North Center

I am thrilled to recommend NPES to families as it is a place that really centers and cares about children. As a small, independent school it is able to be responsive and nimble and I have seen so many excellent additions to the program in recent years. This is truly a gem of a school in a challenging chicago landscape.

If you’re looking for a welcoming, inclusive community where your child will have personalized attention from teachers who care about your child, then Pilgrim is definitely the school for you. We were not happy at our previous CPS school. Our daughter wasn’t happy, she felt ignored, the focus on timed tests (in 1st grade!) made her anxious and she started to not like school. Since we moved to Pilgrim, she has absolutely thrived. Her love for learning is due to the amazing teachers at Pilgrim. She’s a straight A student, scoring in the 90th+ percentile in both reading and math. She’s in her 8th grade year and Mrs. Andreen works one on one with each student to prepare them for the high school application process. She’s been a lifesaver! Our younger daughter loves her teacher as well. I love the care and support she has provided to my youngest and as parents we love the fact that we can communicate easily with teachers. They are very supportive and responsive (which was not our experience at CPS). It is also by far the most affordable private school option. There’s no way we could have afforded the other private options on the north side. Pilgrim’s like a hidden gem. I can’t say enough good things about our tiny but mighty school community!

We have been a part of the St Ben's community for four years and are extremely happy with the quality of the education and how invested and caring the teachers are. St Ben's also has so many extra curricular activities for the kids, sport twice a week, Spanish, Art, STEM, music and many more. There is lots of school events to get involved with for example Daddy/Daughter Dances, Mom's/Dad's nights out, a Gala, Fun Run and great Oktober Fest that the Parish puts on. The communication to parents each week is very clear and informative. Our daughter is thriving at the school, we are very happy at St Ben's!

Excellent community school that has a broad academic program with many options for your kid(s). The community feel around this school is extremely strong with excellent parent involvement across the board. As parents we moved both our kids here over the years and have experienced such a warm atmosphere with excellent teachers that care.