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My daughter, who is 2E, is struggling to fit in at her current public school in the northern suburbs. As she entered 6th and 7th grade, it became clear that most students don’t understand her jokes and think she’s weird. Fortunately, she has found a close friend who is also 2E, and they have formed a strong bond.
Recently, she took the CPS spring test and was offered a seat at Edison. However, she is upset about the possibility of leaving her best friend behind. Our family has lived in the suburbs for many years and we know very little about the city or Edison.
Given that she will take the HSAT test this fall, I’m concerned that moving to a new school right before such an important test might not be beneficial. Is it worth moving to Chicago just for 8th grade at Edison?
Any comments or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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I can’t imagine moving for 1 year of school unless you think the CPS high school options are better. Also, when you say she’s “2E” you mean she’s a diverse learner right? CPS is in general not a good place to be for diverse learners and most selective enrollment elementary schools in particular have very few students with IEPs, which either means these students are getting pushed out or finding the environment unwelcome or they are refusing to identify diverse learners in these schools.
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That’s not true, there are lots of IEPs in the various RGC and classical programs in around the city, and while not all schools accommodate them perfectly I think that’s a fair cry from all of CPS not “being a good place”
In terms of moving during 8th I wouldn’t do it. Edison is a great school but if your kid is miserable because they are missing their friend you will be miserable and they might not be successful. I would hold tight and go for a selective enrollment highschool.
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This data is publicly available on the ISBE website (illinois report card).
CPS district wide IEP rate: 14.2%
Edison: 7.1%
Bell: 9.4%
Pritzker: 7.7%
Lenart: very few , redacted for privacy concerns
bronzeville classical: 3.5% -
A few years ago entire district was put under a special education “corrective action” by the state. Maybe things are getting better recently or maybe they aren’t. I just think it’s worth investigating before making a decision like this. I have no specific experience with Edison.
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Our family has had a great experience at Edison and their special education team is top notch, speaking from personal experience with our 2E child who’s been at Edison. Does your kid have an IEP already? If you were to move to go there, you’d be hard pressed to find a better school in terms of teachers, support staff and overall curriculum and experience. Edison is truly an exceptional school. But are you then planning on staying in the city for HS?
There are always some students that join the SEES in later middle school years, but the transition can be tough. Wishing you success whatever you decide.
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I want to clarify my comment about diverse learners in CPS . What I have seen is that many school teams use test scores as the main (or only) criteria for determining services. You can see how this would work out badly for 2E students. For instance, a family was told that their disabled student couldn’t have weekly social work minutes because “it’s not affecting his academics” (read: test scores). This is most likely a violation of special education law and wouldn’t hold up in a due process appeal, but do you really want to deal with that – most people don’t. I’m glad to hear if the team at Edison is an exception.
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