Montessori school in Avondale (Addison, Paris: 2011, lease, neighborhood)

[Chi-town Native]

I just got a flyer for this new proposed Montessori academy/charter school in Avondale:

Avondale Montessori Academy: An Introduction

Anyone have any experiences with the other CPS Montessori schools out there? There seem to be a few, and I'm having difficulty figuring out if this a neighborhood school as well as a charter/magnet or what.

[surlycue]

A bunch of mommy friends of mine went to the information meeting regarding this at the YMCA in Irving Park. There's a lot of anger in Avondale among parents who want the school to be an neighborhood (or boundary) school and the staff were going to open it as a lottery only charter. They received charter status to the best of my knowledge but as of the meeting last month they still had two proposed locations to settle on so I had no idea things were coming together this quickly.

How old is your son?

[surlycue]

Oh, and as for CPS montessories, the two success stories I know of are Suder and Oscar Meyer. Oscar Meyer in particular has been receiving raves from everyone and a huge test score jump. I joined their mailing list just to put my foot in the door for pre-k application time in March. I figure I'll bake some cookies or help wash some cars for a fundraiser and hopefully someone will remember my name come decsion time. As far as Suder goes, I have a friend that has both her kids in the montessori program there and absolutely loves it but the impression I get of Suder is that you get what you put in and if you aren't willing to be highly involved with school and PTA volunteerism, then you won't have an ideal situation there.

[Chi-town Native]

interesting, thanks. my daughter is going on 4- there is a new elementary school that is going to open soon near Belmont & Pulaski, but Avondale is clearly underserved with schools (not to mention parks, but that's another topic!).

[surlycue]

Sorry, daughter. The proposed montessori will start at kindergarten so she would have to be 5 by September 1st of 2010. It might be better though if you're required to wait until the 2011 school year to get feedback from the beta year.

I am with you on being under served with parks. Though, the athletic field on Addison on the northern border of the neighborhood is pretty nice. We started a ballet class at Avondale Park today and there is absolutely no parking, as in every street is 24 hour permitted so I had to park on Lawndale and Roscoe and walk 7 blocks with a 2-year old. She was so exhausted by the time we got there she threw a huge fit and I had to carry her all the way back to the car. What a nightmare.

I am thinking of moving into the neighborhood. My landlord is raising the rent in November by a ton so I may shake my lease and look for a 3/2 with a dedicated parking spot in Avondale for what I'm currently paying for a 2 bedroom.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by surlycue

Sorry, daughter. The proposed montessori will start at kindergarten so she would have to be 5 by September 1st of 2010. It might be better though if you're required to wait until the 2011 school year to get feedback from the beta year.

I am with you on being under served with parks. Though, the athletic field on Addison on the northern border of the neighborhood is pretty nice. We started a ballet class at Avondale Park today and there is absolutely no parking, as in every street is 24 hour permitted so I had to park on Lawndale and Roscoe and walk 7 blocks with a 2-year old. She was so exhausted by the time we got there she threw a huge fit and I had to carry her all the way back to the car. What a nightmare.

I am thinking of moving into the neighborhood. My landlord is raising the rent in November by a ton so I may shake my lease and look for a 3/2 with a dedicated parking spot in Avondale for what I'm currently paying for a 2 bedroom.

I hear you on Avondale Park, it really is a disaster. We go to Unity Park, Athletic Field (such an inventive name!), or make a bigger trip to go to Portage, Humboldt or Gomper Park.

but that is what I love about Avondale - you can get to so many parts of the city so fast.

[Chi-town Native]

in case anyone is interested in this (or just likes to see how the sausage is made, community-meeting style), there are two public meetings on this tonight:

Avondale Montessori Academy: An Introduction

Upcoming Events

September 29, 2009: CPS Community Forum at Resurrection Parish Hall, 3043 N. Francisco @ 6:00 p.m. followed by Brands Park @ 8:00 p.m at 3259 N. Elston.

[surlycue]

Alderman Mell is looking for a presence at these meetings to see that there really is community support so I'd try to convince as many neighbors as have any sort of interest to attend.

[Chi-town Native]

I find it mind-boggling that Mell doesn't know how annoyed much (if not most) of his constituents are with the current CPS status quo. It could only be good news for him if this goes in his ward, if not, some other ward will gladly take it.

[Chi-town Native]

OK, update - Mell was at both meetings last night and is absolutely supporting this if the neighborhood overlay is approved, meaning 50% of slots go to local residents (radius to be determined, sounds like 2 miles) in a lottery, then the other 50% in a City-wide lottery. The CPS rep seemed pretty confident the overlay would be approved, it's apparently not all that unusual.

A very impressive presentation, it sounds like it's past the major hurdles.