SFX) because of their strong academics. We never looked back after our decision was made. Because of the focus on academics, SFX EXPLORE test scores have been consistently higher than the surrounding schools. SFX students excel in high school and attend some of the most selective colleges and universities. Our oldest graduated from SFX last year and is excelling in the local public high school because of the outstanding academic preparation that SFX provided to him. His experience and development at SFX made him the young man he is today. The continual focus on academics, faith and service is evident in everything that is done at SFX. We have three remaining children (1st through 7th) at the school and continue to be thrilled with how they are developing. To truly understand what SFX offers, visit the school and meet the faculty. It is a wonderful environment.

St. Francis is a wonderful school and I am happy to send my kids to school here. It's very strong…read moreacademically, with two Blue Ribbon designations within the past decade, and it's a welcoming, loving community. I especially appreciate the school's dedication to service -- a school-wide service day with all of the kids PreK4 through 8th Grade going off to volunteer is so unique and positive. The new principal who started this year also is fantastic. If you're considering Catholic schools in the area, SFX is a top choice. I'd encourage anyone who's interested in learning more about SFX to talk to current parents (rather than relying on some of the old reviews here) and reach out to the school for information and a tour.

Great school, it's part of who I am today. Good school though, I think it prepared me well for…read morecollege, and I still have a few good friends from there. They've done a lot of renovations since I graduated, like a new baseball field named after a Naz graduate who was killed in a tragic construction accident in 2001. They've also put in a hybrid football field, which is pretty cool, and just built an auditorium (we always had plays/musicals in the gym). I take off one star for the lack of options for classes. Outside of general education classes, there weren't many "fun" classes. I took Economics, woohoo (actually the teacher that taught it is one of the best teachers I've ever had, but it's still economics!!)

Beautiful school my child loves it teachers are great and sports games are fun to watch. BE THERE…read moreBE LOUD GO NAZ

Naperville North High School is a nationally recognized high school located in Naperville District…read more203. This high school has a very diverse group of students, teachers, and staff. There is a club for just about any/every interest. The school is very large and competitive on both an academic and sports level. NNHS offers tons of options for career exploration so students can tap into their interests and find out where they may want to go after high school. For many coming out of NNHS this means getting a college degree however NNHS does educate students on options outside of the traditional college route. NNHS provides students with the tools necessary to be successful in and after high school.

I was a chaperone with Lawrence Central's show choir attending the Clash of the Sequins over the…read moreweekend. We were all incredibly impressed by how polite, warm, and helpful all of the Naperville North HS volunteers were. Adult and youth volunteers alike were so nice and respectful. And that's not easy to do when the day is long and the stress is high. We really appreciated your hospitality!

So this review is in response to Bill D's review as well as my own review…read more "This school is awful, they don't care about student progress" - Couldn't be farther from the truth. The teachers there spend their OWN money to ensure the students have the supplies they need. Some of the students start the beginning of the school year bringing their own supplies but some of the parents either do buy their kids the supplies they need or they do not buy enough of the supplies. The teachers throughout the school year the teachers spend the little money they make to ensure students have supplies. Some parents think that their child's learning ends when they leave the school and do not help or check their homework. There is a reason why they call it homework. Teachers spend their summer vacation working in their rooms and trying to come up with new projects to do the next school year. The teachers do not stop working once the bell rings at the end of the day, some of them go home and answer parents emails or email parents to let them know what is going on with their child's progress. Student progress relies on both parents and teachers but some parents do not take the time out with their children to practice their spelling words or help them with their math work or any other subject. Teachers are not their to teach everything to the students, parents have to be responsible as well. "The facilities are obsolete" - Clearly you have no idea how much it costs to update the facilities or how the finances are managed or how much time it takes to update the facilities. It takes a lot of time and money to do so. Majority of the money comes from the tuition in which some parents do not pay cause they say they can not afford it but yet they can afford new cars, vacations and a luxury lifestyle. Your child's education is more important that you spending hundreds of dollars going to a hair dresser or a spa every week. The lack of parent participation at this school is pathetic but yet they continue to complain. Most families can not take one day out of the month to attend family masses and they can not be bothered to attend school fundraisers. Parents need to participate more in activities the school holds. Donations and tuition is what helps catholic schools afford updated facilities but when parents do not pay tuition nor attend bake sales, blue and white balls and other fundraising activities they are only hurting their child. Again teachers donate money and some even donate even thought they are struggling financially because they enjoy what they do and want to get back. Parents should do the same. You want a free education, you want your child to be put in a special needs class go to a public school. Catholic schools like St. Williams do not put kids in special needs classes because they truly understand that every child learns at a different pace and they make their lesson plans and themselves flexible to help those in need. The staff at St, Williams is not their to label your child they are there to help your child succeed. Some parents do not want to believe that their child has a learning disability because they are afraid that they will be labeled for life, but they are only hurting their child by not getting them the help they need and are forcing their child to struggle rather than get them the help they need. Most child will end up growing out of their learning disability as long as they have the correct help. Teachers are not psychologists or doctors. They will not diagnose your child they will simply say they are exhibiting certain traits and that they get tested. That is all they can do and its very frustrating when a parent is unwilling and scared to get their child tested. Again that only hurts the child instead of helping them. "The books they use are over a decade old" - This is a complete lie. I have seen the books they use and they are not a decade old. Again this issue goes back to having financial support. Part of the tuition the parents pay go towards school supplies including books but again is parents do not pay there is less money and books are expensive. The teachers make due with what they have. It also does not help that some of the books get ruined by pages being torn out or drawn in. The teachers can only do so much but the parents have to be held responsible to a certain extent. The teachers ensure that the students are taught what they need to move onto the next grade. "bullying is out of control" - Teachers are often seen as babysitters. Teachers are there to teach your child. The parents are supposed to discipline them and teach them what is wrong and what is right. Just like in ANY other school there will be students who are mean to others and do inappropriate things but it is stopped right there and the parent is notified right away, now if the parent does not want to discipline their child then that is the parents fault. Teachers are not parents and should not be expected to play mother.

I can provide school supplies with great quality and very competitive prices…read morekindly contact me m.atef@farragholdings.com