I would like to explain the experience of being here at Acacia Academy. In Acacia Academy, I've…read moreexperienced difficulty with learning while dealing with PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, and ADHD mostly. While being here, I've struggled even more. The classes with these two specific teachers have made it even more difficult for me to learn and to work. The teachers will follow me to the bathroom due to the fact I've cried in the bathroom multiple times and it has been a '"concern" to the staff members. I would also like to mention that I've gotten panic attacks in the bathroom too-because of my PTSD, and also feeling like I am not good enough for anyone in this school (staff members, teachers, and students.) It has really made me uncomfortable from the fact that the administrator has instructed the teachers to follow me to the bathroom to monitor for me crying, panicking, or talking badly about myself even when I had stopped now. I would also like to mention that the administrator assumes that every problem with a student is either stress, or anxiety. There was a time when I was on the bathroom floor from having a panic attack and I felt weak, I've told the social worker that I had a PTSD flashback, yet they had put me in a room with an administrator to just eat my lunch and apparently "give me time" is what the social worker said and put me back in class. I understand that social workers have to talk to other kids in school, but what makes these "social workers" think that putting me back in class was a fine thing to do? Every time that I've talked to these "social workers," and discuss about how this school has made my mental state worse, yet they encourage me to keep going to this school. I've never felt more disgusted, hatred, and anger in my life from how a "social worker" would convince me that it is required to keep going here while my mental state is getting worse day by day while coming to this school. Keep in mind, I am really struggling with suicidal thoughts right now at the moment and I have to do an online hospitalization program. The teachers continue to stack up on work, while knowing that I will not be able to do some of these assignments at home because I have to do an online hospitalization program. I've never felt more pressured in my life than ever when wanting to have good grades, to get my work done, while I feel that the teachers and staff have absolutely NO awareness about the fact that I won't be able to have enough time to turn in all these assignments on time because of my online hospitalization program. Dealing with my mental health and education is absolutely exhausting, but yet-the teachers continue to give me stacks of work while I'm having to do the online hospitalization program at the same time. I've tried talking to the social workers here, but I've noticed that social workers tend to go straight to the negatives when it comes to certain talks, but never find the positivity in things that could happen if I made changes for coming to this school. Another thing is that a social worker was hoping for me to go to a partial hospitalization program *in-person*, but I told her that I was doing it *online* and she gave me a disappointed look and said, "I was hoping you would go in-person." I felt that it was completely unnecessary that she had to give a comment like that for the choices my parents make to try to help me. The social workers will always tell you, "I'm glad you came today!" Sure! You're glad that I came today to this school, but do I feel that I'm glad I came today? Absolutely not, in reality, I feel like I am forced to be in this school and suffer more each day as I continue to come here. Sometimes I don't even have a choice from whether I should come to school or not, my parents mostly make the decision to whether I can stay home or not. Attendance really matters here, because if you don't come to class for a certain amount of days, you will be held back. I feel even more pressured that I am *required* to come to this school every week without being able to give myself time to stabilize myself, yet I will have to continuously live a dreadful loop for coming here to this school and suffer even more. This school needs to have more awareness on how students feel and need to know what they're struggling with. This school may seem that it's "accommodating" and "helpful," but I feel that the school has barely accommodated anything for me as a student who wants to be successful. Oh! And also, this school told me to take my other rating down because they're afraid of people seeing the truth for what it's like to come here.

When I was sitting in an IEP meeting for my child in our normal school district I was gutted when…read morethey recommended placement out of district. I mean, how could this be? His diagnosis is manageable in public school. It happens everyday. I knew the teachers didn't understand him, and didn't care to. I knew they were mean to him but I fought to keep him in regular school because I wanted him to be with friends in the neighborhood and I didn't want the stigma attached to being sent out of district. His school district turned the screws and fought harder to get him out by destroying his self esteem. Ultimately I agreed to placement out of district to save my son's sanity. Enter Acacia. I was apprehensive at first. Everyone was so nice. I didn't think this could be real after everything we'd been through. But guess what? It IS amazing! My son loves going to school here. He feels valued as a human being and an individual. They teach him at the speed he's comfortable with. Every day that I ask him how his day was he says, "GREAT". I used to be scared to ask him how his day was. My stomach would flip when I saw an email from his school. Those days are over for us. Acacia is where it's at. Everyone knows what they're doing and I regret fighting our school district. He went from someone who was being shamed daily and punished for a neurological problem to someone who has his self esteem and happiness back. He has A's and B's and they LIKE him. I highly recommend Acacia. If you're checking reviews like I was, I know you're not in a good place right now. Hang in there moms and dads. Meet with Acacia as one of your options. You may be scared but everything will be ok - especially if this is where your child ends up.

I attended Holmes school from third through the eighth grade and found it to be a great school. Of…read morecourse it was a long time ago but when my boys attended schools in Park Ridge I learned that they weren't even close to the education I got at Holmes in Oak Park. All of my teachers in Oak Park were exceptional, Miss Boehm for music, all three art teachers, Mrs. Andrews, Mr. Fleming, Miss Baskoff, Mrs. Hepker, Miss Ribordy, Miss Hill and others. It was an education that is obviously not common in our elementary schools today. No one talked about trans anything. The only person that was worthless was the school nurse. She had a great office, 2 tiny bedrooms, her own bathroom and a neat little uniform but she was useless the one time I got sick. Warned my boys NOT to marry a nurse, but they went ahead anyway. One is already divorced and the other is probably miserable!

This is a great school and I love it because of the really nice teachers. I recommend getting the…read more5th grade teacher ms.cofsky she is really nice. The principle isn't very nice but he gets mad really easily and if the kid cry and another kid comes over and try's to make them fell better he yells at them also. Not a very good role model anyway.

Just attended last Sunday very warm welcoming people. The pastors sermon was inspiring and…read moreinformative. I went to the coffee hour and again the people we welcoming and kind. I plan to go again next week.

My kids love this school! - teachers & administrator are…read moregreat at communicating - COVID protocols are well thought out - 2 playgrounds - tons of indoor space for the winter including a cafeteria/gym, music room, library room, and art room Highly recommend!

Great School for Boys - grades 6 through 12. If looking for a great school to mold boys into young…read moremen this is the school for you ! They have many sports ( no football) and have a rigorous syllabus that will prepare your son for college!

My son attended the Dangerous camp and the Music Appreciation camp last summer. We were blown away…read moreby how much fun he had at Dangerous Camp -- the floor of the gym was covered in nerf bullets and the kids were decked out in safety glasses, the leaders seemed intelligent and fun, nobody behaved like sore losers when they lost competitions, they made everything really enjoyable... great experience. The music camp was super small but they accomplished a lot and my son, the youngest in the group-- still had a really positive experience. I was actually surprised because it's hard to make a tiny music camp fun when you don't know what instruments you're getting and what skill levels-- but they did a fabulous job. We kept in touch with a few of the students and they were great. We went to the open house for the school this year and looooved the headmaster's speech. It seems like a private school that actually sticks by their beliefs and doesn't only cater to rich parents. I was left with the impression that they have great integrity, and the people there were respectful, polite, and fun.

After having to change schools due to closure after COVID and realizing that we did not make a good…read morechoice in that change, we made the decision to bring our children to St. Luke in the hopes that we would get the experience we were seeking. All I can say is I could kick myself for not coming here first. It has been nothing but a positive experience as a parent and a blessing for our daughters. From day one the students have been totally welcoming and lovely. Class size is half what it was at the other school and teachers are amazing. The staff and administration are very responsive and always looking to "do more" to make the school a better place. Parents have also been so friendly and inclusive. I highly recommend St. Luke to anyone asking a high quality education that combines important Christian values with academic excellence.

I initially fell in love with St. Luke School because of the environment and the Christian values…read morethat are part of the fiber of the community. There's safety and love that envelop the students as they walk in the door each morning. The love is given and received, and is almost easy to take for granted because it's just always there. The positive energy in the classrooms is due to the teachers and staff who have chosen to teach in a Catholic school almost as a vocation, as well as the children whose families have chosen this school. As a reading specialist and elementary and middle school classroom teacher, my trust deepened as I recognized the curricular knowledge base for which the administrators and teachers used to select their resources and programming. The importance of including phonics, spelling, and word study is important to me because I have seen the value of it first hand. Their understanding and knowledge of brain-research-based instruction as well as their understanding of meeting the needs of the WHOLE child is impressive and unique in our present educational climate. Additionally, the partnership between the teachers and administrators has been instrumental in making the curriculum accessible to the students. St. Luke's is truly growing and nurturing critical-thinking, independent, well-rounded, soulful individuals.

Ascension has been a significantly better school experience for my children than I had anticipated…read moreboth academically and socially. They are both thriving and we are so thankful we kept them there after preschool to continue through 8th grade. The K-8 model is clearly best for most children.

Years ago we transferred our oldest two children (3rd and 5th grade at the time) from public school…read moreto Ascension, for a better teacher to student ratio. It's the best decision we've made for our children's education and personal growth. They went on to have a strong educational foundation that served them well during high school and then college. I currently have two younger children enrolled at Ascension since PK3, and their educational experience has been top notch. The school's motto of Love, Kindness, Respect and Inclusion is carried out daily and the school has helped shape all four of my children into the wonderful humans they are. There's not enough space to talk about how wonderful the staff, administration and families are, who create the special community of the school, so I suggest if you are looking for school for your child , come in for a tour and find out for yourself. Highly recommend. 10/10.

Union ridge was an extremely excellent and exceptional school the principal and social worker and…read moreteachers were awesome they helped when kids had hard times and they were very fast in taking care of situations that happened outside and that happened right there in the school

They also put to much pressure on their students. This makes them feel bad about themselvesread more

Our child transferred to St. Giles School for middle school. The transition was seamless thanks to…read morethe caring teachers and staff. As a new family, we all felt fully supported as we learned the ropes. The tight-knit school environment was a night and day difference from our former public school experience; it was exactly what our child needed, academically, socially, and mentally. A bonus was knowing that our family's faith-based values were shared by other SGS families, contributing to a sense of community and belonging for us.

We have had an amazing experience at St. Giles with our 2 kids. The sense of community is…read moreunparalleled. Classes are small, teachers are committed and responsive. For a small school, the number of extracurricular opportunities that are offered is amazing.