Lakefront Academy and the teaching staff have been absolutely phenomenal. We are so appreciative to…read morehave been part of this community. As a former educator, I am deeply thankful for the amazing support they provided for my son over his two years at the daycare. During this time, he was able to develop strong literacy and math skills along with the socio-emotional growth that built his confidence and led to his acceptance into a Gifted Center for Kindergarten. I have tremendous respect for this team and cannot recommend them highly enough. I would be happy to speak with anyone who has questions about our experience.

Lakefront Children's Academy is highly qualified child care and education establishment in Chicago,…read moreand probably the best thing that my family have received from living in Chicago. I would simply say the best investment you can do in your life is investment in your kids, LCA is fully worth it !!!! Kids are really missed their friends and teachers and the extensive curriculum when we moved out of Chicago, and now we are looking for at least something similar to LCA in our current place... and nothing compares to it. Thank you LCA, and kisses and hugs from our kids! We miss you...

The staff are amazing and very professional. the principal…read moreand his assistant are great responsible people . our 2 boys are lucky to be there . just they need to control more seriously and strongly some bad behaviors from some kids so the school will be IDEAL. the school deserves to get 7 or 8 out of 10 . or 4 out of 5

Swift is remarkably special place. If you are looking at schools in the area, I strongly recommend…read moreyou reach out to Swift to learn more and maybe even take a tour! Its a specialty school. Pre-K through 8th grade with an integrated Fine and Performing Arts Magnet program. The fine arts program integrates music, art, dance and drama into the regular school day. The facilities include a pool and swimming lessons during PE. They are a school in good standing, and take tremendous pride as being one of the most diverse schools in all of CPS!

My boys attend school at Oscar Mayer. We pulled them from a private school and have found Oscar…read moreMayer public school to be superior. It is its own community. The parents are VERY friendly and the teachers all want to be there. I have never seen such an organized staff and so many wonderful volunteers. They have THE BEST after school program called "club bull dog". The children are able to pick what activities they want to be in such as Karate, Yoga, Lego, dance, shutter bug-picture taking, cooking, basketball, mad scientists, chess, and the list goes on!!! Each quarter the activities switch And my boys get so excited. Growing up I remember my mom having to drive my brother and I all around town for activities after school and at Oscar mayer they have everything on site!

This school is not Montessori -- that gets oversold on the tour. They may have Montessori works in…read morethe classroom, but Montessori principles are not followed throughout. There is external praise in the classrooms. They use shame tactics to get kids to do what they want them to do, manipulating their emotions. Some classrooms put the names of students on the board when they do something they should not do. The teachers do not seem to be able to help students resolve conflict using Montessori principles. The PE class has spent the entire period watching TV. The after school program bribes kids to finish worksheet packets with candy. This is a traditional school, not a Montessori school.

We have been at Pilgrim for three years now and couldn't be happier. The community of this school…read moreconsisting of teachers, staff, and parents is truly focused on an education that is targeted at the individual child's needs, skills, and talents. The reason that Pilgrim is able to do this is their very small class sizes combined with their highly experienced teachers. For instance, my sons's kindergarten class is about half the size of a typical CPS class and has both a teacher and an aide. Additionally, the school's students have been extremely successful getting into the elite area high schools including Northside College Prep, Jones, Whitney Young, etc. If you are looking for a great place for your son or daughter to grow this is it!

Pilgrim Lutheran School is one of a best kept secrets for a Chicago area school for any child to…read moreattend. Teachers are kind, creative, supportive, and very knowledgeable in many subjects. Their curriculum and teachings build strong foundation academically and personal growth to all students from different background and religion. Through the years, we saw kids growing up stronger, confident, smart, nurtured, and respectful individuals, with many good friendships for life from pre-K through 8th grade. We're grateful for having our son given the incredible experience and opportunity by wonderful staff and teachers when he was at Pilgrim. It is a great school where you won't get the same wholesome experience at CPS.

My daughter attended MAC for approximately 1 year and started at age 5.5 months. MAC is so loving…read moreand nurturing and caring. The facility is top notch, clean, bright, safe, stimulating and nurturing. I remember walking in for my first tour and thinking it was a baby oasis. The children there are so calm and quiet. The infant classrooms are led by trained Montessori teachers who truly got to know my daughter. She absolutely loved her teachers and Spanish was her favorite part of the day. At a little over six months old my girl was drinking out of an open cup and being placed on a potty to encourage the familiarity of a toilet. All of this was great stuff, but at the end of the day my daughter was truly loved and safe there. I felt good taking her each day. It is by far the best daycare I have experienced and I have two children and have been through several daycares. The administration is extremely responsive. If you have a problem, Fosca tries to solve it immediately. The teachers get to your baby so well and really work with them. The parents of all children at MAC are involved and know what is happening in the school. If you are looking for a daycare in the Loop, I so highly recommend checking out MAC for your infant or toddler. In my opinion, there is no comparison!

My kids have attended this school for several years. Teachers are caring and they are following…read moregreat safety protocols esp during covid. We are so happy to be part of this community

I am a current parent of a 3rd grader and a 5th grader. My kids both started here in kindergarten…read more A couple of years ago we switched my oldest to another school, Skinner West, but we brought her back to Franklin this year. We realized during that two years that there is so much that is truly unique and special about this school, and that the environment here cannot be beat. We just love this school. It had a principal change in 2015, and while that can be scary to parents it has been a wonderful experience. The teachers are caring and collaborative, the education is deep and differentiated, and the administration keeps everything moving safely and strongly. The principal and assistant principal are truly advocates for the teachers and staff, as well as the children and families. This makes the learning environment feel like a natural partnership, with everyone doing their parts in a well-oiled machine. The Friends of Franklin, a fundraising not-for-profit group, raises enough money to pay for kindergarten and early primary grade aides, as well as much needed infrastructure to keep the school competitive in these rapidly changing times. This year's addition of Promethium boards shows how much this small school's parent groups work together to ensure their children's' education is prioritized above all. This school has strong teachers, administrators and families. We truly "won" the CPS lottery when our kids were offered spots here.

Franklin is a high quality school with amazing leadership and dedicated teachers. Yes, the school…read morehas had some bad press- but the good outweighs the bad. It's a diamond in the rough and a feeder school for great high schools.

Skinner North Classical is a selective enrollment school. As stated on the website, "The mission…read moreof Skinner North Classical School is to provide rigorous, differentiated instruction to all students. With a focus on teaching the whole child in an academically advanced environment, they work to establish norms of highly successful and socially-motivated individuals in a community that promotes collaboration, leadership, and celebrates the diversity of the students, families, and staff. In addition to the core subjects, students take classes in Spanish, Art, and Music. Skinner North focuses on the social emotional learning (SEL), which is a very important factor in how students learn to function in the world. There are a number of programs before and after school taught by the teachers and others. Teachers care about the students and spend a lot of extra time developing programs to use with their students. North Family members are encouraged to participate in the monthly social events throughout the year. Finally, many of the students are not from the immediate area and some of the students are bused to Skinner North. In the morning and at the end of the day the buses are lined up waiting for their students. For parents that are interested Skinner North Classical School for their child, they can attend one of many open houses for prospective families. I gave Skinner North Classical 4.5 stars, but since there is not a half star I have raised my rating up to 5 stars. The half a star deduction is because of the busing, in bad weather buses can be late coming or going which would cause children to spend more time on the bus, and would cut into the children's instructional time. Skinner North does have fantastic programs and a superior teaching staff that is dedicated to working with every student using differentiated instruction to help the students succeed.

I wouldn't recommend this school to my worst enemy the teachers are supportive but the admin isn't…read more This school causes depression and severe stress and trauma. Admin only supports select students and cares about school image over student well being. The admin neglects victims and targets particular students (typically new) with use of manipulation. I have been manipulated by members of admin personally and only given access to a biased counselor. This school will break your kid to the lowest mental stability they will ever be at to preserve school identity+ aid select students. Multiple bad experiences, I would never recommend this school to anyone (social wise).

Phenomenal teachers and staff. Caring and knowledgeable in their each area of expertise.read more

We had a terrible experience with the new head of school. We were given promises regarding tuition…read moreprior to paying a deposit, but the administration would only make assurances over the phone and not in writing. When it came time to honor them, the head of school again made assurances in person only, and again refused to do so in writing, and then refused to fully honor said promises. Moreover, he lacked any empathy or concern for my child's well being and seemed to care only about money. For this reason, we will not be attending CCDS again in the fall. My daughter made great friends, and I am highly disappointed and disgusted by the actions of the head of school.