853 W Blackhawk St #1002-4
Chicago, IL 60642

MiddleClass white parent w kids at this school. Admin is terrible! They have poor communication and are disorganized. Steinmiller seems to pass off responsibilities to other staff members and can’t lead a school. This was evident at the open house for parents and students. I sensed he didn’t know how to run a school based on the disorganization of the open house and how he passed important questions from parents to the student docents. When their responses are inadequate he never followed up with a succinct answer. He couldn’t even describe the IB program. This Principal is a joke. They also don’t take student IEPs seriously and find ways to screw over your kid. They are not interested in student success. Teachers are often absent with many subs. Send you student to the suburbs and forget CPS.

As a current family at the school, our experience has been very positive. We have been actively involved in the school community, and we’ve found the administration to be supportive, responsive, and genuinely willing to listen to parent concerns. During school meetings, the admins consistently try to address and investigate issues that families raise.One parent mentioned traffic and parking concerns in their review. In our experience, the school has made significant improvements to traffic flow and safety. When everyone follows the established procedures, pick-up and drop-off run efficiently. Unfortunately, congestion usually happens when a small number of parents ignore the traffic rules for convenience.We also feel that some negative reviews may come from families who are not as involved in the school community and therefore may not be aware of the discussions and updates shared during school meetings. Many concerns brought up by parents have in fact been addressed or are actively being worked on by the administration.The same applies to questions regarding fundraising. Families who attend the school meetings are able to see where the funds are going and how much the school has already accomplished through those efforts. There has been a strong commitment toward improving the school environment and supporting student programs.We also believe strong communication between parents and teachers is very important. Whenever concerns have come up regarding our child, we’ve reached out to the teachers right away, and they have always worked with us collaboratively to find solutions and provide support.Another strength of the school is its focus on social-emotional learning. The school has a caring environment and a strong support system in place to help students succeed both academically and emotionally.Overall, we feel the school community, teachers, and administration truly care about the students and are committed to continuous improvement.