Raising kids "in the city" - is it possible?? (Chicago: credit, budget)

[Avengerfire]

If it was not,I would not exist.:-) Of course it is possible.

LP H.S. is good , however there are way more gang problems there than Whitney Young or Lane Tech. Whitney Young is the best public H.S. in the city now. The neighborhood around it is kind of questionable though still. I believe they can be bused there however. It offers Jr. High also.

Lane is very good too. I would want my kids (if I had them) to go to Lane or Whitney Young way before I would consider Lincoln Park if you go the public route.

[skyeINIL]

Originally Posted by SBurgess

Forget all the public schools. I researched them exhaustively over the years, and stayed with private. Don't believe the CPS hype.

Wow! I wish I could research over 600 schools exhaustively.

[gtrgrl74]

i am ok with Catholic school........i am more concerned with the neighborhood. i really do not want to do suburbs. i am so sick of driving everywhere that the idea of living in a city where i wouldn't have to is so exciting!

[sukwoo]

This may be sacreligious to even suggest it, but you might want to consider some of the inner suburbs as an alternative. Suburbs such as Oak Park and Evanston have a very urban feel (probably more urban than Beverly), seamlessly merge with the Chicago street grid, are very walkable, and have good public school systems. Both have el access to the city. OP is 8 miles from the loop, closer than many city neighborhoods, Evanston is a bit further but has the advantage of the lake.

Both towns are a mixture of single family homes, condos, and apartments. In your price range you could definitely get a nice 3 bedroom condo or a small SFH in OP. Evanston is a bit pricier, but probably still doable.

[Sailaway50]

Originally Posted by skye1974

Wow! I wish I could research over 600 schools exhaustively.

All 600 are not worth researching.

As a parent, you have to get into the details and not get marketed to by any system (private OR public). Anyone who can afford it, barring one or two kids I know whose parents sent them into the IB program at Lincoln Park HS (and regretted it later) send their kids to private school. If you can't afford it, I suggest finding a way to afford it. The CPS system has gone downhill (more and rapidly) in even the past few years for reasons that might seem "non PC" but are nevertheless a reality.

[Sailaway50]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

This may be sacreligious to even suggest it, but you might want to consider some of the inner suburbs as an alternative. Suburbs such as Oak Park and Evanston have a very urban feel (probably more urban than Beverly), seamlessly merge with the Chicago street grid, are very walkable, and have good public school systems. Both have el access to the city. OP is 8 miles from the loop, closer than many city neighborhoods, Evanston is a bit further but has the advantage of the lake.

Both towns are a mixture of single family homes, condos, and apartments. In your price range you could definitely get a nice 3 bedroom condo or a small SFH in OP. Evanston is a bit pricier, but probably still doable.

THis is a great suggestion, and I think a complete search ought to include these two burbs also. They do both have walkable "downtowns". I always felt Evanston was more connected to the city.

[Chinolala]

Look at the neighborhoods of Edgebrook, Sauganash, Wildwood, Edison Park, Norwood Park and Jefferson Park. The first 3 mentioned are in the 60646 zip code. Norwood Park is in 60631 and Jefferson Park is in 60630. I have a friend raising 2 boys there (60646) and a family member raising a daughter there (60646). None of these 3 kids are even in kindergarten yet, but grammar schools were an important part of their decision to live there and all 3 kids will be attending public schools. These are well established neighborhoods all located on the northwest side of the city. They all very nice homes - older homes from the 30's that have been rehabbed and some new homes (tear downs of older homes). Many Chicago Police reside in these areas and crime rates are low for the city. The commuter train to the city is about 35 minutes and the drive isn't bad to downtown. Good mix of working and stay at home moms, active neighborhood groups, parks, etc. etc. So if you want to live in Chicago but not necessarily in a highly populated area such as Lincoln Park, Lakeview, etc. and would rather live in a single family home and have a driveway AND garage, check these areas out.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by SBurgess

THis is a great suggestion, and I think a complete search ought to include these two burbs also. They do both have walkable "downtowns". I always felt Evanston was more connected to the city.

The OP already off the bat stated they do not want to live in the burbs.

Also, instead of just trashing the city public schools (which even I admit at least 3/4 are total garbage) maybe you should post what private school options are available in the city that do not cost an arm and a leg ?

Btw-There are plenty of graduates of the CPS that are doing very well in life.

Francis Parker is totally out of the question I am sure.

Francis W. Parker School, Chicago

[Sailaway50]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

The OP already off the bat stated they do not want to live in the burbs.

Also, instead of just trashing the city public schools (which even I admit at least 3/4 are total garbage) maybe you should post what private school options are available in the city that do not cost an arm and a leg ?

Btw-There are plenty of graduates of the CPS that are doing very well in life.

Francis Parker is totally out of the question I am sure.

Francis W. Parker School, Chicago

Need the age of the kids. If they are pre school, that's one thing. If they are transferring INTO another school from where they are, then that's a different situation and a different kind of school.

Parker, Latin, U of C Lab...all very expensive but good. Parker on the "new age" side, but great for some kids. Latin, Lab more for academically apt (or $$ to get the kid in "regardless"). Lab more math/science oriented. These are the high $$ privates.

Sacred Heart/Hardy Prep excellent, not as expensive. Goes to Grade 8. Excellent, I would say the best Catholic school in the city. Francis Xavier Warde very good, early grades campus separate from upper grades campus, but not a huge problem. One at Holy Name, other at Old St. Pat's. St. Clements in Lincoln Park good. Sacred Heart/Hardy Prep is not associated with the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Chicago website has a list of schools, google them; they have a complete website. Check out the neighborhoods and then visit the schools.

British school -- big bucks but good. Small.

French school - "Lycee Francais". French spoken in class, so it's English as a SL, pretty much. Old World type education; the child would be completely fluent in Fr, obviously, but sometimes parents feel the actual English suffers in terms of writing, if they progress or change to "non French" schools.

Catherine Cook on Schiller is small and excellent for preschool and early grades. Classes get very small (very) in upper grades and many parents feel that isn't the best situation.

Ogden, Lincoln, and a few other CPS elementary schools are "okay." Children generally struggle if they transfer to a private from those schools. The services are not there to help with tutoring until the situation gets so DIRE that the kid is really behind - or held back. Most of their "support" $$ goes for ESL. The "mainstreaming" attempts (NCLB) are a sham; the basically normal kid with a tutoring issue generally cannot get services of any kind, even with a "certified" learning disability documented by a viable agency...or the CPS testing. On the other side of the bell curve, the same applies for "accelerated"; "accelerated" at Whitney Young, for instance, is only the average track at the public HS's by and large...perhaps single honors at a private, certainly not top of heap. You don't want to have the rose colored glasses on and then have your child get to the college level and find out "honors" is not actually "honors."

Roycemore in Evanston is okay in early grades and is generous with financial aid and scholarships. Upper grades, again, too small for most parents However, the elementary schools in certain nbrhoods in Evanston, I understand are fine, so Roycemore would not be necessary to investigate if you lived there.

High schools, if the kids are that old I could make another post.

All privates offer financial aid and you usually don't have to be destitute to qualify. In some cases, it is SURPRISINGLY generous. Having more than one child in the school also helps that situation.

Experienced parents don't "just trash" as a rule.....the city parents I have known for years understand that this is not "there's the school, go in the door and listen to the teacher" days of yore. There are VERY unfortunate realities in the CPS which affecty all the students. Obviously, everyone knows of people who go through less than great systems and come out "fine." That is not the "law of averages" with the CPS, however. As I said, it's the details here, and every parent has to seriously clheck these out. OFTEN, problems in the CPS do not become apparent until the child is older, and this is VERY common. I am talking academically.

Parents can share their knowledge of various schools, what they have observed, experienced or researched. Obviously, the parent knows their own child/children, their needs, strengths, personality, etc., and has to approach the situation from that viewpoint -- so recommending the schools to investigate is about as far as most people can go. It's usually better for a parent to ask about a particular school and get input to combine with their impressions and research. It is very helpful also to speak to faculty at a school OUTSIDE OF school, or parents of recent graduates.

The transfer (out) rate is very important with a private, and more than two parent references should be called personally in any case. There is a wealth of information out there. Test scores don't reveal the entire picture, of course.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by SBurgess

British school -- big bucks but good. Small.

Thanks for all the school info. Very Helpful. Just curious if you know anything else about the British School IB program. I think they're building a new campus, so maybe they're growing. I was always impressed with British Schools overseas and have considered looking into it....