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The concentrated effect of power being tightly held by the Mayor together with the being burdened by poorly prepared students and /or low income students really puts the kids in CPS at a huge disadvantage.
Is this always the case in Chicago -- that low-come students are considered a burden and perhaps are generally considered poorly prepared for school? By "low-income," I take it you're including kids with parents who work low wage jobs (working poor).
Does this then mean a neighborhood, by being the home mostly of working poor, will have less than stellar schools?
Is this always the case in Chicago -- that low-come students are considered a burden and perhaps are generally considered poorly prepared for school? By "low-income," I take it you're including kids with parents who work low wage jobs (working poor).
Does this then mean a neighborhood, by being the home mostly of working poor, will have less than stellar schools?
Even in the so-called golden era of European immigration when hordes of hardworking folks landed in Chicago by boat or rail and wanted nothing more than to be as American as possible as quickly as possible (which I think is more than a little bit of fantasy, but I will go along with for the sake of arguement) the kinds of work that these immigrants did get often did leave their families at risk of not really getting the best education.
No matter if dad was skilled worker or just somebody hoisting still warm hogs onto the hooks of the motorized packing house chains at the processing plant there were not a whole of teachers making sure that the kids of these folks working back breaking hours really were spending enough time learning how to write an essay to get into an Ivy League school.
Schools used to literally use textbooks until they physically wore out, who cares if the content about how many states there were or when men might somebody explore the moon were grossly outdated.
Sure, in a general sense guys that might have been bus drivers or doormen might urge their kids to "study hard so you won't have a crummy job like your pops" but at the end of the night when the kids of the affluent were practicing some tune on their piano and the little urchins of pre-WWII Chicago were wondering if some gangster might accidently launch a few rounds from their Tommy guns into an overcrowded apartment over a quasi legal tap room things were not any safer in the inner city than when crooked flatbill baseball cap wearing thugs might do the same thing over a failed drug deal, when kids in a nice town were sticking kicking around a shiny World Cup Edition soccer ball or practicing on their rip stick...
Do kids "break out" of the underclass despite their surroundings? Of course, but not with enough frequency or consistency to really feel good about it. As much as I and every other person in the region watching the JWR Little Leaquers play with sportsmanship and skill hoping that they'll go on to college and nice careers, the fact is each of them have classmates that will not only will never have this kind of support behind them, but even if they escape the many pitfalls that lie ahead for those of modest means in today's USA, the horrible policies of Illinois will make it all but impossible for any of these kids to have even as good a life as there parents with the increasing burden of outrageously anti-business policies and unfair taxes.
For kids whose parents have succesfully transitioned from the broken manufacturing / labor intensive past of the region to the smaller number of more lucrative office careers the cyncism of seeing the executive ranks filled with essentially clones of the most privledged is reason enough to recommend doing everything one can to give their own kids some kind of edge in the increasingly easy to move elsewhere economy that could leave Chicago in ruins much faster than it has resulted in limited boomtown status for some hip spot where you can get a drink made with artisanlly infused liqueres ...
Even in the so-called golden era of European immigration when hordes of hardworking folks landed in Chicago by boat or rail and wanted nothing more than to be as American as possible as quickly as possible (which I think is more than a little bit of fantasy, but I will go along with for the sake of arguement) the kinds of work that these immigrants did get often did leave their families at risk of not really getting the best education.
No matter if dad was skilled worker or just somebody hoisting still warm hogs onto the hooks of the motorized packing house chains at the processing plant there were not a whole of teachers making sure that the kids of these folks working back breaking hours really were spending enough time learning how to write an essay to get into an Ivy League school.
Schools used to literally use textbooks until they physically wore out, who cares if the content about how many states there were or when men might somebody explore the moon were grossly outdated.
Sure, in a general sense guys that might have been bus drivers or doormen might urge their kids to "study hard so you won't have a crummy job like your pops" but at the end of the night when the kids of the affluent were practicing some tune on their piano and the little urchins of pre-WWII Chicago were wondering if some gangster might accidently launch a few rounds from their Tommy guns into an overcrowded apartment over a quasi legal tap room things were not any safer in the inner city than when crooked flatbill baseball cap wearing thugs might do the same thing over a failed drug deal, when kids in a nice town were sticking kicking around a shiny World Cup Edition soccer ball or practicing on their rip stick...
Do kids "break out" of the underclass despite their surroundings? Of course, but not with enough frequency or consistency to really feel good about it. As much as I and every other person in the region watching the JWR Little Leaquers play with sportsmanship and skill hoping that they'll go on to college and nice careers, the fact is each of them have classmates that will not only will never have this kind of support behind them, but even if they escape the many pitfalls that lie ahead for those of modest means in today's USA, the horrible policies of Illinois will make it all but impossible for any of these kids to have even as good a life as there parents with the increasing burden of outrageously anti-business policies and unfair taxes.
For kids whose parents have succesfully transitioned from the broken manufacturing / labor intensive past of the region to the smaller number of more lucrative office careers the cyncism of seeing the executive ranks filled with essentially clones of the most privledged is reason enough to recommend doing everything one can to give their own kids some kind of edge in the increasingly easy to move elsewhere economy that could leave Chicago in ruins much faster than it has resulted in limited boomtown status for some hip spot where you can get a drink made with artisanlly infused liqueres ...
Let' see..
Golden era of immigration
motorized packing house chains
kids of the affluent practicing on their pianos
little urchins
Tommy guns
quasi-legal tap rooms
JWR little leaguers
flat-bill baseball caps
hip spot with artisanly-infused liquors
Gee, it's the history of Chicago since the Roaring 20s, although you didn't quote Theodore Dreiser directly. I'm sure that the OP got a little more than she bargained for, though..
If you can afford an $800k home, you can most likely afford sending your kids to private schools so CPS might not be your biggest concern.
There is a wide variation in what folks feel is an appropriate housing budget especially when coming from other regions with even higher COL.
In some parts of Chicago the booming real estate market has pushed prices into the stratosphere, in these areas many families do not have either the resources nor the inclination to use private schools.
Similarly there are many towns beyond the city limits where it is common for families living in homes far more costly than the OP's budget that specifically chose the towns their desirable schools and walkable family friendly amenities.
The distribution of family income for private schools in Chicago, especially the popular parochial schools, is skewed toward the salary schedule of city workers required to live inside its limits. The value of many of the homes in places like Garfield Ridge or Edison Park remains far below that in more hip spots closer to the lake and interesting dining / nightlife...
Even in the so-called golden era of European immigration when hordes of hardworking folks landed in Chicago by boat or rail and wanted nothing more than to be as American as possible as quickly as possible (which I think is more than a little bit of fantasy, but I will go along with for the sake of arguement) the kinds of work that these immigrants did get often did leave their families at risk of not really getting the best education.
No matter if dad was skilled worker or just somebody hoisting still warm hogs onto the hooks of the motorized packing house chains at the processing plant there were not a whole of teachers making sure that the kids of these folks working back breaking hours really were spending enough time learning how to write an essay to get into an Ivy League school....
This will be a controversial post. Chicago is great for:
• Upper Middle Class and The Wealthy
• Retired (with Middle Class Income)
• Singles
• Hipsters, writers and artists
• Young professionals
• Students
• Families with children that have yet to start primary school
What Chicago is not is for working and middle class families with school-children. A middle-class family of four in Chicago with a household income of 100,000 will not be able to own a car, own an average sized home in a decent neighborhood, travel abroad or skiing once in awhile, own a second home (cabin) or a boat and in the same time send their two children to a private school. You can be prepared to pay at least 25,000 dollar a year for each child just in just private school-fees. Most of their earnings would go into paying for their children’s education and they would not be able to live a middle-class lifestyle. It is not the rents, housing prices or taxes that drive people away from Chicago but the fact that schools in Chicago is terrible if your child is not some kind of genius or you are wealthy enough to send your children to private schools. It is these kinds of people (which Chicago needs) who pick up their cartons and leave for the suburbs. It is becoming an increasing problem for the Chicagoan politicians. In the suburbs the exampled family would be able to own an average-sized home in a decent neighborhood and owning one or even two cars. Instead of spending their money on tuition-fees they would be able to enjoy a middle class lifestyle like owning second home or a boat or travel abroad or skiing once in a while or whatever middle class hobby they are into.
Cities like San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Washington DC and New York have a different problems which is connected to inflated home-prices, taxes and high rents which also force out people in the suburbs. Although, there are good public schools in Chicago but they are just too few in relations to the population. I think the reason why there are so many bad schools in Chicago is connected to the fact that a lot poor and non-educated people lives in Chicago – but these are slowly leaving the city because there is little opportunities for non-skilled workers comparing to other US cities. I think Chicago will be more similar to SF, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle and New York in the near future and that will drive the middle class families back to Chicago. Currently, there is a major gentrification of the entire Downtown area including Near West Side. In the same time – people are leaving South Side for Atlanta, Houston and Austin. Sadly, a lot of skilled people is also leaving Chicago because of the lack of opportunities for young college graduates who cannot find employment in the city.
What Chicago is not is for working and middle class families with school-children. family of four in Chicago with a household income of 100,000 will not be able to own a car, own an average sized home in a decent neighborhood, travel abroad or skiing once in awhile, own a second home (cabin) or a boat and in the same time send their two children to a private school.
Little high of standards? Not many families in other cities or even smaller cities travel abroad. I grew up in a small city where many families were pulling in at least $150K/year with great public schools (free). Not many of those families traveled abroad together. As far as a family of four not being able to own a car on $100K/year salary? You have to be kidding me....
Owning a second home? Unless you live in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc...not a ton of people do that in the first place.
I think your standards are a bit high if you think that a family of four pulling in $100k/year in Chicago cannot afford to own a car. That's overdoing it BIG TIME. Most families in the non trendy areas own at least one car per household, and the median income is nowhere near $100k/year in 99.8% of these areas.
If you want to use public transportation to get to work, you might want to find a job before you choose a neighborhood. Not all companies in Chicago are downtown. There are a fair number of office buildings out by O'Hare, and if you end up there, you'll probably want to live along the blue line. Unfortunately, most of the better neighborhoods are further east, but Logan Square has been making the "Hipster" chart. It might have both single-family homes and walkability.
Most nice neighborhoods have fine public grade schools. High school is where things get tricky. Things might work out, and they might not. Just plan to have tuition set aside just in case. Also, if you have a kid with special needs, you might want to think twice. On the one hand, Chicago probably has a lot more to offer than a suburb where your kid is going to automatically go to the neighborhood school. On the other, you are going to have to work extra hard to make sure he doesn't get stuck at the most convenient school for the system.
We have chosen to raise our family in the city, and it has worked out well for us. My kids are in 8th and 10th grade now, and have always gone to CPS. Good luck!
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Sadly that has long been the case...
