Should you raise kids in Chicago?

[Heterojunction]

It's a tough decision. I'd advise parents to have money stashed away for private/Catholic school just in case.

I personally had a good experience going to CPS schools as a kid. They were selective enrollment granted, but I liked them because of how diverse the student body was. You had rich kids, poor kids, north siders, south siders, whites, blacks, asians, hispanic, etc all in the same school. I grew up in an all black neighborhood as a kid so I thought it was really cool to be around all these different types of kids. And you also learn how to navigate the city and public transit on your own just to even get to school. Taught you some independence, how to protect yourself and stay alert, how to budget the little money you had for lunch, the bus and the train.

Unfortunately, the quality of CPS drops drastically outside of selective enrollment schools. My neighborhood schools were ROUGH with a capital R. Kids pulling fire alarms just to go outside to fight, gangs, mandatory transparent bookbags to prevent weapons being brought in, drug dogs and metal detectors. My mom told me that if I didn't get into the schools I got into, she was ready to spend her entire savings to send me to Catholic school, and we were not wealthy.

[nonnieparent]

Originally Posted by Heterojunction

It's a tough decision. I'd advise parents to have money stashed away for private/Catholic school just in case.

I personally had a good experience going to CPS schools as a kid. They were selective enrollment granted, but I liked them because of how diverse the student body was. You had rich kids, poor kids, north siders, south siders, whites, blacks, asians, hispanic, etc all in the same school. I grew up in an all black neighborhood as a kid so I thought it was really cool to be around all these different types of kids. And you also learn how to navigate the city and public transit on your own just to even get to school. Taught you some independence, how to protect yourself and stay alert, how to budget the little money you had for lunch, the bus and the train.

THIS. This is what makes city kids different from suburban kids. That and they don't act like utter *******s on Michigan Avenue, the Loop, public transportation.

[JoePO]

Originally Posted by chet everett

... What I do agree with is the families who are more likely to travel widely and encountering people who embrace different lifestyles will have kids who are quote "more poised"....

This.

I have a friend whose two kids go to UofC Lab School because both parents work at UofC. The kids hang around with other Lab School kids, who are uniformly wealthy, intelligent, enjoy comfortable lifestyles, strong parental support etc. Though they live in a relatively diverse north-side neighborhood, they do not socialize with any of the kids on the block. They are not exposed to kids from lower socio-economic backgrounds, they are not exposed to children with disabilities (especially those related to cognitive impairments, as UfoC Lab School does not have a "Special Needs" component in their student body, obviously), they are not exposed to kids with a single-parent working full-time (unless you count divorced parents with dual incomes and enough $$ to have full-time nannies).

So while they are "city kids", and they take advantage of "urban" activities or facilities available to them (e.g., they just did "Bike the Drive"- not exactly an activity that attracts a lot of South/West side participation, mind), they are living in a bubble. They are not becoming "more rounded", developing "social empathy", or cultivating friendships across a broad spectrum of society. Rather, they are more likely to become spoiled hipsters.

Meanwhile my daughter, living in the "lilly-white" turbo-suburban Naperville/Wheaton area, has had more exposure and interaction with kids of all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and, having a disability herself, has friends and exposure to the spectrum of intellectual and social abilities.

So, no, just because you raise your kids in the city doesn't make them more "worldly" or "well-rounded" or "grounded" or whatever... that's a baseless generalization.

[jjjttt]

My husband and I moved from Florida to Chicago, in part to raise a family here. We live in an area with good public elementary schools. High school is so hard to plan because so much will change in 17 years, but we plan to send our child to a selective enrollment or special program at a public school like Lincoln Park. We won't be doing a Catholic or private school unless an extreme need arises (which is possible in 17 years of course).

[nonnieparent]

Originally Posted by jjjttt

My husband and I moved from Florida to Chicago, in part to raise a family here. We live in an area with good public elementary schools. High school is so hard to plan because so much will change in 17 years, but we plan to send our child to a selective enrollment or special program at a public school like Lincoln Park. We won't be doing a Catholic or private school unless an extreme need arises (which is possible in 17 years of course).

You can't "plan to" send your child to SEHS unless you also "plan to" game the system with a lot of test prep. And even if your kid gets there, they may not be able to keep up. I know plenty of smart kids who have been caught in the snare of taking too-accelerated classes before they are ready because there are no middle-level sections offered.

SEHS was never in my game plan; I've watched a lot of kids fall apart when they miss the mark despite test prep and tutors. The SEHS / stratified system is really demoralizing to classrooms and students.

[jjjttt]

Originally Posted by nonnieparent

You can't "plan to" send your child to SEHS unless you also "plan to" game the system with a lot of test prep. And even if your kid gets there, they may not be able to keep up. I know plenty of smart kids who have been caught in the snare of taking too-accelerated classes before they are ready because there are no middle-level sections offered.

SEHS was never in my game plan; I've watched a lot of kids fall apart when they miss the mark despite test prep and tutors. The SEHS / stratified system is really demoralizing to classrooms and students.

I don't plan to game the system with a lot of test prep, but I still plan to send my kid to a SEHS OR, as I said, a program like IB or one of the others. Of course, our child may be completely different and not as traditionally academic in which case we'll have to rethink our plan. Everyone in my immediate family and my husband's immediate family are traditionally academically minded (never gotten less than an "A" on basically anything, get all 5's on AP, etc.), but that doesn't mean our child will be the same way. However, a lot of IB programs and other special programs do not require near-perfect scores. It is our plan whether or not you say it is.

[Heterojunction]

Originally Posted by nonnieparent

You can't "plan to" send your child to SEHS unless you also "plan to" game the system with a lot of test prep. And even if your kid gets there, they may not be able to keep up. I know plenty of smart kids who have been caught in the snare of taking too-accelerated classes before they are ready because there are no middle-level sections offered.

SEHS was never in my game plan; I've watched a lot of kids fall apart when they miss the mark despite test prep and tutors. The SEHS / stratified system is really demoralizing to classrooms and students.

I remember back when the SEHS point system was out of 1000, and that one kid scored a perfect 1000 and got denied admission to Northside Prep. It was in the newspaper. Some colleges are easier to get into than Northside, Payton, Young, etc.