Portage Park

One silver lining of the pandemic for me, has been that I get to help supervise my grandson's remote learning. Initially, it was all remote learning, and now it is the hybrid model where he is in school 2 days a week and the other 3 days are remote. As a retired teacher, I can appreciate the amount of time, effort and preparation it takes to effectively engage and teach students in the hybrid environment. The teacher is very professional, energetic and positive. She also does an excellent job of communicating with parents. I am amazed at the strides my grandson has made in reading over the course of the year. The same is true for math where he is working at a much higher level than I would've expected. I am also impressed that his teacher incorporates interesting science lessons into the curriculum. Science is often overlooked in this type of situation, but in an era of pandemics and climate change, introducing students to science at an early age is timely and important. My grandson has had a very positive experience at Gray in this most unusual of years, and I would highly recommend it.

We are a very proud Portage Park Elementary family. We have 2 kids enrolled and have enjoyed the quality of the lessons and assignments and the arts integrated approach to learning. The performing arts programming has been superb- especially dance and the spring festival of the arts! We are very lucky to have this school and Principal Wood in our neighborhood.

I was here for pre k a long while ago and from my experience, the teachers are not great. I had this teacher and she hated me for no reason. I gave her a flower this one time and she got MAD at me! She got mad at me for everything. I moved schools after pre k so yeah. Try to find a different school, especially if you have a bad teacher.

This is our third year at Smyser. We feel so blessed to have such incredible teachers and staff. You feel cared for. Teachers and staff keep parents well informed. Highly recommend for your neighborhood school.

We have had 3 generations graduate from St. Bartholomew. St. Bart's continues to grow and exceed in faith, education, and character. Being on the PPC I have the opportunity to hear and see firsthand how the school is improving each and every year. The commitment that you make as a parent to give your child the best start in life will pay off tenfold when you send your child/children here. Yes, it is a sacrifice financially (plenty of scholarships available) but it is worth it when you give your child the best.

"I just love preschool. I don't know what I would do without my preschool." This is a quote from my four year old on her way home from school today. We love that she is in a school environment where we are confident the teachers and staff care about not only her academic growth and success, but also there to support her social, emotional, and spiritual well being. It's also great to be part of a school that fosters a sense of community among the families they serve.

My children love MCA. One is more academic than the other, but they both enjoy their classes and teachers. Ms. Banura is a fantastic teacher! She puts a lot of effort into her lessons. She even uses/makes songs to go with her lessons. My oldest STILL has Psalm 23 memorized as well as all the math facts taught to him that year.My oldest has encouraged ME if I'm not able to do something...yet. I can't say enough about the teachers at MCA. They're great.