need an advise with schools in West Town (Chicago, Lincoln: condo, home)

[michaelgus]

Hi there!

I am thinking of buying a condo in West town, this is Huron and Noble (zip 60642). As far as I understand , my 3 yr old child will be assigned to Otis school which might be not the best choice. I am wondering if I can apply to a better school and what chances do I have in this case? E.g Burr school is better but it located slightly farther.

do I have more chances with a better school if child goes to a paid preschool at this school first?

Thank you

[chet everett]

Whether you pay for preschool has no bearing on the system of selective admissions run by CPS.

http://www.cpsoae.org/apps/pages/ind...674&hideMenu=1

[michaelgus]

Can I apply to any school withing 1.5 mile radius or only to the one I am assigned to?

is it difficult to get into this Magnet school? I see one but it's approx 2 miles from me...

[chet everett]

There are some good resources online from folks that either have kids or run businesses that assist in this sort of thing. Here is a tip that might help:


"Living near a desired magnet school can help your chances, so look carefully at magnet elementary schools within 1.5 miles of your home and high schools within 2.5 miles. After siblings are placed, CPS fills 40 percent of remaining seats through a lottery of students who live near the school — though there are exceptions. Under new guidelines, if more than 50 percent of the student body lives in the neighborhood and if more than 50 percent of the student body represents one race, the school won’t have a proximity lottery." CNT | Lincoln Park, IL Blog: Ten Tips for Parents in Chicago Public School Admissions

[hindukid]

LaSalle at Division and Hoyne is considered pretty top notch. I think your chances are significantly better of getting in if you live within 1.5 miles which you might.

I don't have kids but I live in the area and have thought about this in case I do have a kid. My plan would be to hope my kid gets into LaSalle and if they didn't I'd probably try Otis. Otis numbers are actually not that bad and comparable to state averages. Also I suspect that it will improve significantly over the coming years as the area is gentrifying pretty rapidly. LaSalle would be one of the top in the state if you can get in.

The real problem occurs at the high school level. At that point I would pretty much be counting on my kid to get into one of the magnet schools.