SPED Child on homebound since 2019 due to what District allowed its adult employees to do. They…read morecould not keep child safe before COVID, they will not keep US safe with COVID as psy. disabled parent would possibly not survive due to disabilities/medical. The first tutoring of 2022 was done via a Dist. 58 Teacher (L.V.) who decided she was not going to continue. This after child given math & every step for every problem that needed to be done showed in Google DOCs with all answer keys visible so it was easy to get 100% before uploading &/or to teacher L.V. Then for approx. 3 weeks after she stopped, there was nothing & the only option offered was ClubZ through J.S. Assistant Superintendent for Special Services. Recently, recording sessions was brought up & I requested consent to record as every worksheet given to child to work on with ClubZ tutor, the child is given all "hints" &/or "suggestions" to correct it 100% before it is uploaded to M.C./ELA teacher. No homework is given not even one of these worksheets. Now J.S. is claiming, & I QUOTE: " We are concerned the recording may impact the tutor's delivery of instruction..." Then stating, & I QUOTE: "The District prohibits audio and video recording at parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings unless the parent has documented disability and requires the recording as an accommodation to participate in the conference or meeting." Still attempting to get consent to record. Guess both Dist. 58/ClubZ do not want to show their methods for 100% correctness before uploading to M.C. & I still can't get a straight answer on certain questions inquired about ie are the worksheets graded?

Our child attended Indian Trail for first grade. It was a disaster. He was bullied by children and…read moremishandled by the school. Many other parents reported that their children were bullied as well. But the principal did nothing to resolve the problem. She blames "the type of kids we have" for the problem. Our son is a bright child with learning disabilities. We got really good testing for him. The school ignored our testing and came up with their own incorrect diagnosis and hid the fact that they had done so from us. They then tried to have him removed from the classroom. This school is way into technology, but the principal holds parents in low regard and the teachers are not properly trained in classroom management. We had an expert in 2E children come to the IEP meeting with us. She has been to many school meetings, and she said this was one of the two worst meetings she had ever been to in terms of the way the school handled the child and the way the parents were treated. We moved two suburbs over and he shone and thrived. Though he was still affected by the trauma of Indian Trail, Field Park in Western Springs was kind and helped him to adjust. He made friends and started to love school. We did everything we could to help Indian Trail serve our child, and they still failed horribly. It was a relief to find out that it wasn't our kid. It was them. He is doing brilliantly now. A former teacher myself, I am now getting my M.S. in counseling to help other parents navigate these systems effectively. I look forward to writing and publishing about our experience to try to prevent other families from going through what we did. I would not recommend Indian Trail Elementary School to anyone.

Incredible school like no other, for students who are academically advanced / gifted and crave…read morechallenge and empowering learning experiences. The teachers are masters in their field, the school day is incredibly vibrant with PE every day and fine arts, language & stem classes. The extracurricular options are vast. The students are incredibly kind and supportive of each other.

Great school but tends to greatly favor children whose parents are the biggest donors. Not fair in…read moremany ways if you are a medium donor.

Our two children attended this school. While we did meet some good people, both our children's…read moreexperiences at the school were quite negative. There is a small but influential group of parents who essentially run everything and if you or your children cannot break into that circle your children will likely suffer. Sports is the key focus at the school with parent socialization a close second. Parental cliques dictate whether your children will have friends and many of those parents are intimately involved in the administration, social events and are even teachers and aides. Unfortunately for our children we were not well connected and they suffered, our daughter in particular. If you are able to break into the fraternity-like parent social structure and your child is an excellent athlete, your children may thrive. But most people don't and you will have to try and find small niches of other parents who are similarly situated. Scholastics are sub-par so you will have to supplement your child's curriculum. Teacher turnover is high. They resort to hiring parents to teach on occasion. The focus here is not a Christian education but an institution dominated by self-serving parents who have managed to use the structure to their own children's advantage. Before enrolling, conduct your own research and try to speak with parents of students outside of those who run the school. Not worth the risk given the strong public system and other larger private schools in the area where your kids may have more options for friends and activities other than sports.

I have 2 children who currently attend SMG and will soon have a third! So far we have had a great…read moreexperience! I am in education myself and have high expectations for my children's education. We toured several schools before deciding on St. Mary's. I am confident with our decision and can see that our children are excelling academically and spiritually. SMG focuses on educating the whole child! I appreciate the values that the school instills in the children and the support that I have received from all levels (support staff, teachers, aides, and administration). I'm not sure why it is saying I am from San Fran. I do live in Downers Grove, IL!

I saw that DGS disabled reviews on Google and you can see why. I'm a former student from a long…read moretime a go. Problems are still the same: Staff turns a blind eye to bullies, and their student support for students who are having issues outside of school is non-existent. Back when I was there there was a student death, including by suicide, every year. I heard it's worse now. I recently had to contact their admissions office to get a copy of my diploma after getting accepted to a post grad program at a school outside the US. The guy responsible for getting the diploma sent, whatever his title was, seemed perpetually mad from the first contact with him, never returned voicemails, cut me off while in conversations with him, and made the process as difficult as possible to get what I needed. It was so bad that I called Downers Grove North to see if they might be able to assist somehow since I had taken summer classes at DGN at once point; they were very professional and friendly there. I explained the situation and they contacted the admissions guy at DGS, upon which he became more compliant, albeit reluctantly. Nothing has changed at DGS. The teachers, the way they ran the classes, and material were pretty good as I can remember. But as far as outside of class or dealing with admissions or with other staff, nothing has changed. Teachers now getting in trouble for sexual harassment, busing students in from Cabrini Green back in the day, gym teachers flirting with students - The school management still maintains a rough and tough atmosphere that many of the students and parents never cared for. It would be nice if the city opened another school under new management instead of approving massive additions to this place and wasting taxpayer money. Do the students and parents a favor and phase this school out, or at minimum, downsize it.

one star would not do again. they mispronounced my first name at graduation…read more my name is KAYLA.

We are proud alumni and current attendees at St. Joan of Arc . The exceptional teachers provide…read morepersonalized attention, fostering academic, social, and spiritual growth in our children. The strong sense of community among parents, students, faculty, and staff creates a nurturing environment where everyone feels valued and supported. The leadership's commitment to a well-rounded education rooted in faith, along with the seamless integration with the parish community, makes St. Joan of Arc School more than just a place of learning--it's where our family has found belonging, inspiration, and endless opportunities for growth.

Our daughters have been at St. Joan of Arc since preschool, and they have grown so much…read moreacademically and socially. The teachers challenge the students academically while also caring for them personally. The school community is incredibly supportive, and we've formed strong friendships. It truly feels like we're part of a larger SJA family. We feel fortunate to have found such a welcoming and supportive community at SJA!

I could not be happier with this entire school and staff. My 5 year old daughter just finished her…read morefirst year here and this has become our second home and the staff like family. Everyone in this school are some of the most caring, patient, and knowledgeable teachers I've ever met. I've never heard a single complaint from amy of the parents here and honestly we couldn't be happier. Probably one of the best decisions we've ever made.

We had our 3 year old son at Montessori Academy of Glen Ellyn (MAGE) and removed him after he came…read morehome with a dislocated arm. We understand accidents happen. However, we were not notified of any injury at the time it occurred or when we picked him up. To this day (weeks later) MAGE has been unable to tell us how or when our son was injured that day. Due to our son's age, he was unable to articulate what happened, but it is obviously unlikely he did this to himself. Due to the lack of information provided by MAGE, the pediatric doctor requested x-rays to eliminate the possibility of a broken bone. After x-rays revealed no broken bones, his arm was adjusted back into place. We were asking for 100% reimbursement of the $530 for the x-rays which was our out-of-pocket after insurance, and MAGE denied our request. We are very dissatisfied with how this was handled.

We recently started our 2 year old in a part time program at Bright Horizons, and in our short time…read morethere, we've been really impressed with the facility. The teachers are extremely kind and loving with the children, and the Associare Director and Director are very attentive and always accessible. The team is great about providing updates on what our child is doing, and they ensure to send pictures throughout the day so we know what our child is doing. A sign of true success was our child not wanting to leave when we came for pick up! Though a pricy option, for a full day daycare that provides meals and physical / mental stimulation, it was a total no brainer for us! Thank you Bright Horizons team! #ThankYouThursday

We've been Bright Horizons parents for a year and a half now, and we love this place! My son is…read morealways super excited to go see his friends. The teachers bring fun and lots of variety to his day! The food is also good on variety, and my son seems to enjoy all of it! They are VERY mindful of allergies, special diets or requests when it comes to food. They keep things color coded and organized so that each child gets what they are supposed to at meal times. I also have an infant there now and they make sure he's included even though he's not participating in the activities yet. I love how easy it is to stay in touch. They have an app where you can put in all your notes about the kids before they go, and then the app gets updated throughout the day so you know how much they eat, how they are pottying, napping, etc. and they can upload photos and videos which is so great! I feel connected to my kids during the day! Also, their administration team is super helpful. I've had plenty of phone calls and emails with them and they are super responsive and know their stuff. The admins will set you up with a zoom conference to meet your child's teacher if they are switching classes. My mind is at ease when my kids are at daycare, because they think of everything! Being in a pandemic, it was not an easy choice to decide if we send our kids to daycare. But everyone over 2 is masked, they require daily screening and frequent hand washing to keep everyone safe. I definitely recommend Bright Horizons!

We transferred my daughter midway through her 2nd grade year from Elmhurst public school to Four…read moreWinds. My husband and I are in complete agreement that this was the BEST decision we have ever made on behalf of our daughter. And the best kept secret of the western suburbs -- well worth the 30 minute commute each way for us. She has always been a good student but we felt she wasn't getting the social support she needed at the crowded, academic heavy public school. We also observed her imagination and boundless creativity being stifled by the rigorous academic schedule. She began struggling with doing homework and completing writing assignments. She became stressed out and even depressed in the evenings and started begging me to let her stay home. She never wanted to go to school and would often cry before and after. We made the difficult decision to transfer her mid-year which was a rocky transition but within a couple weeks, we started to see our joyful daughter come back to us. Now she LOVES school and can't wait to go. The school seems to awaken a love of life and nature in the children and a genuine curiosity. She is constantly over-flowing with ideas and asking questions about the world around her. She decided, on her own, to stop watching TV and playing video games! She told me that she has more important things to do with her time. She is busy constantly writing stories, playing imaginary games in her room, exploring outside, jumping rope, singing and even enjoys doing chores around the house. (!) Four Winds does much less academic work in the classroom than public schools. The 2nd graders a little behind on reading but I'm confident they will catch up. It's whole child education. So lots of fine art and outdoor play. As a result Four Winds kids are eager to learn - they learn quickly and retain information easily. In the spring they learned an entire 30 minute play in verse. It was pages and pages of poetic dialogue and they presented it beautifully. My daughter still knows the lines perfectly. I would even venture to say they are ahead in math. My daughter learned and grasped the concept of multiplication and division in one day! She rattled a few tables off in the car on the way home...I couldn't believe it. I could honestly go on and on about all the things that make this school exceptional. Their spiritual, loving, calm, patient and whole child approach just works. The kids are the proof. When you tour the school, talk to the kids...you will see what I mean.

Our two boys went to this school years ago, and it was the best thing we could have done for them…read more They loved it and often reminisce about that time in their lives. The teachers were so loving and caring ,and the kindergarten and class rooms so warm and beautiful. But most importantly, children are allowed to be children.They engage in age appropriate activities and the child's imagination is fostered at all times. Beautiful school, beautiful people, and a philosophy that makes sense.

I am a former student of the Reading Tree ACT/SAT preparation course, and I would fully recommend…read moreit to anyone looking for a quality program with outstanding results. I am currently a senior in high school and along with my grades, my great ACT score has given me the opportunity to attend my dream school, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and I can attribute my ACT success to my experience with the Reading Tree program. I am so happy with my choice to attend the Reading Tree program. I had other friends in similar ACT prep programs with hundreds of students being taught by very few teachers. They said that they felt as if they "never got any personalized attention" and that it was a "waste of time." I found this to be the complete opposite at the Reading Tree. The teachers were warm and patient (regardless of the level of the student), and they always had an answer to my questions. The intimate environment really made me feel that my success was a primary goal to the program. Along with the books we received for homework and practice tests, we got a binder that had so many different helpful hints and tricks that I used when I took my test (and my test results confirmed...they definitely work). I felt the homework assignments to be well thought-out and relevant to what we needed to focus on. I can't say enough about how successful I feel the Reading Tree program is. From its personalized program, helpful text materials, well-educated teachers, and of course, great test results, I feel that it is beneficial to any junior or senior looking to do well on their tests; it is definitely worth it. Thank you to all my teachers!

From the owner: Unlike other area educational agencies, The Reading Tree is privately owned and managed, allowing…read moreus to focus solely on our instructional quality and parental communication. Since 1976, we have been helping students of all ages address: ACT and SAT standardized test preparation High school entrance exam preparation Math (elementary through high school) Phonics and Reading Reading comprehension and fluency and much more! The Reading Tree is a unique educational agency - one that was founded on the principle of individualized tutoring and service. Please review our website for information about our services.

We love the First United Methodist Preschool! My son has literally blossomed under the loving…read moreguidance of the dedicated, creative teachers there. He is excited to go there each day, talks about his teachers with reverence, and has made many good friends among the students there. We have been impressed by the quality of the activities, the attention given to the lesson planning, and the genuine compassion shown by the teachers. Not only are the children surrounded by a vibrant learning environment, but the parents are kept fully informed about what goes on during the day. We are thrilled with the quality of our son's preschool education and look forward to sending our younger children to FUMPS as well as soon as they are old enough.

We're really pleased with my daughter's experience at the First United Methodist Preschool in…read moreDowners Grove. She's in her second year, and I've seen her grow so much socially and academically. She comes home each day with new art projects, singing new songs, and talking about the interesting, fun activities and discussions from the day. The school has 5 full-time, certified teachers, and they're really focused on using a wide variety of activities and techniques to engage the kids. They also really involve the parents, and we've had a lot of fun getting to know the other families through the ice cream social, mom's/dad's days, the Halloween parade, the nativity play, classroom parties, and more. It's a great program!