Evanston Schools vs CPS? (Chicago, Hinsdale: apartments, home, neighborhoods)

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

Those are all selective enrollment.

Yep, and they are the best in the state. I pointed out the advantage of Evanston is that you are assured a place in the High School. For my family it's not worth living there for a 4 year period.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

The best high schools in the state are Northside Prep, Whitney Young, Walter Payton, Lane Tech and Jones. All CPS schools.

No doubt they are great schools, but most Chicago residents don't have access to those schools. You have to remove the selective schools from the equation in this context.



FWIW, I could siphon off the top 20% of students from a wide variety of the top north and west surburban high schools and create a franken-HS too

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Yep, and they are the best in the state. I pointed out the advantage of Evanston is that you are assured a place in the High School. For my family it's not worth living there for a 4 year period.

Nothing personal, but this thread doesn't concern your family. The OP presented an issue he/she is trying to resolve, and you're providing misleading information. I'm trying to provide the entire picture, that's all.


CPS also has some (many) of the worst public high schools in the state. It has maybe a few in between, but most are either among the best (just a handful that have no guaranteed admission) or the worst.


So to address the OP - if you are confident in projecting your child's academic success at this age and are willing to roll the dice with the CPS enrollment system, try to get them into one of the schools Vlajos listed. If not, look at Evanston or some other suburban district.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

I stated this from the beginning. What great suburban school district has 85% low income students? Comparing schools to schools makes a lot more sense and look at demographics at that level as well.

Your percentage for CPS is pretty close, but it's not representative of the top schools you mentioned. I agree that Evanston provides the assurance of going to a decent high school. Unless you have some clout, you have no guaranteed admission to the 5 schools listed below.


Jones - low income: 41%
https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/s...rce2=lowincome


Whitney Young - low income: 43%
https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/s...rce2=lowincome


Northside Prep - low income: 42%
https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/s...rce2=lowincome


Payton - low income: 33%
https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/s...rce2=lowincome


Lane Tech - low income: 51%
https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/s...rce2=lowincome


No doubt, these schools represent an overperformance compared to the norm based on the % of low income students, but it's because they happen to accept generally the best performing 8th graders.


I can't read the OP's mind, but say the OP moves to Chicago, has their kid in CPS, and then their kid doesn't get admitted to a selective enrollment high school. Are they really going to say, "aww shucks, my kid has to go to a middle of the road or not so good CPS school, but by transitive properties they'll get a good education because there 5 or so schools in the district happen to be highly performing,"? I highly doubt it.

[Vlajos]

I was referring to CPS as a system that is 85% low income. Digging into the individual schools is extremely enlightening. There are a lot of attendance area CPS elementary schools that are as good as most any suburb.

[fusillirob1983]

Mod cut: Orphaned (reply to post which has been deleted).

Question: Can the OP live in Chicago, send their kid to a good elementary school in a more reasonably priced neighborhood (say Oriole Park), and then when freshman registration starts decide, "I'm going to send my kid to Whitney Young,". Register. Walk away. Done. Show up the first day and their kid can walk into their classroom at Whitney Young.


Answer: No

[damba]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

I stated this from the beginning. What great suburban school district has 85% low income students? Comparing schools to schools makes a lot more sense and look at demographics at that level as well.

Since you are steering more broadly, it's hard to argue with the fact that CPS is still a hot mess. Unorganized and poorly managed. You can look at today's cover story in the Sun-Times regarding 'unfilled freshman openings'. It's actually spun mostly positive (which is good), but in reality it reflects more money wasted on expensive consultants to help predict enrollment when such spending wasn't necessary or effective.

[chet everett]

Mod cut: Quoted post deleted.

The fact is that in skimming off the most academically talented kids the result is that other aspects of a traditional school experience are also altered. ETHS has a full range of athletic teams, many of which have a solid record of kids who are both outstanding in the classroom and in athletic competition. This is far less likely to be the case for any of the top rated CPS high schools. Even if one does consider a school like Lincoln Park High School, that includes a designated attendance area, it is quite a bit less likely that kids will have that balance. To be sure the actual awarding of things like "All State Academic Honors" is driven by the effort of individual even in a team sport like soccer but the culture is different at a school like ETHS vs LPHS where the weird pockets of affordability housing set different kinds of pressures... https://www.ihsa.org/Resources/Award...emicTeams.aspx It is sort of weird when kids from a selective admissions high school named for a local NFL legend are defeated in lopsided ways, but understandable in the context of being like an Ivy League college squaring up against an SEC type team.. Football Game Recap: Payton College Prep vs. Hubbard - MaxPreps


I'll also add that another thing that I find rather sickening when it comes to kids who may have very different "goal posts" for life is the fact that CPS utter disregard for things as basic a safety has been shocking. That they literally covered up the horrors kids with special education issues have faced is inhuman. Where are the many supporters of the glorious "diversity" they find beneficial in CPS when such outrageous abuses have been brought to light? http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/c...dent-offenders The broken CPS Special Education practices are now under the unprecedented control of a state appointed monitor -- State Board of Education appoints monitor to improve CPS special education services - Chicago Tribune In sharp contrast the coordination of services between D65 and ETHS as well as the broader community is exemplary -- Special Needs and Support Services | Evanston Families Fact is for folks who end up in other settings they often do more than just wonder why more such programs are not common, but work hard to help spread the lessons they've learned -- https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/r...209505999.html

[SkylarkPhotoBooth]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Most top suburban schools are selective enrollment by housing costs.

This is a good point, also. It's just selective based on how rich the kids' parents are (like a private school) instead of by merit.

[chicagobear]

Given your criteria, I'd definitely move to Evanston and avoid dealing with CPS.