London to Berwyn?? Life with Preschool Kids? (Chicago, Aurora: section 8, rental)

[KTorquato]

I believe that a teacher who works in a school doesn't have to like or agree with the members of the community in which they serve. (Not everyone enjoys the environment surrounding their workplace.) I enjoy my students very much. I just don't agree with some of the value systems in which they are being raised.

In response to some of your comments...

So you assume there’s excessive gang activity based on the police being pro-active and reaching out to the schools? No, I don't "assume" anything. My knowledge is based upon the information that is given to us by the Berwyn Police Department. As depressing and sad as this information is, it's very important that the police share this information with the teachers. Part of our job is to monitor student's behavior. This stretches from the doodling in or on their notebooks, the notes that they write, to the color of their clothing and the style of their clothes, to their behavior on or near school property.

Most inner ring suburbs have issues with gangs because of their proximity to Chicago, including Oak Park and even Brookfield I agree and gang activity has stretched as far west as Aurora. My purpose for mentioning Oak Park, La Grange and even Brookfield is that based upon my experiences, the families place a stronger emphasis on the value and importance of education.

If you contact the Berwyn P.D., I’d bet dimes to dollars that they will not paint a picture anywhere near as bleak as the one you describe. Sorry, Charlie. I won your dollars. I didn't contact the Berwyn P.D. They contacted me and my collegues. Many times.

But what you fail to mention is the community response – which included a community event sponsored by C.A.R.E.S. (Citizens Aligned to Renew Education) – a group started by members of the community last year. I didn't know that this organization existed. I'm very happy to know that something like this is in the community. It'd be great if they shared some information about themselves and their goals with the schools. I know teachers would be very interested.

Really? Berwyn is 38% Hispanic per the most recent census. With a population of 54,000, that’s 20,500 Latinos. So more than 10,000 of them are illegal? I think not. Sounds like a stereotype to me. I disagree and I highly doubt that the census included illegals.

No one yet has answered my question, "for all of the people on this thread who mentioned that the schools in the north part of Berwyn are poor, not as good, etcetera, what is the basis behind your comment?"

Finally, I hate being a grammar d--- but as a teacher, I fear you must be held to a higher standard. You are teaching our kids after all. You are being a d---. No, I must not be judged for a minor mistake that I made during my personal time. You would have a right to judge a teacher if you saw these types of mistakes being made in a classroom. Should an accountant be judged on the quality of his professional conduct if he/she made a simple mathmatical error during their own personal time? I think not. To me, that's an unfair cheap shot.

[BRU67]

No, you don’t have to like us, and we don’t have to like you, but there has to be an understanding that we pay your salary and a respect which comes with that. Telling educated people who are researching the community to avoid it crosses the line over what is acceptable, personal time or not. What if those educated people heed your advice? All that will do is ensure a larger supply of the low income persons whose value systems you (and I for that matter) do not agree with. So it’s probably in your best interest to promote the community also. You may not see it but you’re kind of shooting yourself in the foot.

Nor would you be doing the educated people any favors. They would move to one of your recommended communities, and be safe, sheltered and happy. But, as Berwyn declined, the parents of the most troubled kids would also start moving to these safe havens to get their kids “away from it,” and the process would start anew in their back yard. It won’t be until the problems are addressed that they will be solved.

This said, I’m glad you are working with the Berwyn Police to identify problems early. And now that you know about it, I hope you will join C.A.R.E.S. and encourage your colleagues to do the same. I don’t think you can post links here but if you Google it, you will find it.

As to North Berwyn's schools, the basis you seek can be found in the ISAT scores. North Berwyn has a much larger marginally incomed population than South Berwyn so the school test scores are lower. There is a direct and proven correlation between income levels and academic achievement. It isn’t “rocket science,” as they say. So while perhaps crudely stated (and overstated) at times, the comments you speak of have some basis.

Good luck, and try to keep a positive attitude. It will only benefit you, the community and your students!

[bobsmith319]

Nice places to live. I'm more a northwest subarb guy (Mt. Prospect, Park Ridge), but I really like those places a lot, always wanted to live out there. Oak Park is nice, and so is Brookfield. Both have good schools. (Oak Park schools are more well known for being exceptional). Berwyn is good, I really like the homes there, but judging that you have young kids, schools might be an issue and Berwyn does not have the best schools. Try focusing on the other two. La grange is nice, and it has great schools, decently priced homes in general. PLEASE stay out of Cicero it has awful schools and is filled with gangs. Good luck!

[elfff]

if you can afford london, you should be able to afford oak park! it's not *that* expensive.. the advice i was given when i moved here was: stay north of madison and don't stray too far east of ridgeland. in retrospect, this advice isn't entirely true, but it was excellent advice for someone who did not yet know the area and neighborhoods.

oak park is undergoing a few major (good!) changes in the downtown area (on lake street between harlem and oak park ave). they're tearing down the pedestrian mall to allow vehicle traffic, and a lot of new stores just opened in this former mall (marion street). if you're looking for city feel in the suburbs, this is as good as you'll find!

within a mere 4-5 block area on lake street, you have 3-4 bookstores (one is borders books and music), a number of restaurants, a movie theatre, several banks, a 47,000 sq. ft. fitness center, the oak park library, the language and music school (for the kids), frank lloyd wright's unity temple, a gap, pier 1, lane bryant, benetton, several independent clothing boutiques, cyber cafe, several coffee places, wine shops, parks, a whole foods supermarket, rumors of a trader joe's opening, the green line and metra train stations, the biggest freakin' post office building i've ever seen in a suburb, and more. there is also a children's book shop right off lake and oak park ave -- it only carries children's literature.

good luck!

[City4less]

I am a proud graduate of Jefferson elementary-- great neighborhood around there by the way-- still. Lincoln Middle School and Morton West High School. I have a Phd. Not so stupid, straight A student thank you very much. If you can't handle Berwyn move to Plainfield or something. Berwyn is for City lovers. It;s nicer than the City -hoods. BTW, Brookfield has infrastructure issues I have many friends who gre up there who do not recommend it.... I now live in Western Springs, because I don't commute to the City. But if you do, you would be remiss not to consider Berwyn over the City. Also, if you commute I gree North Berwyn is more like the City and the blue line is easier to deal with. The BNSF in Berwyn is the milk run, not fun... If you depend on the BNSF, LaGrange is better because there are express trains.. Check the schedule. So, I recommend North Berwyn west of Oak Park as a viable option.... East Berwyn has had issues for 40 years.... too close to Cicero- Austin. Oak Park is more dangerous than Berwyn.

[chiquinina71]

Berwyn is not flooded with gang activity. I've lived in "North Berwyn" that everyone so much describes as the bad side of Berwyn. I have to tell you that as a single mom of two teenaged daughters, it is NOT bad at all. Sure, you have a few young kids walking the streets at times, but our Police Department does a fabulous job in staying on top of this. As for the schools, all I can say is that both my daughters are in advanced classes, with outrageous GPA's...I'm very pleased and content and love living here.

[kleer]

North Berwyn from age 0-10... Not so good. Still visited brothers there until last year when they moved. They told me about a driveby shooting right outside their apartments like 2 years ago.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by chiquinina71

Berwyn is not flooded with gang activity. I've lived in "North Berwyn" that everyone so much describes as the bad side of Berwyn. I have to tell you that as a single mom of two teenaged daughters, it is NOT bad at all. Sure, you have a few young kids walking the streets at times, but our Police Department does a fabulous job in staying on top of this. As for the schools, all I can say is that both my daughters are in advanced classes, with outrageous GPA's...I'm very pleased and content and love living here.

I think the north is more urban in feel -- like a Chicago neighborhood. That intimidates some people I think. I've several friends who live there and they like it a lot, and I've spent time at their homes and their neighborhood bars and never felt unsafe. I think there's a lot of potential up there because of Roosevelt Road. Home values in the formerly shunned south side Oak Park have exploded and that should mean spillover into North Berwyn, and increased amenities on that street. Just this year alone, the Wishbone, Gelato Uno, and the Double Olive martini bar opened on the Berwyn side, and a revamped Salerno's and two big condo/townhome projects opened on the Oak Park side. Future should be bright in the area.

[janetp]

There are great parks all over Berwyn! The classes offered at the park district are very reasonable, and there is lots geared towards kids, family, seniors. Ballroom dancing to tennis. Lots for tots! The music teaher is North Berwyn is fab, as well as the martial arts teacher. Everyone we dealt with thus far at the parks have been pretty good, some pretty great. The seasonal pool passes are very reasonable, and they get you into all the pools. One of them has a slide! THere are always things going on at the park district for holidays and such, and we especially love the movies in the park in the summer. They supply free popcorn! The schools are really good, and the library has lots to offer all year round! There is always something to do here that is of little or no cost. I love the house decorating contests for the holidays. We have made many friends in the 8 years we have lived here. There's always a bad apple, but not nearly as much as in the city. It's clean, and Berwyn is pretty strick about that, which I like! They recycle, and you get a separate bin for that, not those stupid blue bags like in Chicago! Scouts are strong here as well, for both boys and girls. Crime is pretty low, and it's nice to live in a community where you know your alderman, mayor, police commissioner, etc by their first names! Berwyn offers a free grafitti removal service, so on those few occassions where it does happen in the area, they make sure it's quickly removed. It just takes a phone call. This police commissioner seems to really be on the ball, and it is pretty peacful here. It's diverse and ever changing, and only for the better! If they would just develop our downtown, we would rival any suburb in this state, but don't let that discourage you. There is tons of good shopping all around us, and even in the heaviest of traffic, there is not a store or resturant you can name that cannot be gotten to within 20 minutes.Most within 5 to 10 minutes. I can walk to North Riverside Mall! We are so near to 55 and 290, traveling is a breeze! It takes about 12-18 minutes to get into the downtown area from where I live. Buy why you can still afford to! You won't regret it!

Originally Posted by MovingOnOver

Hey – great information on this forum – I’m so glad I found it. You are the people I need to speak with!

We’re moving to Chicago from London in a month. (We’re American, but have been living over here for 4 years, Takoma Park/DC before that.) We have two wee ones – 3 year old and 9 month old.

Before necessity drives us out to the outskirts, (London is so damn expensive we’re practically broke! ) we plan to get to know the city for a few months from within – we’ve got a short term rental in the Gold Coast area lined up. We’re going to be totally spoiled, but we feel we deserve it!

We haven’t owned a car for the past 4 years, but we are planning on embracing that very American way of life when we return. That being said, we don’t want to be in a ‘Road to Nowhere’ kind of community. It’s very important to me to be able to walk to SOMETHING – park a plus, library a plus, shops a bigger plus, and public transport needs to be within a walk or short bus ride distance. (Husband working in the city – Wacker Drive).

After some internet browsing and a quick 2-days worth of driving around, we’ve been focusing on West ‘Burbs – Berwyn, Brookfield, LaGrange, etc. Don’t know why, it just seems convenient and a bit more affordable – we are looking in the 250,000 to 325,000 range (too many remodeled kitchens out there – we want to ‘fix-it-up’ ourselves). This will be our first house purchase, so it’s a bit deal for us! Brookfield seems a tiny bit bland ‘in person’, which I don’t understand. I do like the mid-century housing stock. But Berwyn has those bungalows! I noticed some big old Victorian rehab specials that have recently been sold in the 34th Street area – what is that street like? How far south is too far in Berwyn? What is the library like there?

And how do you determine the quality of the elementary schools in any given area?
What will my life be like in these areas with pre-school children? Right now we walk to parks/playgrounds, go to the library (I noticed Oak Park’s library is lush!), go to a music class in a neighboring community, meet up with friends for play dates, etc. My 3-year-old goes to preschool 3 afternoons a week for 2 ½ hours – it’s government subsidized.

Blah, blah, blah – how I do run on. Any comments welcome – thanks!

[janetp]

This is pretty harsh analogy of a town you do not live in! Do you honestly think that Berwyn is the only place out there that offers training to teachers in regards to recognizing gang colors, symbols, etc? They do this so teachers will REPORT such things as they see them. It's apparent that you do not. You stated that you cared about the students, yet do nothing to report what you see to those that can make a difference. Shame on you. The Berwyn website offers email addresses to the mayor, commissioner, alderman, etc, for the primary purpose of hearing about such things. I have used this site many times to report various things. I get responses back as well from all of those I have emailed. The eyes and ears of a community are their greatest resource. Since you are not a member of this community, I can assume you do not feel obliged to report these things. I can also assume that you think that this is not YOUR problem. After all, you do not live here, so why should you care? This is a problem that concerns all of us. Everyone who ignores it is guilty of allowing such things to continue. I think this is why Chicago forced all their teachers, police and firefighters to live within their boundaries. People tend to take care of their "own back yard", so to speak.
My granddaughter attends the middle school YOU work at. She has always scored in the top 98% in the nation since she has been tested. When first arriving at Lincoln, she was not given any advanced classes. We attended the board meeting for District 98 and found out that an overwhelming amount of students from Havilchek, Prairie Oak and Jefferson came to Lincoln with high academic scores. So many in fact, that there is consideration being taken to eliminate some "core" classes and to add advanced classes in order to to accommodate them all. Lincoln's advanced classes are packed to the brim as we speak. If our students are so lacking, why has this kind of a situation become an issue? You need to take the blinders off.
My granddaughter walks home from Lincoln daily with a few of her friends and has never reported any major problem to us, or she would not be walking. She has never reported even a minor problem to us. Trust me, she would tell us. She has been coached on these kinds of things long before she lived here. You have to keep your kids nowadays, no matter where you live. Does she see people who are possibly gang affiliated? Of course she does. Has she or anyone she knows ever been approached? Absolutely not. Your letter implies that all you see here are gang members. You are overlooking 98% of your own student body! Do we have some gang activity? Of course we do. Everyone does. It is a far cry from what you described. If you ever went to a beat meeting in this area or any area, you would know that a few major gangs are everywhere. WE have had these terrorist on our streets for decades. They are widespread and they are all over. Trust me; if they all lived in Berwyn as you make it sound, I would be the first one to throw a net over the place! It doesn't work that way. They are everywhere. A fraction of those big, beautiful homes you pass in some of the pricier neighborhoods are owned by drug dealers who wear a shirt and tie every day. It will continue if people like you continually fail to report it to the people that are here, trying to make a difference.
You hear about drug busts in Berwyn because people report the activity they see. You see police activity outside of the schools because we want this sort of nonsense to stop. There are a lot of new people coming into Berwyn that see the potential it has to be a great community. This is one of the reasons we chose this community. I am a paralegal and my husband is an electrician. We could live in a lot of places with our incomes. WE chose Berwyn because we saw great potential, and we have seen dramatic improvements in the past 8 years. One of our daughters is a Chicago police officer, and she hated to have to move from here when she took the position. She would jog and ride her bike in the late evenings almost every day and loved it. Another daughter is a nurse in the area. There is no heavy flux of casualties from gang fights arriving there, as you make it sound! Far from it! My other daughter is a teacher in district 98.
She has problem students, of course, but what teacher does not? There's good and bad everywhere. You need to stop looking at our glass as half full and stop giving us such a bad rap for situations you look at with blinders on.
The Hispanic population is everywhere. I, for one, care more about the goodness of a person's heart than the color of their skin. Drive up and down our streets. This area is clean and well kept. Also, not all Hispanics that live here are illegals as you proclaim. A good majority of them are legal, decent hardworking individuals. Park district classes are filled with Hispanics as well as children from other races. It's a diverse world. We are a reflection of that diversity. We have an awesome park district, a mayor who cares, a police commissioner who listens, and neighbors who work hard together to make this community a pretty cool place to live. I know so many people in this area that I cannot go to the store or stand in front of my house without chatting and waving to someone every single day.
Do we need to keep the "cleanup" going within our community? Of course we do! Do we need people like you looking at us in such a lopsided fashion and proclaiming to the world we are not worthy of a second look? Absolutely not. You're a teacher, for God's sake. You would think you would care more about the students you DO have that are good, decent human beings and give them the benefit of a doubt by picking up the phone or using your keyboard to report a problem you see. But hey.....that's me.
We work within our community every day to make it a good place to live. We are many in numbers. We are scout leaders, PTA and PTO members, volunteers for senior programs, library programs, and park district volunteers for special events. We are the watchers of our neighborhoods, and we are doing a pretty good job. We only get stronger when people with your mentality try to put us in a tiny box. Berwyn rocks!