Select Enrollment: Fall 2010
This page will be dedicate to ongoing updates about the application process for Fall 2010 (which is for the 2011/2012 school year.)
If your child will be 5 by Sept 1, 2011 you are eligible to apply for Kindergarten for the 2011/2012 school year.
If you child will be 3 by Sept 1, 2011 you are eligible to apply for pre-school for the 2011/2012 school year.
CPS’ information on the applications is here: The enrollment period runs from October 1 – December 17th. You need to submit your application during that time or you will not have a chance to be selected (via testing or lottery) for those schools.
http://cpsmagnet.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=72698&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=121673&hideMenu=1
I’ll post updates as they become available. Feel free to post information or discuss the current policies as you learn anything (or have something to say!)
1. Mayfair Dad | September 17, 2010 at 5:54 pm
As we ponder what new “enhancements” will be announced re: the selective enrollment process, I found this chestnut from December 1978. Joseph P. Hannon – remember him? – is the father of the magnet school movement in Chicago.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919914-2,00.html
2. cps mom | September 17, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Wow, thanks. Having grown up in Chicago this makes me reflect upon how far we’ve come. We really take it for granted and to the credit of Chicagoans, continue to strive to move forward. Nothing wrong with having one or two (or more?) schools with top students putting our name on the map and lifting up all the other schools that benefit from the bright students that didn’t quite score at the top. It really boils down to what can we offer to those students at many levels who want and will benefit from a college prep program offered by CPS. Our biggest obstacle is not the minority parents that want their children included in the mix or even the lack of funding but the necessary policing needed due to the utterly horrific crime going on in and around neighborhood schools. The answer is not to get everyone into Northside Prep but to continue all the progress that has been made to the CPS schools and programs. We need more “selective enrollment” schools period. Convert schools if building is not viable. Why not offer tiff incentives to communities that can turn an entire school (not just one gifted section) into a college bound program? I don’t think that we are that far away – it’s already being done – but we do need to agree to keep what we’ve already built in tact.
3. Mayfair Dad | September 20, 2010 at 10:29 am
The agenda for the September 22, 2002 Board of Ed Meeting can be found here:
http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/The_Board_of_Education/BoardAgenda/Documents/September%202010%20Notice%20Agenda.PDF
No mention of ratifying the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee (at least I don’t see it.) Which means:
- Committee recommendations are still being refined and not ready for public consumption, even though SE application season opens October 1, 2010.
- Whatever CPS decides to do re: the selective enrollment process is not the purview of the Board of Ed. Can this be possible?
More CPS secrecy. Drives me nuts.
4. cps mom | September 20, 2010 at 2:07 pm
MF Dad and others
I spoke to OAE as suggested in the post and recieved info that I just finished typing under the selective enrollment post back further.
According to OAE
- Proposal is being made public 9/22 to be voted on in October
- no “overhaul” just “tweaking”
- The public will have a chance to comment and impact
Please take a peak at my other post that has more detailed info. I will be responding here so that all can see.
5. Grace | September 23, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I’m really impressed with this solution, a new, bigger Jones paid for by the TIF money. More room for many more students to flourish.
It’s a great idea to add an academic center there as well, if that is the ultimate decision. Wonderful gift to the city, from Mayor Daley.
http://us.mg204.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.partner=sbc&.gx=1&.rand=5d89t44kaj2ht
6. Maureen | September 24, 2010 at 1:08 am
Just wanted to give you all the heads up that you are able to register on the CPS Application Portal for a PIN number that you’ll need to go through the online enrollment. They send the PIN to you in the mail so it is good to do it now so that you’ll have it by the time the application process opens on Oct. 1.
Just go to this website to get started: https://apply.cps.edu/default.aspx
7. cps mom | September 24, 2010 at 9:53 am
Grace – I’m not sure if I’m doing this right but I don’t get anything under your link. I would love to see what you have on Jones.
8. went to jones open house last year | September 24, 2010 at 3:13 pm
I can’t remember where I read it, but a portion of the seats will be assigned to neighborhood students. When I went to the open house last year, the principal commented that those students would be absorbed into the classes and he couldn’t imagine that they would be on a different track. So, for those of you freaking out about your little darlings at LPHS, you may want to check out the demographics around Jones.
9. cps mom | September 24, 2010 at 3:51 pm
That rumor is completely false. My son goes to Jones and there are no plans for a neighborhood program. They have plans to expand the selective enrollment school waiting on $$$.
10. Grace | September 25, 2010 at 6:58 pm
I found this on PURE’s site, and then got the story at the Sun Times.
CPS budgets 111 million bucks for new selective HS
Jones College PrepToday, the Sun-Times reports on CPS’s plan to spend $111 million on a new school building for the South Loop selective enrollment high school, Jones College Prep. Jones already has a building, which CPS has already spent millions to upgrade.
11. cps mom | September 27, 2010 at 7:46 am
Grace – thanks for the clarification. The article is interesting also the first that talks about new building. There has been an ongoing promise of an addition that has been put on hold due to funding. A second building – interesting – I will find out more about this at the next LSC meeting.
12. cps mom | September 27, 2010 at 8:00 am
And now for a little comic relief while we keep waiting to hear from the CPS Gurus
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-farmer/the-tiers-of-a-clown_b_735893.html
13. from suntimes | September 27, 2010 at 2:53 pm
“CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond said current plans call for the new Jones to house 900 “selected enrollment” students and 300 “neighborhood” ones, although she could not explain how local kids would be admitted.”
14. Mayfair Dad | September 27, 2010 at 3:54 pm
# 13 sounds plausible to me.
Edison Regional Gifted Center shares the current Albany Park campus with Albany Park Multicultural Academy, a junior high school for neighborhood 6 – 8 graders from Hibbard Elementary(across the street).
When Ogden International took over the Carpenter Elementary building as the site of the new junior high + high school, special arrangements were made to enroll Carpenter 6 – 8 graders into the Ogden program. Can’t tell you how many, but I know this was done to “keep the peace” in the neighborhood. So far it has worked.
These neighborhood concessions are probably more prevalent than we think. And if neighborhood TIF money is building the facility, you better believe the alderman is twisting somebody’s arm to get sweeteners for the local kids. Makes sense.
15. cps mom | September 27, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Maybe a concession was made in order to get the money that they’ve been promised since 2004. I like the idea of an academic center feeding into Jones. This should be interesting.
16. cpsobsessed | September 27, 2010 at 4:13 pm
@9 CPS mom, how is the homework at Jones? I just emailed with a friend who’s daughter started there and is reporting 5 hours of homework a night! (She is dyslexic and strives for straight A’s – man that is a motived child.) But heck, even if it is 3 hours a night, that seems like a lot!
17. cpsobsessed | September 27, 2010 at 4:14 pm
That Huffington Post article is funny. And sad!
I might post it later. It raises some good points.
I just found out recently on NPN that Huberman and his partner have a 1 year old child. I didn’t realize he had kids!
18. from suntimes | September 27, 2010 at 5:55 pm
I would think that if TIF money is being used to help build the school, seats will be available from the neighborhood. The principal did not say they would share space–rather, the neighborhood students would be absorbed into Jones.
19. cps mom | September 28, 2010 at 8:49 am
Regarding homework at Jones. There is a minimum 3 hours and it takes my son longer to do it also. Basically an all night deal. 7 classes (1 is PE and 1 is a fine art). We’re used to it because our grammar school had a tough homework load. I think, however, that it’s pretty manageable so far although the projects have not kicked in yet and we have been warned. The interesting thing is that the kids are very serious and hang out at the Harold Washington library. They have their own study group going and get it done. My son popped in on a Saturday and there were a number of students that he knew at the library. At this point I thought – Wow, this is the place for us. I also checked for a pod that might have been placed under his bed when I wasn’t looking.
20. cpsobsessed | September 28, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Wow, 3 hours a night still seems like a lot. Especially when there is Facebook to look at. lol.
I love the pod idea. I would be freaking out as well.
21. Grace | October 4, 2010 at 9:28 am
There was an earlier post on another but related topic that said the “word on the street” regarding SE HS admissions requirements will reduce the share of students admitted on merit to 30% from 40%.
At WP, the current freshman class is 164 students; 40% of whom (about 66) were accepted on merit, and those kids had scores of between 894 and 900, with a median of 898. (First round, I believe.)
If the merit students’ share is reduced to 30%, only 49 students out of 164 would be admitted, and I would guess the range will shrink to 898-900.
If you shrink the share of merit students and at the same time lower the cut-off score, you can create a big shift in student population.
A more reasoned approach would be for CPS to lower the cut-off score but leave the merit percentage at 40%, getting more tier 1 and 2 students at the top schools without squeezing the merit portion of admissions into the stratosphere.
Or they could use real income data for those students who are eligible, not every applicant, to eliminate the unfairness of some neighborhood addresses. Just wondering what others think.
22. Mayfair Dad | October 4, 2010 at 10:20 am
Hi Grace:
A few of us have been following the anticipated Blue Ribbon Commission announcement closely, and your post raises a few interesting questions.
Assuming CPS was disappointed with the composition of last year’s incoming freshmen at top SE high schools, wouldn’t lowering the pure merit component release more seats to be divvied up across the four tiers, yielding more minority students from the lower tiers?
Frankly, I prefer this method of social engineering over what we saw with the Fortunate 100.
Re: pure merit seats, I thought the “bar” was set by the actual point totals of the kids applying to the school, and not arbitrarily set by school administrators. Am I misinformed?
Lastly, the lack of a harmonized grading scale is becoming a larger and larger issue as people wake up to the fact certain schools have been gaming the system (new and old) for years. Given the stakes involved, CPS must determine a consistent numeric scale and stick with it.
If the Blue Ribbon Commission decides to tinker, in my mind this is an easy – and necessary – fix.
23. cpsobsessed | October 4, 2010 at 10:34 am
@MFD – how can we follow the Blue Ribbon Committee’s work, other than seeing what transpires in the board meetings? I’ve never been to a board meeting, but I’m assuming they’re not going to stand up and read through the list? I imagine it will be given to someone on the board to review?
I feel like we won’t know the final determination until the new criteria is announced – and we may not even know what they recommend.
What do you think?
24. Mayfair Dad | October 4, 2010 at 11:06 am
My fear is the list of recommendations will be introduced and confirmed at the next Board of Ed meeting without public comment. The poorly attended public hearings, held with little fanfare during the height of summer vacation, will serve to satisfy the public input requirement of the Open Meetings Act.
I’ve already asked Alexander Russo at District299 to work his network of sources inside CPS to obtain and publish an advance copy. If anyone else has concrete knowledge – and not a conspiracy theory – please post what you have. Even minor fine-tunings of the current process will have far reaching implications for thousands of CPS families.
25. cps mom | October 4, 2010 at 7:54 pm
MD – according to the CPS forums last year, the schools were going to have the ability to set their own individual cut off point allowing them to select students scoring above that level regardless of tier. Initially they said that unused seats from any given tier would be divided up equally to the remaining tiers. It was apparent from the little data that was released that NSP and Lindblum stopped admissions at a given level. The reasoning given by CPS was that the schools needed to maintain their scholastic level. Of course that was directly contradicted by their move of assigning 100 seats.
26. cps Mom | October 7, 2010 at 8:12 am
As an update to an earlier comment, Jones is now the closest that they have been to getting their money with city approval but have still not received it. Since they were getting TIFF money, it was subject to alderman approval resulting in neighborhood seats which will not be open enrollment. The hope is for the existing building to become a 7th/8th grade. What an opportunity for the school and the neighborhood.
27. Heather | October 16, 2010 at 3:07 pm
My 5 year son and I are moving back to Chicago in June 2011. Do I have a ability to apply for CPS magnet/lottery school? Please note that my son’s father owns an apartment in the city of Chicago. Also, I just started a new job in city of chicago. Does any of that help me. Please advise. Thank you
28. cps Mom | October 16, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Yes you can apply as long as you are a resident of Chicago by the time your son starts school. I assume you will need a Chicago address for the application. At a magnet school you would have better odds if you live within 1.5 miles of the school – so in a list of say 10 magnet schools your odds would change from school to school depending on location. An area such as Lincoln Park would have more magnet schools than other areas North or South. A gifted or classical school would accept applicants based upon test scores. And then some neighborhood schools have special programs and take students outside of their neighborhood if there are openings. On this site at the top there is some very useful info on gifted/classical schools. Also, check out the OAE website for information on magnets and selective enrollment schools. There is an online application that everyone is talking about in another thread on this site. And the last thing I’ll say is visit and research schools and apply to many. I have also heard that many neighborhood schools are worth investigating and attending (this is really the last thing)
29. Bevdad | October 20, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Any idea what the scores were for those sixth graders who took academic center exams? I can only find the scores for the high schools … We see WY at about 970, NSP at 982, etc. What about seventh grade academic centers?
30. Steve Jones | October 21, 2010 at 9:49 am
I don’t know if folks saw this, but OAE recently posted a point calculation tool on its web site. You put in your kid’s 7th grade standardized test scores, 7th grade grades, and your census tract Tier, and then the tool purports to tell you the range you child will need on the the 8th grade SE test to get into the various SE high schools. It’s all based on last year’s data.
Here’s last year’s data:
http://www.cpsoae.org/ourpages/auto/2009/8/10/50500884/Selective%20Enrollment%20High%20Schools%20–%20Cutoff%20Scores%202010-2011.pdf
And here’s the point calculation tool:
http://www.selectiveenrollment.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=72696&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=200840
All of this further suggests to me that CPS will only be tweaking last year’s admission system, not overhauling it in a significant way.
31. cps Mom | October 21, 2010 at 10:11 am
I tried it using all our actual results and it worked perfectly for 1st round offers.
32. cpsobsessed | October 21, 2010 at 10:30 am
Thanks Steve Jones!
Am I doing something wrong or am I just in denial?
If I enter 99% for Reading and Math tests + 4 A’s + Tier 3….
I just get 600 points, which is well below and minimum cutoffs.
Help………
33. cpsobsessed | October 21, 2010 at 10:32 am
OK, I get it.. that doesn’t include the Admissions Test score, right? So it tells me what my child would need to score on the admissions test. Phew, I can close the real estate listings for Evanston……
34. adad | October 22, 2010 at 4:15 pm
I get email updates from my alderman and this quote below was part of the latest update. Schulter is looking for thoughts and ideas, I say let’s give them to him! Granted my child is in 1st grade but maybe if we start now Amundsen, Mather, etc. might improve by 2018!
“Dear Neighbors,
Yesterday, I was pleased to join a few of my colleagues in the City Council along with community leaders for the “Principal for a Day” program at Lakeview High School. As an alumni of Lakeview High School, it is always fun to visit the school and to interact with the students.
As infrastructure and program improvements continue with many of our elementary schools, I feel that it is equally important to work on improving our high schools to ensure that a quality education can be provided for all ages of 47th Ward students. I am currently working with the Chicago Public Schools to look toward expanded opportunities for improving our local high schools. I would love to hear your thoughts on ways we can make our local public high schools better. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts or concerns, please email me at ward47@cityofchicago.org.”
Alderman Schulter
35. Grace | October 22, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Has anyone seen the new admissions policy for magnet and selective schools?
OAE’s Ms. Hansberry said they would be released in early October, allowing the public to review and comment at http://www.cpsoae.org. before the Oct 27 Board of Ed meeting.
OAE also said once the Board adopts the policy, it will be posted at http://www.cps.edu. Then the CEO will issue implementation guidelines. A draft of the guidelines will be posted on http://www.cpsoae.org for public comment, and a final version of the guidelines will be posted upon adoption.
36. cps Mom | October 24, 2010 at 11:36 am
#34 dad – I like this and have responded. Attached below are my comments
Hello Mr. Schulter
Your interest in Lake View High is well founded so I am responding to your challenge to fix CPS high schools. There are an abundance of Chicago residents yearning for good rigorous programs at the high school level that will challenge their children and prepare them for college and tech schools. Having grown up in the city and attended public school in the 60’s during a time a racial tension and lower standards of education the classic solution has always been to leave for the suburbs or seek private education. Many factors now attribute to a trend of people choosing to remain in the city. The economy and housing values is only one aspect. Many free thinking families now long for the lifestyle and diversity offered in an urban setting and in particular in Chicago. You have a captive audience that CPS and the city of Chicago can either embrace or turn away with political games and patronization of certain individuals or groups.
As a parent of a child who attended a wonderful magnet program and is now in an excellent selective enrollment school, we consider ourselves very lucky indeed. We have been fortunate enough to see the best of CPS and there is nothing that I’d like better than to see this working formula spread throughout the system for all. At a recent CPS fundraiser I was strongly impacted by a short speech by the alderman indicating that other high schools are watching the success of schools such as Jones, Lane and others and know that these possibilities exist for them as well. This made me reconsider my probably outdated thinking that a large percentage of children do not want to be in school or have the desire to learn. As you mentioned, the elementary grades now carry vast options for everyone and this now amazingly even includes the regular neighborhood school. The elementary schools have raised the bar and the development of the high school is now past due. Lake View is probably the closest neighborhood school to achieving success at the neighborhood level. The rest are in critical condition. Where are all the kids who worked so hard to bring up the elementary schools going to go?
As I see it, the elements that make up a successful school are safety, curriculum and school life – in that order.
First and foremost any parent that has a choice will not send their child to a school where they will be either victimized or influenced by gangs, violence, bullying, or drugs. By the age of 14, children are well able to choose their path. They need to make the right choice. There needs to be zero tolerance for this behavior (as I know there is already) but it needs to be enforced by separating this destructive element from the rest of the student population. I would even say separated from the physical building. Along these lines, a student consistently requiring discipline needs to be separated from the class. An interesting observation that my son had about his class was that all the teacher had to do was say “stop talking” to the class only once. The focus was immediately turned to learning because they know they are lucky to be in the program and that there is a waiting list a mile long of students that would gladly take their place. If we instill this type of pride in the school and the program, I believe that serious discipline problems will begin to vanish on their own,
The curriculum needs to be rich and appropriate for many levels. I think that Lane Tech is a prime example of a large school with many tracks ranging from Honors level to technical trade. There are schools within the school encouraging kids to find their niche. A photocopy of their plan would work well at any neighborhood school.
School life – Is there enough clubs, sports and activities to interest and occupy everyone? Is there a library or culture club available after school for studies and meetings? Can we count on the school to keep kids occupied between 3 and 6 – keeping them off the street corners and hanging at the park or elsewhere. Do the kids have fun and enjoy their high school years or are they just doing their time?
I could really go on and on about rethinking teacher compensation and eliminating busing and putting those resources into shuttling students in difficult neighborhoods. How about rerouting some CTA buses so that they pick up and drop off right in front of the schools?
37. Mayfair Dad | October 28, 2010 at 9:19 am
Hey Everybody:
Go to http://www.cpsoae.org, and using the “contact us” app, demand that CPS make the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee public – this was promised to us. If enough parents raise a stink, we might actually get to review them before we make ill-informed decisions about our kids’ education.
Let’s raise a stink!
38. Mayfair Dad | November 4, 2010 at 12:42 pm
First!
From the CPS website:
Blue Ribbon Commission recommendations incorporated into revisions to one-year policy
November 4, 2010
Chicago Public Schools today released the Blue Ribbon Commission report on the Selective Enrollment and Magnet School Admission policy which includes several key changes in the one-year policy adopted by the District last year.
Key changes in the new proposed policy include:
Sibling preference for non-entry grades for magnet schools.
Twins/triplets/multiples applications linked together for magnet schools.
Increasing the number of Selective Enrollment High School (SEHS) choices to six.
Including a sixth variable in socioeconomic tier score calculation — average attendance area school performance
Modifying the selection process for selective schools (both SEHS and Selective Enrollment Elementary Schools) to 30 percent rank order, and 70 percent tier.
The Blue Ribbon Commission was charged with reviewing the one-year policy and making recommendations for any revisions to the policy. In July and August, the BRC convened three public forums to take public comment in addition to evaluating the effect of different policy changes on the system.
“When we implemented the one-year policy, we said we would review the results and ask the Blue Ribbon Commission to recommend any revisions they felt would make it more effective and representative of the diversity of the District,” said CPS Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman. “We appreciate the time, effort and expertise shown by members of the commission and look forward to presenting these changes to our Board.”
Members of the Blue Ribbon Commission include:
Alderman Latasha Thomas,17th Ward, and Education Committee chairman
Alderman Freddrenna Lyle, 6th Ward
Miguel Del Valle, city clerk
Anna Alvarado, principal of Hawthorne Elementary
Alan Mather, principal of Lindblom Math & Science Academy
Cynthia Flowers, Black Star Community PTA
Lisa Scruggs Esq. Jenner &Block
Bertha Magana, JD, Latino Education Alliance
Dr. Mary Davidson, PhD, retired
The one-year policy under evaluation, which used socio-economic variables instead of race as a factor in admissions, was established after a federal court judge vacated a longstanding desegregation consent decree last fall.
Under the one-year policy, approximately 40 percent of those admitted to Selective Enrollment High Schools are drawn from applicants based on their point ranking drawn from such criteria as test scores and grades; the remaining admissions are based on point ranking within four socio-economic groups drawn from updated U.S. Census tract data.
SEHS principals also were given the latitude to admit up to 5 percent of their incoming classes through discretion, with those picks subject to a review process.
Magnet school students were classified into one of three groups: sibling, proximity or general. If space was available, all siblings at the entry level were admitted. Up to 40 percent of the remaining seats were set aside for students within the proximity of each school, and the remaining seats were divided into four equal socio-economic diversity groups. Lotteries were then held for each group of seats.
Huberman is to present the BRC’s findings and the new proposed policy to the Chicago Board of Education at its monthly meeting tomorrow. In all areas where the BRC presented a consensus recommendation, CPS incorporated that recommendation into the new policy.
The Board will be asked to vote on this proposed policy at the November 17th Board meeting. The full BRC report and the proposed new policy can be found on the Office of Academic Enhancement’s website.
39. Grace | November 4, 2010 at 2:18 pm
They cut the number of seats given to s.e. high school students based on rank to 30% — this is a big drop.
40. Grace | November 4, 2010 at 4:01 pm
There are about 3,500 seats. Why would CPS take 10% of the top kids — 300 to 350 — and eliminate them from the district?
41. Jeanine | January 3, 2011 at 11:30 am
I am very new to this process and started to look on line at schools for my 4 year old pre-schooler but I’m seeing that the deadline for applications for the fall 2011-2012 school year happned on Dec 17, 2010. What am I am to do???? I am looking for schools in Hyde Park area since it is close to home. The other concern I have, friends tell me to have my daughter tested for the “gifted” programs but I do not even know where to being. I was raised in a suburb and this whole process is very overwhleming and confusing. Please any assistance would be great.
At a loss and nervous, Jeanine
42. Grace | January 3, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Hi Jeanine,
I hope you won’t be too worried. If your child will be 5 by Sept 1, 2011, it seems that you may have missed the deadline for kindergarten for this coming fall at a selective school. But there is always first grade.
Have you checked out the CPS web site, office of academic enhancement (oae)? It can’t hurt to call and ask. Your local public school will also have the Options for Knowledge book, if you don’t have one.
Carnegie and Lenart gifted schools are nearest to you in Hyde Park and you might want to visit them. Both have kindergartens. It’s a little farther, but you might consider the South Loop gifted school and Keller gifted, too. Keller’s entry grade is first grade.
Have you visited your neighborhood school to see its kindergarten? I hear Lenart gifted, for example, emphasizes academics in its full-day kindergarten, which is essentially a first-grade curriculum. Also, I’ve heard great things about CPS’ virtual home school program, which you might want to look into. A neighbor of mine raves about it for her 4th grader.
And there are classical schools to consider, too.
Alll the best.
http://cpsmagnet.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=72698&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=121673&hideMenu=1
43. Jeanine | January 3, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Hello Grace,
I miss spoke in my beginning statement possibly my daughter is going to be 4 years old at the end of October so I am looking for a pre-school right now. Are the option you mentioned above still possible? I have gone to the CPS website and to be honest I find it a bit hard to navigate and find applications. I also go direct to school sites for applications and again it is quite difficult to find applications. I do not feel that South Loop is very far and would be quite happy for that location as well since i work right in the loop. As far as kindergarden is concerned I am interested in full-day establishment and later looking for a year-round school.
Thank you for for the quick feedback. This site was highlly recommended to me by a close freind.
Jeanine
44. grace | January 4, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Hi,
The web site is confusing at times. You can always call CPS and ask to speak with someone in early childhood education, and ask for a list of preschools near you. They can no doubt direct you to the right part of the web site, if that information is online.
Also, I heard that you can get the options for knowledge book from any public library and from any alderman’s office, if there are none at your local school left.
Good luck.
45. Christian | February 1, 2011 at 5:43 am
I live in the South Loop area and will be considering South Loop School (SLS), in the near future. I love what I have read and heard about the school; Gifted Progam, Neighborhood Component, After School Program, Summer Day Camp Program (perfect for working parents) and a Fine Arts Program. Plus the school has excellent test scores and I love the diversity! However, I am wondering about their issue with overcrowding, as with most CPS schools. Recently, I read that Jones College Prep will be getting a new facility in the South Loop area. Which would leave the old Jones empty. Do anyone know if SLS would consider, moving its upper grades (5-8) into the old Jones? That would leave the lower grades in the current SLS main building, solving the school overcrowding issue.
46. Grace | February 1, 2011 at 10:58 am
Imho, Christian, you could go to Jones College Prep web site and find out when the next LSC meeting will be. You can attend and ask your question there. Would be a good place to find out any details. Alternatively, you can call up your alderman, who is also working with CPS on the new Jones, and ask him to keep you informed. It’s always a good thing to observe classroooms, too.
47. Christian | February 1, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Additionally, since Jones College Prep will be adding a neighborhood component to their college prep program, will they start offering regular courses, as well as, honors and advanced placement?
48. LIsa | May 10, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Does anyone have info about twins getting into the same school for preK or Kindergarten (not our neighborhood school but a magnet one hopefully) ? If one gets in does the other one get in? Do I have to send in applications for both of them separately and see what happens? How does that work for twins?
49. Hilda | August 22, 2011 at 5:33 pm
I have a son who will start 8th grade this year and I am searching for a good HS for him to attend next year. He is currently in the Catholic system, but I would like to send him to a public HS. It really anger me that the public schools are so disappointing and I have to find schools that are miles away. I know he has to take a entrance test fof the SEC schools. I need a bit of help about the process. Can anyone give me some advice where I begin.
50. Grace | August 22, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Hi HIlda,
Lots of folks will chime in with advice. You might go to the Home Page here, and read up on an upcoming seminar on this very topic!
51. Selina | August 27, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Hi! Both my kids were accepted to Franklin Fine Arts for 2011-12. Perfect! Until, yesterday, I received a call from Pritzker. They accepted my 10yr old into their gifted program. It seems Franklin is an amazing school, but it doesn’t offer a gifted program. Not sure which is the best choice now. Wondering if the gifted program at Pritzker (which seems to be a lower rated CPS school based on Chicago Magazine report) is a better choice for my son than Franklin. There aren’t many gifted programs and if Pritzker’s gifted program is in fact different than a standard program, like Franklin’s, then can I really compare them in rankings? Franklin ranks 17 and Pritzker doesn’t even show up on their top 30 in Chicago. Not sure if this has to do with them also being a magnet cluster school and that washing out the gifted programs information. If anyone can shed any light on this , I sure would appreciate it.
52. grace | August 28, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Hi Selina,
You may have already done this, but I would do a compare and contrast.
–Start with the test scores for the 3rd, 5th and 8th grades.
–Find the schools’ SIPAAA and compare them.
–Check out their web sites. Look for strong parent involvement.
Look for parent groups, nice-to-haves likes clubs and sports for the kids and after-school programs.
–If you have time, check out an LSC meeting.
–Check out the Great Schools site to look for parent comments, which might help somewhat.
Then I would feel I was prepared to go to speak with the principals at each school, look around, ask your questions and jot down the answers.
General impression?
Science lab?
Foreign Language lab?
Library?
Computers?
How often do they have PE?
Recess? Daily, rain or shine?
Lunch?
After-school program?
Music / Art?
***Teacher qualifications, degrees, experience and National Board Certified?
***Curriculum?
Include specific curriculum issues, such as is Pritzker accelerated and by how many years?
Homework policy?
What textbooks do they use for math, reading, social studies, science?
What is the primary focus of the school, sometimes it’s language arts, sometimes it’s math.
Hopefully, someone on this blog has direct experience with these 2 schools and could be a really big help.
Best of luck
53. cpsobsessed | August 28, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Great input on evaluating schools, grace. I think I’ll add that to the main abc’s of cps page if you don’t mind!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
54. Hawthorne mom | August 28, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Also, how far is the commute for you from both and are you eligible for the bus? A 20 minute commute versus a 45 minute commute makes a difference.
55. Lorie Lovingood | September 26, 2011 at 8:07 pm
What is gonna happen when this extended day creates more smart kids with no place to go for highschool? There are children being turned away from college prep schools because they don’t have enough seats. I have five children the pressure is way up there. I can’t afford private schools for all of them. My oldest is at Jones this year but next yr I will have an eighth grader and the year after that and the year after that. Hubbie works for the city so I can’t just move like others do when high school comes around.
56. mom2 | September 27, 2011 at 10:16 am
We all agree with your concerns about not having enough seats at the SE high schools (or at least the ones in locations considered either safe or not too far from home to be a ridiculous commute. At this point, it seems CPS wants parents to focus on improving their neighborhood high schools by adding programs, options such as IB or STEM or double honors rather than them adding any more SE schools. I know they are trying to do this with Lakeview. We have talked at length about the need for a “Sky High” somewhere central such as downtown but near facilities for sports (maybe combined with UIC or something) where they could have another large high school like Lane. I haven’t heard anyone from CPS or the office of academic enhancement agree that this is needed. They are trying to convince parents to send their kids to SE high schools that would require 2 hours of commuting each day. No thank you.
57. Grace | September 27, 2011 at 10:28 am
It’s a problem throughout the city. But take a look at the new Eric Solorio Academy h.s. at 5400 S. St. Louis. It is so beautiful! Could give us hope?
From the Chicago Public Building Commission web site.
“It is part of a “linear” campus along St. Louis Avenue that includes the K through 5 Sandoval School across 55th Street and the 6th through 8th grade Hernandez School for the Advancement of the Sciences.
“Solorio contains more than 200,000 square feet and includes science, computer, visual and performing arts classrooms, as well as a library, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and playing fields and tennis courts. It is designed for community use on evenings and weekends, with independent entrances for both the library and the athletic wing.
The building, which cost about $97 million, is targeted to achieve “Silver” level certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design schools’ rating system, and includes a green roof covering 40 percent of the building.
“Most important, it’s a neighborhood school. In addition to the improved learning environment, it provides a new anchor for the Gage Park community,” Daley said.”
58. RL Julia | September 27, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Since word has it that the office of academic enhancement is being reorganized or some such, I think the most feasible model is to create high performing high schools out of the exisiting high school – a la Lakeview and probably any number of other schools that I haven’t heard about. I daresay, there are schools with the space and probably with plenty talented teachers, its really just organizing a band of parents, community members etc… to fight the good fight – and commit to sending their kids to the school.
As someone who is going through the high school application process this fall, I am fully prepared to send my son to our local neighbnorhood high school (Schurz) if he doesn’t get in elsewhere – he may be disappointed but he will be just fine. I am pretty sure he’ll learn something/enough to get him to college where ever he lands. You know – the old Casey Kasem adage of keeping your feet on the ground while reaching for the stars…
59. CPSDepressed | September 27, 2011 at 3:18 pm
I wish I shared your optimism, RL. Every time I think make peace with the idea of Lake View, something comes along to change it. For example, a lot of the parents of graduating 8th graders at my son’s school spent the summer scrambling to get their kids into charter high schools rather than send them to Lake View. If that’s the case, where’s this vanguard of parents who are going to raise money and turn it around?
I’m off to order high school admissions test prep books.
60. mom2 | September 27, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I think many parents would be willing to have your approach if they could feel certain that their child would be safe, challenged, with quality friends and prepared for college. Hard to convince them of this with the issue some schools have with gangs, poor ACT scores, etc. Sort of a chicken and egg thing.
61. RL Julia | September 28, 2011 at 2:47 pm
As a graduate of a supremely mediocre high school (which I found out just disbanded their student council over some such – check this out if you are into reading about educational dysfunction in other states-http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/cross_student_council_disbanded/ ) – a high school which I will add, I actively had to petition pretty much my entire extended family (and write an essay to my mom) in order to attend -allowing me to leave the second or third oldest private school in the country (preppy-day school galore), I can assure you that there are great and terrible people in every school. The kids at the private school(s) were really no better or worse than the ones at the public school(s) – if anything the real creeps might have been more dangerous because they had access to so much more (power, money) and were more likely to feel entitled in whatever horrific opinion had taken their fancy at the moment. For the record in both of the private schools I attended as a kid there were TONS more drugs than in any public school (A trend I have noticed holds true for the SEHS’s as well).
I graduated before gangs were a huge issue in my town but out of a class of 252 kids (1/7th of whom had children themselves -making our prom theme of “we’re going all the way” seem a little redundant to me) I was one of about 20 who actually went to a four year college. On the other hand, I had a kick ass high school rank…. I ended up at college because my parents had that expectation and as a statistical anomoly at school, I got plenty of attention and recognition for my efforts. This experience has only been replicated for my kids at their neighborhood school – where my son at least would say that he received a higher level of instruction and attention than at the AC he currently attends – where pretty much everyone is exactly like him.
62. mom2 | September 28, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Now that I have a child in a SE high school, I can agree with you about drugs. We know kids at several SE high schools and suburban high schools. The smarter and more affluent the child, the more drugs seem to be around.
I also agree that bad or mean kids can be found anywhere.
However, what doesn’t seem to be around the SE high schools are kids with huge behavior issues – kids that believe it is fine not to do their homework, or to totally disrupt class, kids that carry guns or participate in gang activity or think it is just the best thing when they have a baby while in high school. Kids at these schools are so busy with sports, clubs and tons of homework, there just isn’t time for outside trouble. I’m sure there are exceptions at every school, but that is not the trend for the majority of students or at least not that we have seen (and hope never to see).
63. Grace | September 29, 2011 at 10:20 am
RLJ — sounds like you had an interesting high school experience.
Wanting to know something about the minds of high schoolers, I hope you don’t mind if I ask … why, did your 14- or 15-year-old self want so badly to leave a private New England prep school?
At that age, I was sitting and staring out of the window, bored out of my mind in a seriously mediocre Catholic high school. I dreamed of the leafy campus of a private prep school, like I dreamed of a nice neighborhood with pretty homes.
64. Grace | September 29, 2011 at 10:22 am
mom2 — wondering if you have heard of risky behavior at any SE school dances, and if you have shared your concerns with the admin?
65. mom2 | September 29, 2011 at 10:43 am
No, I haven’t heard of any risky behavior within the schools at all (SE or suburban) – dances or otherwise. Only things I have heard have been at parties or elsewhere outside of school. I think the schools do a pretty good job within their walls of keeping things safe.
66. cpsobsessed | September 29, 2011 at 10:48 am
Hm, I better start an SE 2011 thread, huh?
I did have my talk recently with the SE principal (which of course I still need to write up) and at their particular school there is virtually no “risky” behavior. The occasional kid smoking pot behind the school, but nothing major.
67. RL Julia | September 29, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Why would the administration of any school admit to anyone that there might be drug in the school? Also they might not know about them.
68. mom2 | September 29, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Grace and RL Julia, just to clarify my comments – my family has seen NO evidence what so ever of any drug issues at/in any SE school or any other “risky behavior” issues that would make me want to share “concerns” with the admin. I was referring to some knowledge of pot at some parties or other places away from the school (but brought by or used by smart/affluent SE students). That’s it. That is actually why I still feel so strongly in these SE schools – because while there are always exceptions everywhere, they do appear to be better than other CPS high schools in terms of the behavior, morals and attitudes of the kids – especially while they are in school.
69. CPSDepressed | September 29, 2011 at 4:32 pm
The administration may not know about drugs (although I agree, every school has them. Probably even the Opus Dei high schools have them.) My safety questions are more basic: Will my kid get jumped in the hallway? Is it safe to use the bathrooms? Are there doors on the bathroom stalls? Is there a visible gang presence inside the school?
I know that weird stuff happens everywhere, but I’m trying to play the percentages. Where is my child most likely to be safe and get prepared to do college-level work? That doesn’t seem like much to ask, but in CPS, it is.
70. RL Julia | September 29, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Grace – good question as to why did I want to leave the hallowed grounds of prep-dom. I can’t say that my answers were super convincing or valid but they are what they are. I didn’t like the private prep school because I found it to be exclusive. There were kids from all over the greater urban area at the school but they were all same (in my mind) in that they were (mostly) all upper middle class, white and extraordinarily entitled. It drove me nuts to take the bus through some awful neighborhood where I knew there were kids who were just as smart but who couldn’t afford the school or whose families were not hooked into the system that gets one admitted to private schools or whose families were simply not organized enough.
Additionally, I really didn’t feel like I fit the mold – my family wasn’t rich enough, organized enough, hooked in enough either. It was a major undertaking for my mom get the tuition money for this school something that also drove me nuts (given my family’s dynamics, my getting financial aid was pretty much out of the question – it really would have only made things worse anyway). The school also was really rule-centric and heavy on the athletics (everyone played three sports a year and we had gym 2-2.5 hours a day)- if you were on a team you practiced after school (which ended at 4:30) which was problematic since I lived across town and had no way of getting home since my mom worked. So I guess in the end, I left for mostly social reasons – I didn’t feel like I was like the other kids, I didn’t feel like I had any friends there and I did feel a lot like I was wasting my family’s money and my teacher’s time by taking up space there.
The education was excellent (and so was all that gym – it turns out) and the teachers were really kind and generally really good. A lot of kids there were miserable -but most of them had the maturity to value the education they were getting over the social misery of the place (not me). In the end, I was much better at charting my own path and doing things the hard way. I was really lucky that my mom understood all this and let me leave. Then again, as the relative of a lot of really smart people who thought/think school was a complete waste of their time she probably didn’t find my rhetoric too surprising.
71. RL Julia | September 29, 2011 at 5:07 pm
I am happy to hear that drugs don’t seem to be a problem.
One thing to note is that the less connected the child or family, the more likely the public safety net is used to solve a problem and the more public the problem then becomes and hence awareness is heightened.
Case Study: A friend of mine (white, financially comfortable, northsider) had a child going to an SEHS (now happily successful in college btw) who was a major pot smoker and from what I could tell a bit of a dealer. If said child was caught with pot you had better believe that his lawyer mother/neighbors etc… would have been all over it, kept it below the radar, out of the school etc… and had the wherewithal to plead and get community service/the least/most appropriate punishment (I am not a lawyer so I don’t know what the penalties etc…) and to get the record expunged blah, blah, blah. Ditto ANY other youthful high jinxs these kids get into. OK – so now everyone play that scenario again except for this time use a lower income kid at a neighborhood high school. Does it play out the same way in your mind? Maybe I am stereotyping here (please someone prove me wrong!) but it doesn’t in mine. OK now do it again except this time instead of drugs its a kid who is impulsive and has anger management issues, and now do it for a girl who gets pregnant.
So how does it look? Are the kids really fundamentally that different or is it just that in one school the parents can take care of the issue in a satisfactory (and private!) manner and in the other…not so much. So now you have one school with all these problems (because the school is the case manager and there is less privacy) and one school where these problems don’t exist because… they just don’t.
72. Grace | September 29, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Fascinating story, and perfectly understandable, thanks for sharing it. There is a biographical novel by a young woman from Indiana who went to Exeter (I think) and who talks of her misery there. Title is “Prep.” Parts of it are too much for a youngster, I think, but I found it interesting to see the social and academic pressures.On the same theme, have you read “I am Charlotte Simmons” by Tom Wolfe? How tough things are for kids now.
73. Grace | September 29, 2011 at 5:17 pm
RLJ — you are right about how some get their mistakes forgiven and others bear harsh consequences. Money is a great insulator from life’s difficulties. And the classes will be more widely separated b/c of our economic and educational policies.
74. James | October 3, 2011 at 11:00 am
Has anyone else noticed that the admission process for high school IB Programs has changed this year? There is now a standard IB application you get from OAE, which lists all the IB Programs (including the flagship one at Lincoln Park High School). You then select which IB programs you want to apply to and return your application to OAE, not to the individual schools as in years past. The application says that some schools “may require an additional scored assessment,” but it contains no further details. It also says that some schools may need an interview and that OAE, not the school, will contact you about that.
Interesting change. This had been a sort of parallel admissions process that was independent of OAE. In prior years, for example, LPHS IB had its own test and its own interview process, both of which were administered by the high school, not by OAE. Now all IB applications and all SE applications are being run through downtown. One wonders if this is the first step toward the Tier system being used for IB admissions.
75. cps Mom | October 4, 2011 at 2:46 pm
James, that’s interesting. A complaint of the SEHS’s about the IB, STEM, and other honors programs has been the difficulty in getting committed acceptances due to many different admissions processes. It is problematic when seats are vacated (all through the summer) after offers are accepted and the school is forced to turn down high scoring applicants that want to attend. This sounds like a positive change that will streamline the process. Choose and rank wisely. Good luck everyone.
RLJ – students are penalized equally for offenses such as drug use. Dealing, needless to say has a harsher penalty – there is a trial that could result in expulsion from the SE program unless the student themselves can show that they make a positive contribution, good grades (this may not even help) etc. Beyond the pot issue, not much of any other crime. I know of none – not even a fight (and I am involved). Mom2 is right – they are just way too busy to get in trouble. This is a good thing that I know is true of other schools as well especially those that have a “school within a school” special programs.
76. please consider | November 13, 2011 at 10:20 am
Re: “students are penalized equally for offenses such as drug use.” (CPS Mom)
Please read Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” (The New Press, 2010)
“Studies show that people of all colors use and sell illegal drugs at remarkably similar rates. If there are significant differences in the surveys to be found, they frequently suggest that whites, particularly white youth, are more likely to engage in drug crime than people of color. That is not what one would guess, however, when entering our nation’s prisons and jails, which are overflowing with black and brown drug offenders.” (p. 7)
Also please ask any attorney who practices in this field and is honest about how private representation plays out at schools and in the criminal justice system.
The fact that RLJulia “gets it” with regard to power, money, and race may well be connected to her enlightened (and non-exclusive) high school educational experience. You can’t necessarily teach to that level of understanding in an AP class, regardless of well-selected critical reading/thinking/writing exercises and a highly qualified teacher (particularly if the administration/teachers/parents do not understand or address the racial and economic disparities and exclusiveness that exist in their own educational systems which the students are bserving/experiencing on a daily basis).
77. Anonymous | November 13, 2011 at 10:31 am
Our CPS schools should implement policies against drug dealing inside and outside of high schools for all students.
78. cps Mom | November 22, 2011 at 4:01 pm
@76 – Pretty general statement. At our school punishment is equal and drug use is not predominate in any one race it is pretty much across the board. I don’t want to talk about specific cases and punishments but suffice it to say that white kids do get in trouble with equal ramifications.
@77 these policies do exist.
79. LPHS Mom | February 20, 2012 at 1:18 am
I have been reading this post for a year and I rarely ever see anything about the LPHS DH Program or IB Program. I don’t know where to post this so I am putting it in this section on SE Schools. It seems to be such an overlooked gem and a lost opportunity that so many of you look at the SE Schools but not at the magnet programs at LPHS. My son is a freshman there this year and it is an excellent school. He is in the IB Program, but the other magnet programs at the school, DH and Performing Arts, are also excellent programs. The new principal, 2nd year, is really on track to get CORE Curriculum going and other really positive changes. He is a great principal and the parent community is really nice.
80. Waiting... | February 20, 2012 at 7:46 am
@79 – I’m so glad to hear this. We are seriously considering the DH program for the fall. LP is his backup if he doesn’t get into Whitney. I love that LP offers classes at every level.