900 Cedar Ct
Gridley, IL 61530

Our son only attended Davenport for 1/2 of his first grade year due to a company move. We were a little disappointed with the academics. When we got to the next school, he was very much behind the other kids (this was partly due to his kindergarten school as well, which seemed right on par with Davenport). It took most of the rest of his first grade year to catch up.Our son has special needs, and you can't fault Davenport for trying to help him with that. They even had a wonderful person who helped him with things like handwriting in the classroom. One thing that stood out, the place just seemed crowded, badly. The pick up line after school is a joke. We lived almost a mile away (just inside of the 'no bus' zone, in fact), but most days I'd haul my twins in a stroller or wagon just to avoid the car pickup. They don't seem to be dealing with the growth aspect very well. The classrooms are really crowded.

This school is great, academically, but they're way too involved and centered around sports teams. I played for the Varstiy football team last year, in which we went 2-7. We haven't made the playoffs since 2007. With that, they bought brand new bleachers, a new track, new football uniforms, and yet, couldn't meet requirements on the Special Ed programs, which my little sister is in, cutback, force retired, fired, and/or transferred Special Ed/Alternative Ed teachers, within the last 4 years. Our textbooks are falling apart and outdated to the point, where our math teachers must duct tape books back together. They also do not pay enough attention to the low grade students, as they just put them in APEX classes and/or put them in classes that allows you to earn all the credits you need to graduate, in one school year, My friend, Alex, is earning 9 credits by this. She's a senior and is 9 credits shy of graduating as she transferred from Normal West, by getting expelled. I do not recommend parents' with lower GPA and/or credit kids to come here, to reach their potential. They'll just pass them on and not even try to work with them. Most teacher's however, are exceptional and qaulified

EMS is a great school, with great teachers and the administration is awesome! They we warm and welcoming and helpful to my daughter. She had a great education here and the systems and programs they use are very good!