I am currently a senior and I love going to Kennedy. Yes, there may be fights here and there, but…read morethose fights quickly come to an end. The food is excellent. Kennedy has welcome new teachers and staff members over the last 2 years.

If I could give this school zero stars I would. I know have my third child going to this school…read more It's been six years since I first step foot into this school and I am becoming more and more unhappy at all the bad situations that happen at this school. I wish that my daughter hadn't decided to go here, she had the opportunity to go somewhere else. She was registered and classes all set up for her to start school but had a falling out with a friend and said she wanted to switch to Kennendy. If you Google this school you will find a few stories of these terrible situations but they aren't all there in the news and I'm not talking about FB news feed. Almost every single time I am at the school there is a fight. And no that isn't normal. There is a huge bullying problem too! My daughter that graduated last year was a victim and even though it was reported and the police were in the room at the time when they told the student to stop or else they would step in it still went on. I'm not posting this to "cry/whine" about the school but to help other parents.

I used to go to this school years ago during 5th - 6th grade... it was an AWFUL experience when it…read morecame to SOME teachers. I loved going on academic/ musical field trips, eating pizza almost every week, Bible studies, and all the other fun activities the school would hold. I only liked the music teacher.. he was so fun and kind!HOWEVER I will never forget how one of my female teachers would literally bully me and treat me so unfairly. She was so dramatic and manipulative I cried. The teachers were so nosey too!... always ease dropping on everyone's conversations! It was so strict! I remember getting yelled at for the most stupendous things too! I also remember getting yelled at in front of the class by the "Spanish" teacher.. she basically reminded me in front of the class that I don't have an A (it was a B) she ranted at me as though I was failing the class.. The school would also say some offensive stuff about Catholics (They don't like catholic beliefs). It's okay to not agree with peoples beliefs but it wasn't very Christian like and it is in appropriate. How could a school so Christian have so many questionable behaviors. It was so odd! It was a strange time period that I will NOT miss. (Maybe it has changed since then but this was my experience)

I had prayed and contemplated this review for months now. I wasn't sure I wanted to share our…read moreexperience at this school, but if this review helps just 1 student, then it will be worth it. We saw some red flags at the school after the first year of sending 2 of our children here. One of our children was held back due to failing one class, and barely passing another. Both of those classes were taught by the same teacher. We hired a tutor for the next year and that child's grade went from an F to a C with only having a once a week tutor session. That speaks volumes. This teacher continued to NOT teach class. The school did not discipline or replace. Instead the "smartest" student would often teach the class. Our kids were often put down by the teachers with such phrases like "I don't even want to be teaching." Or "I don't get paid enough for this crap." It was obvious these teachers were unhappy and they passed that onto their students. Last fall, after trying to communicate with staff about our child's bad grades, we received no help at all. We realized that after 2+ years we were doing our children a disservice by keeping them in this school. We made the choice to enroll them elsewhere, but agreed they should finish out the year at PCCA. However, this spring an incident caused us to pull our children before 3rd quarter was over. After we made the school aware of the incident, they circled the wagons. They lied, covered up, and downplayed the incident. No apology, no remorse, and no repercussions. Since pulling out our children we have been homeschooling them. We have tried to get documents and our children's schoolwork from them, only to be running in circles. They have refused to allow us access to our children's Google classroom so they can get their work. When they finally allowed us access, everything was DELETED. They refuse to send us research papers and class notes. This behavior speaks volumes to their integrity and just how much they care about their students. There is so much more, but for the sake of my own sanity, this is where I will leave it. My children will have scars from this school and (most) of the staff there. But "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God has already been working through this awful experience, and I hope that our experience will help others.

My cousin use to come here. This is one High School that creates competitive students. They have a…read morereally tough football team and every year they show their commitment. What I do like about this school is that it seems to (contrary to popular demand) cater to their students in a way that many public schools seem to miss. They really take their kids seriously, and although they have a bad rap, it doesn't seem this way to parents. They have a football field (a few blocks away from the school) and the kids are always practicing. The actual school is still in its vintage look, but with modern updates to make sure that they are still caught up with other schools. I use to come around to pick up relatives who went here and often times I would volunteer. All in all, not a bad school, just that sometimes a few rufians mess up the reputation but the school can stand on its own.

I attended Hubbard and I had a great experience attending such a diverse school. I had the…read moreopportunity to meet and make friends with students from many different backgrounds. Class of "84"

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.

Our daughter (5) has been at Maple Tree since Jan 3rd. What a wonderful school!…read more We moved and having to change schools is tough on a little one. Maple Tree felt right from the second we went to visit. We looked at about a dozen montessori preschools and there wasn't a better one. We looked in Glen Ellyn, Downers, Lombard... The school itself is adorable. It is quiet and peaceful and clean. The student/teacher ratio is very low. We were made to feel very welcome from the first day. The directress Jean Gottlieb is such a sweet and caring woman. She clearly loves children and understands child developement. She has been willing to answer questions, give advice and simply listen to parenting and educational concerns. The school has organic lunch catered in for the children, with vegetarian options, and prides itself on being earth friendy and passing those values on to the children. They are nut free and don't allow sugary snacks...this is a huge change from what we were used to, but I love it! All this and we can already see learning in leaps and bounds. Our daughter has started reading and understanding concepts in math that she wasn't before. We are thrilled to have found Maple Tree. If only we could have been there from the beginning!

Our daughter has been with Maple Tree since she was 16 weeks. We have been very happy with the…read morequality of teachers and the education they provide from a very young age! It doesn't feel like a "kid factory" like so many others we visited. We love the small classrooms and having 3 teachers to 8 infants is a huge selling point. We love the webcam and you can see the teachers and how hard they work every day! Constantly playing with the babies, cleaning, picking up and providing one on one attention when ever possible to each child. You pay a little more but the quality of care and education for us, has been worth it. When she gets a little older, we are excited about the lunch menu! All organic with an amazing variety of fruits and veggies- not carb centric but still kid friendly! My husband and I wish we could eat here! :)

The teachers and the owners are the real star. They are a family owned business that really cares…read more I am not sure about the other people doing reviews because I have not experienced that at all. I do know that there are children out there not being reared right by parent's and no on can correct that, only seeing the child 40 hours a week. My child has florist at Children 2 languages. My child can read and has been since she was 4 years old with her great teachers, half the parents I know in public school can't say the same In kindergarten. Over the years of my child in their capable hands knows advance mathematics on a level up. In addition to learning 2 languages Spanish and French being able to hold a conversation with introduction a new experience.

This school is the best! I would not trust my child with anyone else. In the year that my son has…read morebeen here, he has advanced so much. The teachers are very serious about learning, and provide a very loving, nurturing environment. My three year old will be beyond prepared for grade school thanks to children's second language academy.

This is such a cute little school! Always has plenty of after school activities for students and…read moreprovides an excellent education. Collaborates well with parents and there are always events for adults to go to as well! Love this school- wouldn't want to send kids anywhere else.

St. Isaac Jogues Elementary and Junior High School in Hinsdale offers a top notch education in a…read morefaith-guided environment. The Administration, Staff and Faculty are all dedicated to the student's and the school community is warm and welcoming. My children attend St. Isaac Jogues and the oldest is about to enter High School. She tested as well, if not better than her peers in the community and was placed in all Honors courses at the public High School. We love SIJ!

As a teacher myself, choosing the right school for my children was incredibly important, and I…read morecannot commend how well St. Vincent Ferrer School has shaped my daughter intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Over the past four years, I have watched her truly blossom into a well-rounded student. The deep sense of community here is remarkable, it truly feels like an extended family. This connection is beautifully on display during school traditions like the All-School Olympics Challenge and our annual Fun Run, where older students step in to guide and mentor the younger students through different obstacles. Seeing that culture of leadership and kindness in action solidified why parents choose this community. We are so thrilled with our experience that my son will be starting at St. Vincent Ferrer in the fall, and we are excited for him to thrive in this warm, loving environment.

I would caution any family considering St. Vincent Ferrer to think carefully before enrolling…read more I have been a parishioner since I was 13 years old and received my Confirmation here, and my children have attended for the past five years. Because of that long history, I expected a strong, supportive, and safe environment for families. Unfortunately, my experience has not reflected that expectation. Concerns raised as a parent were not taken seriously, and I did not feel that issues involving student well-being and bullying were addressed with appropriate urgency or accountability. As a result, I did not feel confident that my concerns about my children's emotional well-being were being properly supported or prioritized. Based on my experience, I would encourage parents to ask very direct questions about how bullying and student concerns are handled before making a decision to enroll.