I got a decent education for 2 years I was at A.H.S. Even…read morebeing a Latin King the teachers made the effort and showed me that there's more to life than Chicago! I say that as a proud Chicagoan!

Son is an IB sophomore and we are so pleased about the caring and supportive teachers,…read moreadministration, staff and other parents involved with Amundsen. Our expectations have been exceeded on every front. This is a fantastic neighborhood school and opportunities abound for kids to pursue academics, athletics and clubs in a warm and welcoming environment with lots of options.

Not the school preview but the grounds surrounding the school are previewed- great park for…read moreneighborhood kids who want like to play sports - has a basketball court - large enough for soccer football and has a baseball diamond

This is a great school! This is the first year our child is going in person and is loving it so…read morefar. We're so impressed with the teachers, administration and the community.

Teachers really care about your kid and not just if they are in honors or AP courses. They engage…read moreand teach. The administration so far has been outstanding and has worked with our student especially Chris Grosrenaud who is an amazing counselor. We look forward to the next four years with our youngest who starts in 2026. Really couldn't be happier with any public school our children have attended Des including private schools.

Both campuses are great. The staff care about the students. All of my sons teachers were amazing…read more They have a lot of stuff for tut students to pick from. The classes they offer can help the students with the education during and after high school.

Most entitled parents I've ever seen. Does nothing but damage the businesses around it by having…read moreluxury cars blocking the whole road, both the limited parking for businesses and these people actually parking in the road blocking traffic in one direction. Ridiculous. Would be incredibly helpful if the schools traffic guards would do something about them lining up outside the school. This can't be that difficult.

We have been parents at this school since 2010 and have two BZ grads and one current lower school…read morestudent. Bottom line- this is a remarkable school. You will find top notch academics and your children will not only be very prepared to thrive in a rigorous high school but also have the social emotional skills, self advocacy and confidence to be a leader in their highschool setting and beyond. Our own kids are self starters, loyal friends, hard workers, engaged learners, and leaders and we attribute this to their schooling at Bernard Zell. The BZ early childhood program is spectacular. The thoughtfulness that has been put into the training of the staff and actual physical environment serves as a model of what an ideal developmentally appropriate pre-k program should be. Take a tour to see for yourself. I love the progressive flavor of this school. Our kids learn conceptual math, how to think analytically, how to be confident public speakers, how to work collaboratively with others and beyond -there is no route cookie cutter learning to be found. Other things we love about BZ: -This school has an awesome low to student teacher ratio and every single teacher my children have had has truly known their strengths and challenges and are invested in how to support them as individuals each year. -I love the growth mindset philosophy that you will see at every age level at BZ for making sure kids have "good struggles" and teaching them their brain is a muscle and while everything may not be easy at times that with dedication,persistence, practice and hard work (and accommodations from the teachers as needed) they can be successful. -We have loved that BZ has phenomenal resources for kids on every end of the continuum- kids who need a little extra enrichment will find it here and kids who need a little extra learning support will also find it at this school. - The school has a nice PE program ( the yearly rollerblading until in the school's gymnasium has been a definite highlight for my kids) . There is also a fantastic after school athletic program starting in 5 th grade which is included in tuition . Our kids chose to participate in soccer, basketball , volleyball and golf but there is also track, girls volleyball, and girls softball. Practices are typically offered 4 days per week ( but kids only have to commit to about 50 percent of those if involved in other extracurriculars.). The teams do surprisingly quite well competing with other local private schools , sportsmanship is emphasized, and it's a huge bonding experience for the kids ( the majority of students seem to participate in at least a sport even if they aren't stellar athletes ). For kids not interested in sports or who want to do some sports and some other activities, there are other cool offerings like robotic team ( one of my kids that and the annual competition was super fun to watch ) or lots of music extracurricular opportunities ( e.g jazz band, pit band for the school orchestra) - BZ has an extremely warm parental community. A long term teacher told us once that when your child goes to BZ, the whole family goes to BZ. That is spot on- there are so many ways to get involved here as parents and we feel we have made lifelong friends at this school. -We have loved affording our children a Jewish education. We aren't the most religious family and BZ has taken the pressure off of us to provide our kids with an excellent jewish education. My children who have already graduated are proud to be Jewish and have a strong Jewish identity. Sending our kids here was one of the best decisions we have ever made as parents. I highly recommend it !

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!

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

I've had children at St. Clement for 10 years and cannot say enough wonderful things about the…read moreeducation and community. The teachers and staff are exceptional--meeting each of our three very different children where they are and helping them grow as individuals. For a small school, St. Clement offers an incredible range of sports, music, and clubs. Our oldest graduated fully prepared for high school with a true love of learning and a strong sense of self. We couldn't ask for more from a grade school.

All four of my children have been enrolled here for over 7 years. This school has been an…read moreincredible community for our family the entire time. St. Clement has a true family feel. The teachers are supportive, dedicated, and genuinely care about each child's growth. Academics are strong and do an excellent job preparing students for the very competitive Chicago high school environment. We feel lucky to be part of such a warm, engaged, and high-quality school community and highly recommend St. Clement to any family looking for both academic excellence and strong values.

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.

I was a student at Ravenswood Christian School, then known as Ravenswood Baptist Christian School,…read morefrom August 2001 till I graduated Class of 2014. It's unclear to me why "Baptist" was removed from the name (Could it be a branding thing?) but I do feel the current name lacks the same rhythm it once had. What is more, it totally ruins the cheers the cheerleaders recited at basketball games. ("The Patriots are the best! / Yes! / R-B-C-S!") Although, these days, I'm unsure if the school still has a cheer team, let alone a basketball team, to speak of. But times change and so does leadership. I submit I can't speak to the current school administration, nor to their conduct with their students, save for one particularly egregious actor. (More on that later.) At glance, it seems some former classmates of mine are now themselves staff members of RCS. But I digress. I can only speak to my own experiences as a former student, which I would describe as unpleasant. Bad, even. And though I don't resent my parents for enrolling me here, I do believe it was an error on their part. But I know of many other students who had it far worse, who were themselves victims of severe bullying by both students and staff alike. I'm ashamed to admit I was often a participant in this bullying, often greenlit by the staff, when I myself wasn't a target. Even still, that was no excuse. I recall one incident where our math teacher Mr. Ullmann (Long since dismissed, but too little, too late, frankly.) kicked a chair from under one student, V.F., humiliating him in front of the whole class. I even joined in on that chorus of laughter and to this day feel sick to my stomach that I'd been party to this bizarre humiliation ritual. I hope wherever V.F.'s at now he's in a better place and knows that wasn't OK. Last I heard, which, granted, was many years ago, Ullmann got a job as a truck driver following his dismissal. Now, that could've just been schoolyard gossip, but, if true, that's probably a better job for him. Nevertheless, Ullmann's inappropriate behavior spanned numerous incidents, yet, sadly, it took a posse of concerned mothers applying steady pressure on the school admin to get him removed from the faculty. But, as I said earlier, by the time he was dismissed, the damage had been done, and a whole lot of kids were mistreated as a result of the admin dragging its feet. A tale old as time. But that's all in the past, right? Surely the dregs have all been weeded out since then, no? I wish this was the case, but since checking the R(B)CS website it appears Mr. Bob Szontagh is still employed at the school as a secondary teacher. That's too bad, and what I find to be a glaring error on part of the new admin, because this man should have absolutely zero influence on a child's developing mind, and I, now an adult, am worse off for having been his pupil. Szontagh's conduct with us was so vulgar and so inappropriate he made Ullmann look like a Boy Scout. (More than once Szontagh referred to his genitalia as "Big Daddy" in gym class.) Why he is still a teacher there can be explained by way of what clout he has within the larger church congregation, for he's of the last of the "Old Guard" I knew from then and has taught at R(B)CS for decades at this point. And, to his credit, he had undeniable charisma and was often a favorite among the children. His lessons, however, would often shift into these long, tangential lectures that had little to do with the subject at hand. They were akin to watching a two-bit standup comic practicing his tight five for the Klu Klux Klan open mic. And his jokes were awful as they were bigoted. I remember once he opened a science class with "What do you call a gay guy on rollerskates?" ..."Rol-AIDS!" Well, a lot of us 11-or-12-year-olds were fortuitous enough to not suffer from heartburn, so, mostly, the joke went over our heads. Even still, this was a science class. Did my parents really pay my tuition just so I could be sat down to watch this guy make AIDS jokes in class? Short answer: Yeah, more or less. I'd like to say that it's unbelievable how Szontagh's still teaching here more than a decade later but, given what I know about the school, I actually find it pretty believable. Mostly I feel bad for the kids who are getting robbed of a decent education and for their parents who are paying for one that's second-rate.

When I went to school here they gave is seats. The principal spanked kids with a paddle with the…read moredoor closed. You could hear kids crying and screaming. Meanwhile the principles kid got knocked up. I thought I had leprosy as a child making us read the king James version bible. They forced. Me to eat food I told them I couldn't until I vomited. Good times! Watch the movie Jesus camp. That what this school is. Let us pret is another one about fundamental Baptist like this. Two stars because I was a good kid so my experience with the teachers was good. I liked them. I also got a good education.