Well since the CPS strike began I can’t stop thinking about schools and where to send our son. Now I’m not one to see a strike and start counting my pennies in order to send my kid to private school. I’m still pro public school and I know they will figure out the contracts and it will be business as usual soon enough. It sounds like the ‘situation’ goes far deeper than I know, so we’ll just leave it at that.
Even though our son is only teetering on pre-school age I’m starting to do some digging on where to send him. I have heard rumors that it can be quite cut throat so here are some tips that can give us the edge on your top schools.
Neighborhood Parents Network (NPN) has a great network that is for members only. There is a small annual fee that will put you in the know from babysitters to playgroups to (below) school fairs.
http://www.npnparents.org/school-fairs
NPN Annual Preschool & Elementary School Fair (open to members only)
• WHEN: Saturday, October 13, 2012, Parents RSVP for 1hour time slots to help us manage attendance
• WHAT: NPN brings together more than 130 exhibitors to give our NPN member families unparalleled access to representatives of public and private schools, enrichment programs, family friendly businesses, and nonprofits. Each year, nearly 1,000 parents turn to NPN to help them navigate Chicago school search by attending this event.
• WHO: NPN Members/Adults only Event. Free admission. RSVP is required. Parent RSVP will open in September.
• WHERE: Grossinger City Autoplex, 1561 N. Fremont
• REGISTRATION: https://secured.npnparents.org/exhibitors/new/534
Parent registration opens one month prior to the event and accessible only to NPN members. Your membership must be current to RSVP. Click to renew or join.
NPN Developmental Differences Resource Fair
• WHEN: February 2013, 10 am – 2pm
• WHAT: Our first school fair dedicated to improving Chicago families resources, school programs, service providers, and nonprofits that focus on serving parents of children with developmental differences. Categories of needs include, but are not limited to, sensory processing disorder,autism, ADD/ADHD, PDD-NOS, mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, Down Syndrome, and physical disabilities. PLUS 3 workshops!
• WHO: Open to the public. Free admission. RSVP is not required.
• WHERE: Gordon Tech High School, 3633 N. California Ave.
With that here is a list of the 2012 top elementary & High Schools in Chicago. I’m sure you will be able to find a great school in your current neighborhood, or if you decide to make a move use the schools as a guide on where you may want to live.
| SCHOOL | NEIGHBORHOOD | GRADES | ENROLL- MENT |
% LOW INCOME |
SPENDING PER PUPIL | CLASS SIZE |
ISAT |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decatur Classical School | West Ridge | K-6 | 283 | 17.7 | $7,946 | 26.5 | 100 |
| 2 | Edison Regional Gifted Center | Albany Park | K-8 | 269 | 8.9 | $7,946 | 28 | 100 |
| 3 | Skinner North Classical School | Near North Side | K-3 | 165 | 28.5 | $7,946 | 28.5 | 100 |
| 4 | Keller Regional Gifted Center | Mount Greenwood | 1-8 | 244 | 15.6 | $7,946 | 29 | 100 |
| 5 | Poe Elementary Classical School | Pullman | K-6 | 192 | 47.4 | $7,946 | 26 | 99.2 |
| 6 | Lenart Regional Gifted Center | West Chatham | PK-8 | 322 | 28.3 | $7,946 | 34 | 100 |
| 7 | Skinner West Elementary School | Near West Side | PK-8 | 718 | 26.7 | $7,946 | 29 | 99.3 |
| 8 | Edgebrook Elementary School | Edgebrook | K-8 | 455 | 11.9 | $7,946 | 26 | 97.5 |
| 9 | McDade Classical School | Chatham | K-6 | 196 | 34.7 | $7,946 | 29 | 98.9 |
| 10 | Andrew Jackson Language Academy | University Village | K-8 | 550 | 32.2 | $7,946 | 29 | 98 |
| 11 | Bell Elementary School | North Center | K-8 | 947 | 20.3 | $7,946 | 27.8 | 96.2 |
| 12 | Hawthorne Scholastic Academy | Lake View | K-8 | 561 | 17.3 | $7,946 | 32 | 97.6 |
| 13 | Blaine Elementary School | Lake View | PK-8 | 915 | 22.3 | $7,946 | 26 | 95.1 |
| 14 | Lincoln Elementary School | Lincoln Park | K-8 | 742 | 14 | $7,946 | 30 | 96.3 |
| 15 | Oriole Park Elementary School | Norwood Park | PK-8 | 646 | 16.7 | $7,946 | 23.3 | 94.7 |
| 16 | Mount Greenwood Elementary School | Mount Greenwood | PK-8 | 837 | 30 | $7,946 | 28.8 | 95.1 |
| 17 | South Loop Elementary School | South Loop | PK-8 | 693 | 35.4 | $7,946 | 30.7 | 95.4 |
| 18 | Burley Elementary School | Lake View | PK-8 | 566 | 25.8 | $7,946 | 26.5 | 94.7 |
| 19 | LaSalle Language Academy | Old Town | K-8 | 571 | 22.1 | $7,946 | 32 | 95.2 |
| 20 | Sauganash Elementary School | Sauganash | K-8 | 551 | 29.4 | $7,946 | 29.5 | 94.9 |
| SCHOOL | NEIGHBORHOOD | ENROLLMENT | % LOW INCOME |
SPENDING PER PUPIL | GRADUAION RATE |
ACT | PSAE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northside College Prep High School | North Park | 1,086 | 34.8 | $7,946 | 100 | 29.2 | 100 |
| 2 | Walter Payton College Prep High School | Old Town | 893 | 33.1 | $7,946 | 98.8 | 28.3 | 95 |
| 3 | Whitney Young Magnet High School | Near West Side | 2,160 | 38.5 | $7,946 | 96.2 | 26.6 | 96.1 |
| 4 | Jones College Prep High School | South Loop | 844 | 53.2 | $7,946 | 92.9 | 25.2 | 92.8 |
| 5 | Brooks College Prep Academy | Roseland | 764 | 85.3 | $7,946 | 94.1 | 21.7 | 70.5 |
| 6 | Lane Technical High School | North Center | 4,161 | 60.6 | $7,946 | 88.5 | 23.3 | 88 |
| 7 | Lincoln Park High School | Lincoln Park | 2,273 | 56.1 | $7,946 | 90.6 | 22.1 | 61.2 |
| 8 | Devry Advantage Academy High School | North Center | 221 | 75.1 | $7,946 | 100 | 19.7 | 68.4 |
| 9 | King College Prep High School | Kenwood | 925 | 72.2 | $7,946 | 86.6 | 20.2 | 56.9 |
| 10 | Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center | North Park | 1,659 | 74.9 | $7,946 | 86.5 | 20.4 | 55.6 |
| 11 | Lindblom Math and Science Academy | West Englewood | 878 | 69.8 | $7,946 | 81.5 | 21.6 | 76.8 |
| 12 | Noble Street College Prep | West Town | 5,330 | 88 | $7,946 | 89.7 | 19.9 | 50.4 |
| 13 | Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences | Mount Greenwood | 586 | 52.6 | $7,946 | 82.5 | 20 | 59.1 |
| 14 | Chicago Virtual Charter School | N/A | 564 | 61.7 | $7,946 | 81.8 | 20.1 | 43.8 |
| 15 | Kenwood Academy High School | Kenwood | 1,829 | 78.2 | $7,946 | 85.1 | 18.9 | 45.4 |
NOTES: All data are from 2010-11. Class size is for first grade. Low income is the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. ISAT is a composite percentage of students who meet or exceed minimum state standards on the Illinois Standards achievement Test. ACT is an average for student performance on the ACT college entrance exam (36 is the highest possible score). PSAE is the percentage of 11th graders who meet or exceed minimum state standards on the Prairie State Achievement Examination. SOURCE: Illinois State Board of Education
PLUS: How they ranked the schools:
Of the many statistics that reflect academic quality, say education experts, the most revealing tend to be students’ test scores, spending per pupil, pupil-teacher ratio (for elementary schools), and graduation rate (for high schools).
Using data from state report cards for the 2010-11 academic year (the most recent available), Chicago assigned points to each public school in the metro area based on how well it compares with its peers on those key measures. We then weighted the results to calculate our rankings (see formulas below). Because all Chicago public schools report the same amount spent per student—$7,946—we excluded the figure for CPS rankings.
Of course, many factors go into making the right choice for your child. Use these rankings as a starting point.
CHICAGO
Elementary schools
- Average class size in first grade: 33.3 percent (This is a better measure than CPS’s district-wide pupil-teacher ratio.)
- Percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards on the ISAT: 66.7 percent
High schools
- Graduation rate: 33.3 percent
- Average ACT score: 33.3 percent
- Percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards on PSAE: 33.3 percent
Enjoy Chicago!
Juliana
For your real estate needs and beyond look to your Chicago Real Estate Family, The Yeager Team, every time.
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