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RGC: 140
Offered Kelley for 1st grade. Any Kelley parents that can provide feedback? My son is coming from a Classical school.
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My son is a current 1st grader at Keller, and he transferred from a classical school. The 1st grade teacher is GREAT! She keeps an open door policy when it comes to discussing your child. My son also participated in soccer, and she even showed up to some of the games.
The only small thing I miss is that the classical school my son attended for kindergarten had Computer Science and music twice/week (even though Keller has after school Computer coding and band/choir activities). If your child came from a classical school, he’ll do fine at Keller.
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Thanks so much for the information.
How would you say the amount of homework changed from the classical school to Keller? Did you ever feel like your child was stressed out by the amount of work.
My son never felt this way at the classical school so I just don’t want him to be stressed out. I want him to be in a place where he is challenged but not over worked. Does that make sense?Also, can you share anything about the building itself. We didn’t get to tour the school in the fall and even though I’ve done online research, I can’t seem to have a good feel for what and how the building feels.
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Decatur provided they have attrition. They just don’t know yet if anyone is leaving this early in the game, hence can’t make an offer.
Possibly, Beaubien…
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Offered Pritzker RGC for 2nd grade. any suggestions or advice on the Pritzker would be highly appreciated? Should we accept it or not?
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May I ask what did you get offered? With those scores I am certain you must have been offered something
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@Momof2 and @MrDad what classical schools did your child attend?
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Anyone know if Keller offers foreign language in First grade? My daughter received an offer and I would like more information on what enrichment is offered at the school. More information on the school overall would be great, we unfortunately weren’t able to make it to any of the open houses last fall. Also anyone offered Bronzeville for First Grade care to share their scores?
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Entering 2nd grade:
rgc: 141, 99/98 reading/math, tier 3
offered Beaubien, still didn’t decide if we should accept it or decline, we were hoping for Edison or Bell. Any suggestions?
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Would you mind sharing the rgc score necessary for tier 4 second grade at Pritzker?
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Just so everyone knows, Tiers don’t matter after the entry year.
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Keller offers Spanish at all levels. I had 2 at Keller, 1 current, other graduated. Students are offered a variety of activities like chess, soccer, math team, volleyball, basketball, running club, yearbook, You Be the Chemist, Journalism, Mad Science, Art Club, Golf, Stellar Girls (science), Chicago Children’s Choir, Band, Dance team??, Color Guard, recycling club and more. I’m sure I have not mentioned it all. All clubs and/or activities aren’t available at all levels. Sports clubs are run by the Keller Athletic Association (KAA), a parent group. They also host family fun nights and other activities during the year. PTA runs monthly activities like the Best Lunch Bunch, where students get to pre-order and pay for lunch from a local restaurant. The kids love it. They also host the Father-Daughter dance and a mother-son event, to name a few.
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Thank you so much!
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Can someone please confirm if 150 is the highest possible score when applying for 1st grade? Thank you.
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For RGC
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@Momof2 The amount of homework actually hasn’t changed between my son’s kindergarten classical school and Keller. The only difference is that last year for K, he received a homework packet at the beginning of the week. My wife and I then split it up so he did a little everyday. Keller gives homework everyday, but it ends up being the same amount of homework (if that makes sense). If your son isn’t overwhelmed by the homework now, he should be fine at Keller.
As for the building itself, its a pretty clean building. Its a small school, with only one class per grade. First and second grade, the Media Center/Library, the Cafeteria and the gym are on the 1st floor. Third through Eighth are on the second floor. First and second grade classes are self-contained throughout the school day.
As for activities, my son was on the 1st grade/2nd grade soccer team in the fall. In addition, 1st graders can participate in Computer Coding, chess, Mad Science, art, Sports Spectacular, gardening, etc. I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting something, but you can let me know if you have anymore questions.
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This is very helpful. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I really appreciate it.
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Yes, 150 is the highest score from 1st grade on per OAE letter.
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Thank you
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@Momof2 and @MrDad what classical schools did your children attend?
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He’s at Bronzeville.
If we do decide for Keller, that will open up a spot for 1st grade.
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Offered Pritzker for 2nd grade. RGC is 143. Need reviews for Pritzker? Should I accept or wait for Bell/Edison in the next rounds?
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@southloop dad
Got 143 on RGC out of 150 and didnt get a offer at Edison in the first round?
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No, we didn’t get it! I have listed them in the wrong order after Pritzker. How are the chances for the next round? If I accept Pritzker then I will be out of the active pool.
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@ChicagoBorn My child went to Poe.
@Momof2 What is making you considering transferring your child from Bronzeville? We were actually considering ranking Bronzeville pretty high on the list for our child who will test for kindergarten this year.
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@MrDad Keller is much closer to us. We really enjoyed Bronzeville but I think my son can be challenged a bit more. Those two are the main reasons.
I highly suggest you consider Bronzeville for your child who will test this year. I have no complaints, the teachers are great, administrators very involved, great after school programs, building brand new with the most up-to date technology in the classroom. Hope this helps.
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That could be not the reason. It is non-entry year, there may be simply no spots.
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That is good to know. Our child got accepted to Poe for K this year. I was curious if kids moved from Classical to RGC
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146 for Grade 1, offered Keller. Currently in Skinner North.
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Going to be 1st
R 99
M 96
Rgc 134
Offered at beubien(2nd choice)
I’m not sure if I should accept the offer.
If i decline, is there any chance for Decatur (4th choice)?
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Going to be 3rd grade
R 99
M 96
Rgc 132
No offer at bell, beaubien, coonley, Pritzker and Decatur
Any chance for Decatur??
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Any chance for Bell/Edison for 2 nd grade in next round with 143 RGC. Suggestions would be highly appreciated?
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It all depends on whether any spots will open up in second grade and how many others have applied for 2nd grade. If I were you, I would contact the principals of these two schools and inquire about the spots and current offers out.
I don’t want to discourage you but it’s possible that you have jeopardized potential offers from Bell/Edison because you listed them lower than Pritzker in the 1st round (I saw you mentioned that in an earlier message). Even if your kid had the highest score for 2nd grade, kids with lower scores could have gotten the open Bell/Edison spots if they listed them as their #1 preference in Round 1. That said, there is always a component of luck in these offers based on circumstances beyond your control (e.g., how many kids leave Edison and where other prospective kids decide to go), so the possibility of getting an offer from these schools is not completely out of the question.
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In an alternative scenario, if Bell/Edison open spots in July/August (because that’s when parents may decide to alert them about leaving the school) and if your kid has the highest score out of all going into 2nd grade, then your chances are very good. That’s two big ifs. I think another factor to consider is how your current school compares to Pritzker. If you are fairly happy with your current school and you like it as a backup option, I don’t see why not risk it and apply for Bell/Edison in Round 2. But if Pritzker is much better than your current school, then the risk you are taking is higher.
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btw there is a separate thread for 2nd grade, you may get more replies there: https://chicagoschooloptions.com/forums/topic/spring-2020-sees-2nd-grade-results/
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Thank you so much. I am also thinking the same to take a chance and see if we get into Edison which is next in the line. Today, Pritzker School organized virtual zoom meet for upcoming students. I had a good impression with all over. I am also happy with current school STEM. I am only going about RGC program! Does anyone can give some Pritzker reviews? Many thanks!
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Any first grade NTA offers? And if so, do you mind sharing your child’s score?
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Declined NTA at 145.
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1st grader is at Lenart. Went there for Kindergarten, liked it. Jut got a late offer to Keller (we moved from Hyde Park to Beverly and I had him take the test since Keller was now closer). Didn’t expect an offer this late. Any reason to move him? are they basically the same?
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Hi there! Our kiddo just receive a slot at Lenart for K 2021-2022. Our oldest is at Keller where there isn’t a Kindergarten. Did you make the change or did you stay at Lenart? Do you know the start and finish tomes at Lenart?
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We stayed at Lenart. We Zoomed with Keller’s teacher and our son then begged to stay at Lenart. We decided that in the end, his wanting to stay was a good sign. Hard to say if it was the right choice. Remote learning was a bear. I will say Lenart’s 1st grade teacher was committed to making it work as well as possible. But it was not a good thing for our kid. If Delta variant shuts down in person at CPS, we will have to start looking at private.
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Hi there,
how was second grade at Lenart? We are staying for first after kindergarten
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It was fine. He says we made the right choice. Our daughter will be there for kindergarten this fall.
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Go with Keller its closer and has a better program I have known several parents to leave Lenart and go to Keller and are very pleased.
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Hi.
I hope your child got an offer from Decatur. May I ask some questions about test? I’ve heard that if children applying for 1st grade are tested in groups and also will fill in the bubble answer. Is that right? We are preparing tests for classical and RGC programs for 1st grade and I would be appreciated any advice here.
Thank you!
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yes that is correct do it as a group and they do have to do fill in bubble questions so make sure they are comfortable doing that and staying on that line of possible bubble answers. No penalties for wrong answers so guessing is encouraged if they dont know the answer.
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Unless it is kindergarten, spots in other grades only become available if someone leaves. While you can have top scores, if there are no spots, there are no spots.
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I would say if you have scores of 99/99 that you should decline if you are not interested in a school and wait. I have two kids and tested them every year until I got the classical school I wanted. Nearly every year we got an offer for Decatur which we declined due to distance. One of the same years we declined Decatur, we got an offer at one of the Skinner’s later in the summer. To everyone waiting, if you have scores like this my advice is to decline and wait if you didn’t get into your first choice and are currently ok with the school you are at. And by “later in the summer” it can be the day before school starts or in some cases, after the start of the school year.
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Any reviews on Beaubien? Was offered for 1st grade. Do most students get into SEHS?
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My daughter is in 2nd grade at Beaubien and my son in KG at Decatur. We love both schools. Beaubien is a hidden gem – great teachers and everyone is so down to earth. We actually considered retesting my son this year to see if he would get into Beaubien but ended up deciding against it as he had made some good friendships at Decatur.
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