We also were accepted to Bell. I was looking at their website, and it looks like there is an open house for students that received placement at Bell on June 3rd. It’s likely virtual, but not 100% sure.

http://bell.cps.edu/tours-and-tour-dates.html

I know you are mostly looking for feedback from parents that have experience at Bell. But I would suggest taking some time to look at the Bell website. There is a ton of really good information. A lot about the curriculum, and a whole page dedicated to options. It’s really nice to have a well designed website in these bizarre times where we were not able to do in person tours before applications needed to be finalized. I did virtual tours at 4 schools. I was pretty impressed already when I was first researching virtual tours. They were the first of the four schools that I was interested in, to have tour information published on their website. I believe that I had already attended a tour at Bell before dates were even finalized at other schools. They appear to be very well organized.

My child’s friends are attending schools all over, so sending her with her friends is not possible in our case.

Good luck with your decision!

Do you know if there are opportunities at Bell RGC for kids in higher grades? I assume someone would have to leave, do they? My daughter scored 146 going into 6th, no offer 🙁 I am hoping we could hear back over the summer, am I too optimistic?

We currently have a child in Bell RGC and like the school a lot. However, our second child is entering K this year with offer from a different selective enrollment school, and we are strongly considering declining if offered a spot in neighborhood Bell program (we live outside of Bell boundary). Now, we don’t have a direct experience with neighborhood programs, but here are my thoughts on selective enrollment schools vs neighborhood.

1) Rankings. I would absolutely expect that selective enrollment schools dominate the rankings, after all they are enrolling top students. If they didn’t have high rankings, then one would question either the selective enrollment process or quality of instructions. In the neighborhood programs you have kids of varying abilities and average test scores would be expected to be lower. This doesn’t mean that there are no kids in neighborhood programs that perform at the level of kids in SEES. The bigger question is whether or not neighborhood programs offer differentiated instruction. I don’t have an answer to that question, but also think this is key for high performing kids.

2) Location. In my experience this factor is often underestimated. Since we don’t leave near Bell and prefer our child not to spend close to an hour on a bus, the commute to and from school for two working parents and another child in a different school is a nightmare. There is a lot to be said about being able to walk to school and not having to stress about the commute or having to hire a nanny just for drop off and pick up.

3) Social aspect. In SEES classrooms are usually very diverse, which is absolutely great. But kids also live in different parts of the city. This means that if you want your children to meet with their school friends outside of school, you have to proactively schedule playdates and drive all over the city. I also think there is a difference between RGC or classical program that is a standalone vs the one that resides in the school with a neighborhood program. Even though schools often choose to find a different name for RGC classes (Bell calls them ‘options’), kids do become aware that they are different than the rest of the classrooms.

4) Academics. There is absolutely a difference, but I also think that a lot depends on a teacher. Now, my kid loved all the teachers she had in Bell RGC so far. Some have really gone above and beyond in their instructions to make it very interesting and engaging for kids, but at the same time assigned many projects to be completed at home and parents had to manage all of that. I don’t know how to compare ELA and science curriculum in SEES vs neighborhood, but in math the instruction is accelerated one grade level ahead. As far as I can tell though they use the same book. So, for example, in 2nd grade of RGC they would be using 3rd grade book that I think neighborhood class would use. From that perspective, all you do is just learn the same math concepts one year ahead, but there doesn’t seem to be any deeper learning of enriched learning of concepts. Now, if a child is entering K and knows numbers, addition and subtraction, and there is no differentiated instruction in the neighborhood program, then that child might be bored or just simply will be much less stressed.

5) High school. At some point, all parents in the city would have to think about high schools. SEES usually say that they have high percentage of kids accepted into selective enrollment high schools. I think one can find some statistics on this. From I read and hear, application process to selective enrollment HS is really, really stressful and is often compared to college application process. And once you get into those schools, the environment is very competitive. The question I ask myself is whether all of this race is actually worth it in the end.

In terms of opportunity to enter Bell RGC at higher grades – it is possible, but only if a child leaves. My kid’s class only had one spot open up in the last 3 years.

Would anyone be interested in setting up a play date or two for the kids accepting into bell? I figure it might make the first days/weeks a bit easier if they have a familiar face in the classroom?

Yeah, i’d be avail wednesday (6/2) or friday (6/4) around 5:30-6 if that works for anyone, otherwise next week thursday or friday (6/10 and 6/11) same time. Let me know if any of that works for any of you.

I’ll be going to the 9am virtual tour on the 3rd.

I am doing the virtual tour tomorrow at 9 as well.

I can do the 6th, 10th, or 11th.

Anybody else joining us and can make any of these times?

Maybe let’s plan on 10th or 11th to give kore time for others to join in?

I was never sent a link for the virtual tour today even though I called and was told I would receive one right before it started. Kind of a bummer. 🙁 Did the 9am tour happen? Any especially interesting or important info shared?? Thanks!

We unfortunately wont be able to do a get together on the 10th or 11th anymore. We are pretty open though after that. @AA or @lakeviewmom any other suggested dates/times?

My child just got a 4th grade offer at Bell with a score of 149. Any parents here with any insight on how 4th grade at bell is like? Thanks

@momof3  I do not know what 4th grade is like, by my son is in that class!  I’d be happy to connect if you are accepting 🙂  We have been very happy with our experience at Bell.  In fact, we are hoping to get our 3rd kid into Bell for K this year!

There is a Facebook page for incoming kindergarteners. Check out the parents of bell page, to find an embedded link to join. There is some chatter about play dates.

We received an offer to 6th grade at Bell RGC and accepted. It is too late now for a tour/orientation and I’m nervous with only a couple days left before school starts next week… any Bell parents willing to share info on Bell RGC to a new family ? Thanks!