Catherine Cook School

We have a 1st and 4th grader on campus and have had such a wonderful experience with Ogden over the past 5 years. On campus principal, Dr. Kelly is an amazing leader and so enthusiastic. The teachers and support staff are outstanding. No one should hesitate to send your child to Ogden. Especially if this is your neighborhood school. I don’t understand the negative reviews. My kids love it here and we do too.

My children have attended ICSJ for the last six years, and the school, staff, and teachers continue to challenge them to learn and grow every day. In the early childhood program (JK and K), the focus on thematic units and play has been fundamental in building a love of learning in my three children. As my oldest has moved up through the grades, I have watched the teachers seamlessly foster autonomy by encouraging learning through both group and individual work. The educators do a phenomenal job blending innovative learning theories with tried-and-true teaching methods. Additionally, the small classroom ratios and the two-teacher model in grades JK–3 are unmatched.The school has an intention focus on social emotion and educational supports. It adopted a social-emotional curriculum that supports children as young as 3 years old and allows for consistency in approach through 8th grade. Additionally, the learning support team is available to develop plans to support and challenge children individually, within classrooms or through coordination with external supports. Two of my children were able to receive speech therapy during the school day. The learning support team helped coordinate with the therapists directly and ensured the timing of the therapy was conducive to learning. This also allowed the speech therapist to engage with teachers directly and provide feedback and support. I didn't have to be the middleman in this process which was extremely helpful!In addition to a strong academic environment, the parent community and family engagement is top notch. Finding community in this large city has been amazing for our family. We don't have any family in Chicago, so the families and friends we have meet at ICSJ have truly become our family and support system. I know I can always call on someone to pick-up my children last minute it my husband or I get stuck at work. In addition to the parent community, ICSJ offers lots of opportunities for family engagement such as parent coffees, volunteer opportunities, student-led conferences, etc. We highly recommend ICSJ to prospective families and feel fortunate to have many years ahead of us here.

Ours has been a CCS family for 13+ years and has been able to see firsthand how successful the CCS community is at engaging 4-5 years old and helping them grow into confident, capable, and empathetic young adults. In early childhood, the children are nurtured and made to feel safe as they begin their educational journey. In lower school, they are encouraged to be independent, advocate for themselves, and learn how they fit in the community and in the world. In middle school, they are given the tools to think critically, challenged academically, and are guided in the high school selection process, so that they are able to choose a school that is a good fit for them. My oldest is off to college in the fall, my middle child is a freshman in high school, and my youngest is in 3rd grade. They are all thriving. My kids are all very different people and somehow CCS was the perfect fit for each of them. Each of my kids benefited from the challenging academic curriculum but also had the space and support that allowed them to explore their interests and find their unique voices. The entire community at CCS is caring and focuses on bringing out the best in each child academically and emotionally and I am so grateful that our family landed in such a wonderful place.