Worst open house I have been to. The principal spent 35+ minutes talking about HER, her…read moreaccomplishments, HER family, her goals, her role as a parent...after going on more than 30 min only talking about HER, a lot of parents began to leave. I have been to other selective enrollment open houses and the principals at every other school got down to business and discussed what we were all there to learn, what programs the school offers, even presented current students to give their point of view of what they enjoyed about the school... However, here, the principal was more interested in flashing her Christian Louboutin heels than talking about why Payton is better than the other SSE HS...

My daughter graduated from Walter Payton 6 years ago. She excelled at Vanderbilt University and is…read morecurrently working on her MBA at University of Chicago. She flourished at WPHS and developed her skills in Math, Science, and critical thinking.

My daughter loved she made new friends and she learned about her culture even more then she knew…read more My daughter was worried about ice but the teachers and security made her feel safe she loves marwen and we will come back .

For years I've passed Marwen by train or bus on my way to/from the Loop. For years I wondered what…read moreMarwen was, but was never curious enough (read too lazy) to find out. At some point I decided that Marwen must be the corporate headquarters of some outdoorsy clothing brand because the name reminded me of Erehwon, the mountain outfitter. Well, mountain outfitter it's not; this is what Marwen is all about (from their website): "Marwen was founded to provide Chicago's youth with stimulating and diverse opportunities to channel their adolescent energy into personally rewarding and developmentally appropriate outlets. Chicago is a city rich in history, architecture, art, and culture, and it is Marwen's intent to leverage these resources, providing our students with an out-of-school program that provides access to opportunity, while remaining highly relevant to their individual and collective experiences." The fabulous Kelly S told me about "Show Me Marwen" which gave me a chance to check the place out, for free to boot! The event was really cool, but a little crowded. I liked that they asked attendees to not only wear name tags, but add color-coded stickers to show how they were affiliated with Marwen (student, alumni, parent, friend, etc.), it really gave it a community feel. The alumni and student artwork on display was amazing and ranged from photographs to paintings to pottery to claymation videos. I was in awe of all of the creativity in the room. The only downside was that when I left Marwen I felt about as creative as a cucumber.

My kids don't go to Latin school but they played many basketball games with the Romans. The school…read moreis well located and beautiful. There is a lot of art on the walls. I'm sure that kids get good education in this school. This review is about behavior of parents of the Romans and the Romans Coach in season 2025/26. They put so much pressure on kids. One of the siblings of the Romans was cheering with mean words. The kid would position itself next to the hoop, so that only the players can hear. Unbelievable. One of the fathers was yelling at his kid because they were loosing. I felt so sorry for those kids, even though they are probably similar to their sickly ambitious parents. The Romans Coach is a nice looking woman, but unfortunately in traveling team she is well known to be mean toward the girls. She was so annoying during the games, she was too hard on her team, with an attitude of cruelty toward opposite team. Again - unbelievable. This is expensive school and kids in Latin school will be successful, but in the background of their success, there will be a lot of therapy, substance abuse, hidden inappropriate sexual behavior and on the top of that, life long competitive cruelty that was built in them in such a young age. Such a pity.

I started at Latin in Jr. Kindergarten and went all the way through my senior year of high school…read more At the time I didn't realize how lucky I was to have had parents that insisted that I have the best education available; Latin is absolutely that. I was learning things in my freshman and sophomore year of high school that many people didn't study until college. I made life-long friends there and had a wonderful grade school, middle school, and upper school experience.

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!!!

I am so upset with the school right now. this school may be "good" but, recently I took my child…read moreto this school and they expected him to act like he was in a palace or something. They made him wear uniforms that are so uncomfortable. And if you take off your tie, you get detention. Even worse is when you go home, you can't take off your tie until you are inside. HEAR ME OUT, THEY LITERALLY HIRE PEOPLE TO GO ON THE BUSES AND MONITOR STUDENTS TO MAKE SURE THEY DON'T TAKE OFF THEIR TIE. This school is the absolute worst. I would not dare take him here again.

I went to Skinner from kindergarten until 8th grade. I graduated twice from this school and…read morewouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else during my grammar school years. Not only did I have amazing teachers, faculty, and friends; it would such a great school. The faculty did the best they could to make the students' experience different and I think they definitely accomplished that. I would say, and I'm sure most of the people that I graduated with, would say that we absolutely loved our time at this school and would recommend it to anyone out there looking for an amazing school with amazing people teaching their children. Sidenote: I went to the school before this new one was built, but I've been back to visit and this is definitely an accurate picture of what the building looks like. It's beautiful on the inside and out.

We love ICSJ. Our son joined the school in Kindergarten and we've had a great experience since day…read more1. The teachers truly care and are invested in the whole child. Our son is challenged and thriving academically, as well as nurtured emotionally. The co teaching model is amazing and special. 2 certified teachers in a class of 24 students max. They also have learning specialists that are able to help children if they need a little extra assistance but they do it in a fun way so the kids do not view as a negative. In fact my son loved his small group time with the reading specialist. We love that they have Spanish twice a week, as well as very strong academics across the usual subjects including STEM. We love their student lead conferences because it teaches students public speaking skills in front of their parents in which they can present what they have been working on. After the "presentation" then the parents have opportunity to speak to teachers in the more traditional private format. We are not religious and feel that the religious aspect of the school is not overwhelming but rather teaches good morals and ethics. The community is amazing! It really is a small school in a big city with a family feel. The teachers are also very responsive when parents reach out. They have before & after school care. We often sign up for enrichment classes after school which have been great. They have ranged from stem, yoga and chess. Many graduates continue high school at high ranked Catholic schools like St Ignatius AND the #1 ranked high school in Illinois Walter Payton. We originally looked at Lincoln Elementary (CPS), St Clements, Catherine Cook and FXW but chose ICSJ for the reasons above. It may not have the big name factor of some other schools but I would definitely check out this hidden gem because it's an incredible school!

From the owner: Immaculate Conception – St. Joseph School is a premier Catholic elementary school on Chicago's near…read morenorth side, serving over 300 students from 28 different zip codes. Our unique co-teaching model puts 2 certified teachers in every classroom through 3rd grade, giving students authentic differentiation in learning. With student support teams consisting of 2 learning specialists and 1 counselor at each of our two campuses (PreK3 - 3rd grade at 1431 N. North Park and 4th-8th at 363 W. Hill Street), a full-time school nurse, and Spanish, PE, Music, Art, STEM and Religion at all grade levels, in addition to our primary subjects taught, our focus is on developing each child to his or her fullest potential. Our students have tested in the top 85% for math and reading, at every grade level tested (K-8th) within the state of Illinois, for the last 3 years and go on to the best high schools in Chicago and beyond. Come join ICSJ...a Family of Families!

I went to Whitney Young and it was fun. I learned a lot. Best teachers, by far Mrs…read more Brusek-Kaczmarek (English & Polish Club), Mr. Pasowicz (Psych), Mr. Jay Rehak (English & Writers Club), Mrs. K. Rehak (Chemistry-- not related to the English teacher), and finally Mr. Bruner (Art class & Art Club), who is no longer there, but who has changed my life forever. I think we all have a teacher that really touched us. Who knew that from freshman art, I'd be going to art school instead of journalism school like I first imagined for college. It was all because of Mr. Bruner. He got me my first job working for the city painting a mural, and I've been doing art ever since. So even though I am more in the fashion thing right now, hats are very artistic and sculptural. This is not your typical high school. Academics are very valued here. There are no cliches, at least there really weren't when I went there. I got along with everyone. I was really into art and writing, so I did that, and I had outlets for that through the after-school clubs. The minus was that the kids here were way too focused on learning and partying was sometimes out of the question with some people. Luckily, I had a group of friends from grade school that I let loose with. When you're doing Honors and AP classes, you need to balance that with a healthy dose of partying.

I attended this school from 6th to 12th grade. The majority of the time I experienced daily…read moreinappropriate remarks from some very ghetto kids from 2001 to 2007. The sexual vulgarity that came out of their mouths was so frequent I started walking from one class to another with headphones. Then I was told by security I was not allowed to wear headphones. At the time, we only had 2 security guards who regularly circulated. One was almost bed ridden due to physical ailments and had to roll around in an a special chair. The other was hearing impaired so he couldn't hear any of the sexual obscenities the boys were shouting. I would not recommend this school for that reason.

I went here over a decade ago. Knowledgeable and fair teachers, except Galinsky and Frasz. There…read morewas a weird push to go to the best college possible. Thank god I did not. Saved the debt for grad school. Still live in parent's basement but have a respectable career with the major company in my field. As promised, I never ever had to work as hard as I did freshman, sophomore, or junior year, ever again. This school introduced me to people from so many different backgrounds and really opened my eyes to global issues. Case in point: Our main drama occurred right after graduation. One activist type guy followed a love interest to palestine. Also, a chick went to Israel, also following a love interest, joined the IDF, and immediately gave them all the information she knew about the activist guy.

My 16 year old son currently attends LPHS and I can't emphasize how amazing the staff is here. This…read moreschool is truly a Lincoln Park gem. You'll get the proper support from the staff. Dean Johnson is amazing and was very accommodating and helpful, he truly cares about the kids just like every adult that works here.

I attended this school 2nd grade through 8th grade, 1998 to 2004. The principals were authoritarian…read moreand modeled the school's organization on British boarding schools for some reason. In middle school, our math teacher Mrs. DiIorio gave an official, approved lecture to my class on why slavery was actually a good thing for enslaved Africans. I'm serious. She screamed at us constantly. Her approach was based in control, verbal abuse, and coercion. She led the class in bullying one of my friends who had organizational difficulties due to ADHD. In social studies, we had to memorize every single American Civil War date yet barely touched world geography. Another social studies teacher told us he supported the use of the nuclear bomb in WWII Japan and suggested that he opposed abortion. Were there decent teachers? Yes, the art and music programs were pretty good and the teachers were kind. But I hope the white supremacist, right-wing ideology and abusive tactics have gone to the wayside at this school. Something was very off at this place. I'm still unpacking trauma from the constant screaming of Mrs. DiIorio and others.

Catherine Cook School is a small private grammar school in Old Town on Schiller Pl. Over the years…read moreit has grown to take over the loft building and to buy the lot and build the building next door. There is a great community of parents involved. My closest friends to this day are Catherine Cook Moms.The strong academic foundation at CCS made high school a smooth experience for my son and now he's doing well as a Loyola freshman. He started in pre-kindergarten and went all the way through. The tuition is far below that of Francis Parker or Latin. I highly recommend Catherine Cook for a strong phonics-based reading program and solid accredited teaching protocols and an excellent art department.

CGS has been a part of our families community for two years now. I couldn't be more thrilled with…read morethe decision we made to send our daughter to the school. The teachers are exceptional, the administration receptive and accommodating, and the students are embraced and enthused with a desire to not only learn, but to dig deeper into subjects. I'd never heard of the school prior to a family mentioning it, but boy am I glad I did. My daughter has been given wonderful opportunities as a member of this community and I can't wait to see what's in store!

This is our second year at CGS and if you are looking for a private school for your child, CGS…read moreshould be on your must see list. CGS is nine years old and is graduating their first class of 8th graders in 2014. All will go to the best high schools in Chicago. Class sizes are small, all under 15, so your child will get more attention. That is what we feel we are paying for. From the first grade, your child will have more than one teacher who is teaching their specialty. Another plus. Our headmaster, Mr. Jackson comes from a special needs background, so it is an excellent choice if your child is smart, but has some challenges. Our daughter she needs a lot of repetition. With the small class sizes, she is getting that at CGS. We had her tested this summer and discovered that even though she was in the "lower" groups for reading and math, she is reading more than two grades above level and her math was also above grade level after only one year at the school. The fact a child reading over two grades above grade level was in the lower group, also speaks about the student quality. If you want your child challenged, this is the place. If you want to go to work and brag how your child is a straight A student and the smartest in their class. Good luck at CGS. Now to why this school is not for you. We are in an office building. If looks matter, go to British, Cook or Parker with their beautiful campuses. Sports, we do not have a volleyball or basketball team. This apparently is a big deal to many in Chicago at the elementary level and why some parents do not choose CGS or use as an excuse to leave. At CGS, the parents make sports happen, We have the only traveling snow sports club with its own ski school at any school in Chicago, a Taekwondo Grand Master teaching in our after school program as well as weekly yoga and swim club in our after school program. Other student are excelling in hockey, figure skating and golf outside of school. So we are a very sports conscious and active school. There is a music school upstairs that will pick up your child from after school for their lessons. How great is that. We are a private, for profit school. What does that mean. To me, the best part of all, no giving fund or annoying fundraisers. Both my spouse and I are self employed and have work commitments 7 days a week. We do not have the time to sell chocolate or make things for an auction like was expected at our daughter's former school. Your tuition might seem higher than your friends at FXW, Old St. Mary's or Urban Prairie, but they have "mandatory" giving and/or significant pressure to make large purchases at their fundraisers, so in the end we are about the same. There is no other school in Chicago we would rather be at, my only wish is we had a High School :-)