St Nicholas Cathedral

My child attended half-day PK-3 last year. She loved her experience there, and we were impressed by how much learning could be done in just 2.5 hours a day. Previously she had been at home with a nanny or parent. She learned concepts that I hadn't learned until Kindergarten or 1st grade back in the 1990s, like syllables, phonics, etc. Her teacher and classroom assistant were warm, engaging, responsive, and welcoming, and they adapted very well to a class that varied in its makeup in terms of prior knowledge and experience outside the home. The preschool reflected the diverse country in which we live - Black children, Latino children, white children, recently arrived immigrants, children with special needs, etc. That's a wonderful thing; the kids learn so much from one another. In my observations, the children integrated well as they learned and played together. I noticed no divisions and my child never mentioned any. As white people, our child was a minority at this school, and we had zero issues with that; no one ever made us feel unwelcome and she wasn't teased or anything like that. What stands out the most to me about this school is that it is such a warm and welcoming community. I am not exaggerating when I say in the entire year we attended this school, I never encountered one staff member - whether a teacher, office clerk, security personnel, or janitor - who had a bad attitude. They really mean the "Community" part of the name José De Diego Community Academy. The school received a large influx of Spanish-speaking immigrant children towards the end of the school year, and it was impressive to watch the whole school mobilize and pull together to try to support these kids. There are many bilingual staff. In my daughter's class alone, the kids spoke English, Spanish, Ukrainian and Polish! However, we ended up transferring to our assigned neighborhood school (which does not offer a PK-3 program) albeit with broken hearts. We really miss Diego but think our child's long-term academic needs will be met better at a school with a dedicated Gifted program, and this school does not currently offer that. However, I'm confident that if more families give this school a try, we will see the test scores rise just as they did in the nearby neighborhood schools, Pritzker and Pulaski and Burr over the last decade. And if my child's new school doesn't add a PK-3 program, I will without hesitation send my second child to De Diego for PK-3.

Pros: -There is only one class per grade. The class sizes are bigger since many migrants got here but the kids still thrive academically, in my opinion.-Most of the kids seem to get along really well and within the last 3 years that my child has been here, I haven’t heard of a single fight. -Biggest pro is the kindergarten teacher; she’s the best. I was worried that my child may be a bit behind when she started school because she didn’t attend preschool. My daughter went from uninterested in learning at home, to reading on a second grade level, within months! I promise the teacher is AMAZING! CONS:-The administration is absolutely HORRIBLE! From the LAZY front desk clerk, counselor, to the principal. I’ve never actually had any issues with the principal, beside from her ignoring the two emails I sent her, but many other parents and even staff say that she’s not the best to deal with. -My daughter needed speech pathology and from what an outside pathologist told me, CPS has 60 days to offer this service to her. It’s been three years and it still hasn’t been addressed, despite me reaching out to them several times. We had to seek outside counseling. -It’s the only Ukrainian speaking school in Chicago and they have no problem showing favoritism to those students. -Some of the Russian/ukrainian parents are extremely rude and for some reason act as though they’re entitled.-Incidents are never reported to parents. CPS requires schools to fill out an incident report if your child is injured at school. My child has come home telling me that she was involved in incidents that were never reported to me. Thankfully, the Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers were pretty good with informing me of incidents, but if something happens at lunch, recess or afterschool, you may never hear about it from the staff! -There is only one class per grade. I listed this as a pro but it can also be a con…same kids every year…not always good for the child, especially if there are issues. -White privileged ppl in the neighborhood allow their dogs to poop on the playground (in the fake grass-like flooring)…disgusting! Sometimes it’s still there when the kids arrive. IMO, they need a gate to keep them out or cameras. -Not enough diversity for black students when it comes to culture. -No languages taught besides English (ESL).-Not enough extra curricular programs. -The school is last min with everything. They inform you of events days before & it’s annoying.-Uniforms…ugh!

They have the playground locked at 1 pm during the summer. What's wrong with the fools that run this city?

Pros: friendly and small school community, nice family events throughout the year, committed teachers, great parent community Cons: declining quality in past 5-10 years, admin (one) generally resistant to parent feedbackThere's a very inconsistent student experience from teacher to teacher. My kids experienced multiple teachers at the school. No longer a strong vision for taking the school to the next level. Unfortunately not all admins treat parents with respect or as partners in education. There are also some fairly inequitable fundraising practices. Kind people at the school, but learning quality has declined in recent years. Parents don't receive much support when approaching admin with problems (at least one admin is fairly arrogant). At one time, the school ensured solid teaching for all learners. No longer the case.

Our experience having a child enrolled in the RGC program for two years (fall 2022 - spring 2024,) was dismal. Our first teacher unexpectedly quit midyear, seemingly due to the lack of support from the top. We stayed one more year, because our next teacher was to be the coordinator of the school’s RGC program, and she had an excellent reputation. We found out the week before the start of school that she had just transferred to another school. Pritzker School was aware she was leaving in advance, and made no effort to inform our grade of the impending change. We had our child retested, fortunately they received an offer from another RGC program, and we couldn’t be happier that we transferred out. (Turns out the teacher we would’ve had for our third year quit as well!)There were too many frustrating issues to recount here, including a grimy kindergarten classroom that took the help of many families over many after school evenings to fully clean up. It is incredibly difficult to find much information online about the various CPS schools. If you can meet a family with a child currently at Pritzker, try to get their candid opinion. If you’re on the fence between this and another school, you might want to strongly consider the other school. Several schools in the immediate vicinity with excellent reputations are Burr, Drummond, and Pulaski.All that said, there are indeed some fantastic teachers at Pritzker (Dr. Jenkins, Mr. Swift, and Mrs. Delgado are but a few of the exceptional standouts, as well as Mrs. Hobbs at the front door), and there are wonderful families but in our opinion, the LSC strongly needs to consider a new principal.

In this school discipline is out of control. They practice restorative discussions but chronic behaviors and violent behaviors are done by the same students. Students who are continually out of control and are black are not receiving consequences based on their actions but on their race and continue to abuse.it is about policy and not being just. It is about appearing great on paper but it is not truthful because a lot has not been disclosed. When you walk in the building the kids are everywhere. They are disrespectful to each other, to the staff as well. It looks like chaos. Administration just does not take initiating and let the teacher care thr burden of handling It all. It is depressing.

We’re so happy to have our two kids at LaSalle II. The school is incredibly well organized, and the community is wonderful. It’s a challenging environment, but the teachers and staff have supported our children every step of the way, helping them rise to meet high standards. On top of that, they’re learning a second language! This is what all CPS schools should aspire to be. If you’re lucky enough to get a spot, don’t hesitate to send your kids to LaSalle II.