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We are moving this fall into bucktown Pulaski schools. My daughter will be going into 1st grade. Is this a good school? Anything I should know about it? Concerns? Do I need to look into private school? Is there a selective school? Is it too late for that? All new to me!! Thanks so much!
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I am responding here even though I am under-informed, just because no one has responded yet. It is too late for selective enrollment for next year, and generally most selective enrollment elementary spots are taken in the Kindergarten or 1st grade entry years. I don’t know much about Pulaski but looking briefly at available material it seems reasonable.
Here are three links I used to get a general impression:
Hopefully someone else with more first-hand knowledge chimes in, but until then I would recommend checking out those links for the cold facts of the matter and seeing if there is a PTO or someone in the administration that can give you some of the softer details.
Welcome to Chicago!
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Hi Bridget! I am also not a Pulaski parent, but we have a few friends there. I can speak in generalities. All are fans of the school. They’ve been happy enough with the teaching and programming (extracurriculars, after school) to stay (one was offered a “better” magnet, all could afford private). The administration, from what they report, is responsive, and they are pretty involved with the school community and like the parents and guardians they interact with. FWIW, I have applied consistently since we’ve started this CPS roller coaster and would have accepted in a heartbeat, and I definitely would be completely okay (thrilled even) to have my kids there for even a year if I needed to wait for private schools, open enrollment, etc.
You could always try it out and choose a different route if you’re not happy. Many of the selective private schools have already enrolled, but many parochial schools are still an option and some less selective private schools may have openings. The magnet and SEES lotteries are over, but GOCPS has a portal to let you sign up for info about the 2019-2020 school year. Registering for 2019-2020 will probably be in Oct.
For info generally on CPS, ChalkBeat now has a Chicago bureau and WBEZ has good local school reporting. The Neighborhood Parents Network (NPN) also has good info but skews private school. ParentofThree pointed you in the right direction, and old CPSObsessed posts can give you some general insight and guidance, but I’d also definitely recommend doing your own tours, exploration, etc as each family really is different. Welcome to Chicago!
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Also, forgot to mention that CPS has the second round of applications opening tomorrow (GoCPS website). It is worth a look and definitely doesn’t hurt to apply to as acceptance isn’t binding. I have found that the quality of schools differed from the first round, and we haven’t applied this round at any point.
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