Moving to Chicago area.... (Peoria, Des Plaines: school districts, places to live, price)

[ShanghaiMom]

My family of six will be repatriating from Shanghai, China to the US and staying in Chicago. I'm looking for ideas on places to live. My husband would like an EASY access to the train into the city. I would love for the children to continue their Mandarin skils. Any schools teach Mandarin? How about full day Kindergarten? Any good International Baccalaureate Schools with a PYP program?

[chitown85]

We just had a similar posting from another expat in China asking about IB schools. They are few and far between in the suburbs, you will have better luck in the city. Most suburban public schools utilize the AP program.

There are large Chinese populations in the NW and North suburbs especially.

The Chicago North Chinese School This one is Des Plaines, a north suburb.

Dongfang Chinese Educational Institute Chicago, IL (http://www.dongfangchinese.org/ContactUs.aspx - broken link) This one is in the city.

The closer the suburb, the better the commute by train. Sounds like you might want to live in the northern suburbs, known as the "north shore" and "north shore area."





What is your price range and any other concerns that could narrow down your search? The biggest issue is price.

[AuDiBelle]

Welcome to Chicago! Chicago is a pretty big city with an even larger metropolitan area, so you'll need to narrow down your needs and price range a bit so we can make suggestions. I'm guessing from your post that you prefer to live in a suburb? There are many different commuter lines going out to different suburbs.

Illinois has some pretty sad statistics on IB school offerings. The only schools are either within Chicago, Peoria (downstate), or a private all girls' school in River Forest.

Mandarin is definitely an up and coming language offering in the public schools. My elementary school district looked into adding it as an option two years ago, but sadly only opted for Spanish. Some of the concerns were the lack of qualified/certified/licensed teachers. Most parents that want their children to learn Mandarin opt for private lessons in my area via Language Stars (http://www.languagestars.com/experts.htm - broken link) or other private teachers. I'm not aware of which schools offer Mandarin at the elementary level, but I think many do at the high school level. I also don't know of any full day kindergartens either... not to say there aren't some out there though! All of the school districts I'm aware of are half day for kindergarten.

[Avengerfire]

Mod=Please move this thread to the Chicago forum.