Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Three of my children attended this school & it was terrible. I pulled them all out. There was a situation with all three of my students. The kindergarten teacher is terrible. She sits on her phone all day & will leave the kids in the class by their self. Kids that young are racist which is sad. My youngest was 4 when attending and she had a situation with another student touching her inappropriately and instead of listening to my daughter they said it was a mistake. My son was bullied and they basically did nothing but once he responded to the bully he was looked at as if he was doing the bullying.

My child has been at Holmes for K-3. We've had a positive experience there all around. She has made many good friends. I appreciate that the school has a good mix of students, both SES and racially. She has enjoyed all of her teachers (we are still friendly with all of them) and learned a lot. Homework has been reasonable. Common core has been adopted which results in homework that is sometimes repetitive as they try to hone in the underlying mechanisms of math, etc. The PTO is active and sponsors several events (fair, pancake breakfast, International dinner).

We have a 1st grader at the school and she has had an incredible experience there. I'm very pleased with her teachers (last year, she had a National Board-Certified kindergarten teacher!), the classes are small and there are kids from all kinds of families: both parents in the home, single parents, college-educated, working class, Christian, other, and all ethnicities. It is a delightful place where kids are kids and engaged in completely developmentally appropriate activities, since it's Preschool - 2nd grade. This is a gem of a little neighborhood school!

Terrible enviornment for kids to grow. Bullying is rampant in the school and has been for years. Teachers overlook aiding kids and snub their nose at them and some teachers seem to be more immature than some of the kids. The faculty have no sense of boundaries which imprints a very unhealthy expectation and understanding of how the real world works for your kids. Honestly i think public school is better than this place. Its overall a terrible experience and looking back on it I wouldve rather paid to not send my kids here. Keep in mind both me and my husband are highly educated (he has a PhD) and i have a masters. I could not think of a single redeemable quality for this school

We absolutely love Alcuin. Our son has thrived in the Primary classroom, and our daughter is new to the Toddler class. Both children are happy and actually look forward to going to school! Since starting at Alcuin, my daughter has shown significant progress with her verbal skills and interest in potty training/toilet learning. It's only been a short time, but the difference in her is truly remarkable. For those considering a high-quality, Montessori education in a loving environment, look no further!

I graduated in 1968 and love this school and cannot wait to visit it one day if I ever get back to Illinois