Comments on: Subjective Thoughts on Decatur

By: Duke80

Duke80 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 02:05:32 +0000

We have been accepted to Decatur for one of the upper grades and I am wondering if anyone has transitioned to this school from another non-CPS school. We are at a good, private school now but my child is frequently bored and likely needs an accelerated learning environment. I know this should be about my child so I am willing to switch. With the new CPS admissions system, I don’t know if I would get a RGC offer so don’t even know what to compare this to or what to do?? I really do like our school too. Could someone whose child attends Decatur(preferably with a child in 3-5 grades) please help??!!

1. Do the kids in say 3-6 grades have more of a “critical thinking” focused eduation already or is it still mostly fact-based learning and worksheets?
2. How much homework would you say the kids get per night? How long does it take?
3. Is there really no recess? Is that typical of some CPS schools (we’ve never attended).
4. What do most kids do for 7-8 grade? Or does everyone kind of go their separate ways?

Thanks so much for any help provided. I have to tell myself not to overthink this, it is just a year, but we are in a good place for the most part. My kid is bored though but I don’t like the thought of memorizing fact after fact. I think learning is fun for my kids and that is why they are doing well so far.

By: Another Rogers Park Mom!!!

Another Rogers Park Mom!!! — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:13:43 +0000

@CPS Obsessed: FYI, I am a CURRENT Decatur mom, and while I have not heard of ‘Disney’ per say, there is a lot of Magic School Bus watching at Lunch! Lol, it’s Science, right? There is also a LOT of game-playing, or outdoor play weather permitting during lunch. I believe the Magic School Bus thing is more for a) Rainy or Cold mornings for the children being accomodated for Early Drop Off, and b) Rainy or Cold lunch times when kids are tired, restless, have been testing and need a ‘break’, or in fact… the teacher has to take a meeting and the kids are being watched by another staff member (ie: parental-pickle-braining’, lol!) Is it excessive? Um, no! Does it EVER happen? Truthfully, yes. Do I mind Magic School Bus? Oh please! It’s SCIENCE!

By: Another Rogers Park Mom!!!

Another Rogers Park Mom!!! — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:58:39 +0000

19. Decatur Mom | May 1, 2009 at 5:54 pm
There is a welcome picnic coming up and at the end of summer the children come to school (before schools starts) for 2 hours each morning for a week to meet the teachers and get comfortable with the school.>>

Um, yah. NOT true. Your kid goes the WHOLE day, the first day, and every other day of the first week for the WHOLE day. Period. NO transition time. Not sure where that ‘Decatur Mom’ got her info, but yeah… I’ve been a Decatur mom for nearly 4yrs, and that has NEVER happened at Decatur Classical on Sacremento! Nope! Just a truthful FYI!

By: cps mom

cps mom — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:26:21 +0000

I know who the 90 year old women is in the office. she was my school teacher at lincoln back in the 70′s . I have dreadful memories of that time period in school. So does everyone in my family that had her as a home room teacher back then.
Your first impressions were right and unfortunately teachers like her are still around ( even in a volunteer position). I cringe at the thought!

By: Jill Martensen

Jill Martensen — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:10:04 +0000

I need to know the name (or description of the person if you don’t know it) who registered you. I am the Decatur LSC Chair and you DO NOT have to have money to go there. If it was the elderly lady in the office, she is a 90 year old volunteer and “not all there” anymore I’ll forgive the faux pas.. If it was anyone else, I will have their head on a platter! (kidding of course)

As for all the other comments here, everyone has to make their own decisions about what is best for their child, so I will not try to convince you that Decatur is the best there is. You have to find the best for your child- regardless of test scores or reputation.

I will however say, personally the biggest mistake I ever made was moving my son from Decatur to Edison. I finally got him out of there and back with his Decatur peers at the Whitney Young Academic Center and he is thriving again! I’m not saying that Edison isn’t a great school, because it is, but I listened to the “grass is always greener” folks and it wasn’t greener for my boy! So be careful to ONLY consider your child’s needs….

By: l

Tue, 11 May 2010 05:43:43 +0000

My child will be attending Decatur this fall. I am conflicted about the school. I went to the open house and observed the students during the walk-through. The upper level class students appeared happy but in the Kindergarten class I did not see any happy looking 5 or 6 year olds. They may have been uncomfortable with a group of strangers staring at them or concentrating on their work but unhappy looking children concern me. Another thing that concerns me is that during registration the person who registered my child pleasantly said “you have to have money to go to Decatur.” I hope this statement is not a reflection of Decatur’s culture. My child will be attending Decatur for it’s academic reputation whether or not he will stay will depend on his happiness. Decatur is a public school and having money or not should be a non-issue. I believe my children will succeed in any school and most importantly in life as long as I remain a loving and involved parent. To all those CPS-obsessed, remember we the parents are our children’s first and most important teachers.

By: SR

SR — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 04:10:49 +0000

Katie- If you are still reading this blog, I would love to hear about your first year experience at Decatur. Our child was accepted for 1st grade. He loves sports and playdates. We want to make sure he has a great CPS education, but can continue to be well-rounded. We are also concerned about the distance. The bottom line is we want what’s best for our child. Thanks.

By: Beth Ann

Beth Ann — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:35:01 +0000

My son was a student at Decatur until last year. I wanted to address both the recess issue and the movie issue. Two winters ago, I recall hearing from either the Principal or the AP that the kids would go out for recess unless it was below freezing. The students do have to eat in their classrooms, but hot lunches are available, as well as hot breakfasts. The students have recess every day right after lunch and if it is too cold to go outside, they do watch movies, or play chess or board games, or talk quietly with their friends. They can read or do art or anything else that doesn’t disturb the other kids. The movies are on if they choose to watch them. I even remember my son taking DVDs to school so that teachers could offer a variety of appropriate material. The teachers are very careful about the content of the films they show, so there’s nothing over the PG realm. Granted, I don’t love the idea of my son watching movies at school, but if they are stuck inside because of the weather, give them some choices about what to do with their limited downtime.
Our experience at Decatur was life-changing. A couple of the best teachers in the world teach there (in my opinion). We miss it every day.

By: KS

KS — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:49:55 +0000

Hi again…..I just wanted to post regarding the comment that Decatur doesn’t offer any recess. While this might have been true in the years past. this is no longer the case. From what I understand, they now have recess for the children everyday, weather permitting. In fact, the school was featured in a Medill News article this winter about the importance of physical activity in the learning process (see link below). This was a very important factor for us in our decision process.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=111323

And as always, thanks so much for all of the comments. This site has been invaluable to me during this process. Cheers!

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:37:04 +0000

Thank you everyone for all your comments. I do even appreciate hearing the negatives. I actually wish there would have been some more constructive negatives to read. It is interesting that a PP commented that the students weren’t allowed to be kids, but then had a problem with them watching part of a kid movie at lunch. Not sure that I think that’s a great option every day, but I wouldn’t define it as a ‘serious’ problem. Given the short school days that exist with CPS, I don’t find it that surprising that the kids don’t get a recess. Our neighborhood CPS school, which I love, allows only about 10 minutes recess for the K class…sometimes a bit longer if the weather is nice.
I think what I said about the test scores being ‘the best’ was that it makes no difference to me. The test scores (IMO) really tell me very little about the school since they’re taking some of the kids with top scores to begin with. I was not concerned about turning it down because it has the top test scores. My concern is for my son…for his happiness, for a well-rounded education, for a positive school experience in a challenging environment because that’s what he needs.
We’re excited to give Decatur a try.
When I went to the school today to register, I got a really good vibe. Bright and clean facilities, helpful and friendly administratrive staff. Met three very friendly parents of K students that I look forward to getting to know. I hope that the kids will have a chance for an orientation. They said it depends on whether or not they get the funding.
My son played in the playground for a few minutes after registration and we saw a group of young students outside…maybe doing a botany lesson as they were looking at the flowers. From my brief observation, they seemed happy to be there.
The drive, which I’ve done a few times, isn’t as awful as I thought it might be. 15 minutes in no traffic…obviously it will take longer at 8:00 in the morning…but it’s not terrible.
I look forward to hearing more about the school, both positive and negative. …and hopefully becoming involved in the school to help find some solutions to the negatives. I completely understand that no school is perfect and time will tell if it’s a good fit for my son.
thanks again for all the comments….and tell me more!