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Hello --
This is my first post in the forum and look forward to your responses.
My child is entering 2nd grade next year and although we are generally satisfied with CPS, we are generally thinking about what else would be good schools and a great fit for our child.
A lot of people in this neighborhood go to the British school and I sort of feel that's our only private option.
Are there other schools I should consider or are they all too hard to get into at this level?
Thanks!
CB
My sense is that for some of the privates, each year gets easier for admission because people eventually move to the suburbs and/or once they have 2-3 kids, decide the tuition is unmanageable. The selection process is more subjective at the privates than in CPS, so if you choose a school you really want, half the battle can be convincing them that you're the right fit - so if a child happens to drop out, you're top of mind for who they call for placement. That's pretty much how I got my son into private pre-K. Polite, enthusiastic persistence.
Polite, enthusiastic persistence. That is great advice, I will keep it in mind. We're probably too late to make any change for this fall, but it doesn't hurt to attend open houses, learn the pros/cons of various schools, and meet key people.
I've not really considered sending our children to private school a viable option because we have five to send through. You make an excellent point about the tuition costs mounting up. Sometimes I wish we had a national voucher system, but that would be rife with conflicts of interest and corruption, I imagine. I'm just hoping to get lucky and find the right schools when, and if, we are in the Chicago area
I taught in the Blue Island area on the southwest side of Chicago many years back. As a teacher, I was always impressed by the wide variety of programs the school district there was able to provide. Art, music and athletics were as important as the basics.
I've never considered going private because of the cost. I also feel that my son can receive a quality education in the public school system, even if we have to test and go through an application process in order to get into a gifted program :D