Abraham Lincoln Elementary School

Our family has had a great experience with Longfellow. It's not problem free, but I feel the administration has dealt with anything that comes up effectively. The teachers are by far the stars of the show here. My kids have loved them all. They work so hard and make the kids feel special. The music and art teachers are beyond wonderful and we love the annual music shows and the artwork that comes home. The school offers access to algebra to give 5th graders a jump start on middle school math. They also offer fun summer programming to all students for math - students show up to the library once a week and earn prizes for doing summer math (both regular and advanced/challenge) - kudos to Mr Winchell for running this amazing program. You make summer math fun for the kids. There are plenty of field trips for each grade. The after school offerings are amazing. My kids don't think of it as "childcare", they beg to do the fun classes offered to students 4 days a week after school (ALL - Always Learning at Longfellow). They can do different things each day like cooking, art, acting, basketball, running, yoga, sewing, crochet, improv, gardening...and there are many more to choose from. There are also monthly "coffee with the principal" meetings where parents can get easy access to administration and the PTO does a great job with things like the Back to School Picnic, Winter Carnival, and Field Day. The one big area for improvement would be the hot lunch offerings. The menu has been on repeat every three weeks for years and it desperately needs a revamp, but that is more of a district issue than a school issue, as the menus are the same throughout the entire district.

I have to think sometimes about my kids transitioning out of Prairie Oak as they get older and part of me wishes they didn’t have to. From the administration higher up to the social workers to the teachers to parent-support, I could not have for better. The social-emotional teaching is just beautiful. Prairie Oak has teachers my kids will never forget. I won’t either. I wish it was a middle school too, I really do! Mrs. Abrantes and Mrs. Vicars go above and beyond for the instruction, safety and well-being of the kids. I wish we could just manufacture more of these women so everyone could know how amazing they are.

This school does not care about the students and staff only the scores even if students are coming from a broken background or having difficulty they do not care. The students can barely read and they give curriculum that the students cant follow.

I am a parent that is graduating my third child from Ascension. I cannot stress enough how deficient this school is in all aspects of education. I would recommend any other Catholic school in Oak Park or River Forest as an alternative. PLEASE send your children to either St. Giles or St. Luke's that actually provide an education, not a nostalgia trip for parents that previously attended 3 decades ago. It is not the same school it once was.