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Greetings parents! My daughter will take the tests and, if offered a spot, will consider relocation to Chicago. No so sure I can afford (or desire) a place close to Skinner North. I think a neighborhood like Roscoe Village might be ideal for vibe and budget but the commute for school would be brutal. I am very confused as to whether CPS will provide transportation–“hub stops”?? Anyone know? If that can’t be relied upon, any advice? Wicker Park (if she happened to get into SN)?
Also, struggling with ranking my preferences. Just curious how others have ranked their preferences. I have SN, Edison, SW, Bell, Decatur, Pritzker.
With Skinner West, I could do Brdigeport. Does that mean I should rank SW higher than SN? Ugh, overwhelmed. Anyone else?
My daughter is reading at a second grade level and tested in 99th percentile on the high ability test where I am currently. So, maybe she has a good chance???
TIA!!!!
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If you like Roscoe Village, Bell is a great school, Wicker Park is close to Pritzker. Definitely do not rely on any transportation from CPS, they haven’t provided it for a few years — the hub thing is a pilot, wouldn’t count on it.
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Thanks!!
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SN is consistently ranked very top, and it would worth the commute to go to school there. Even if you move to Bridgeport, the commute would not be too bad (20-30 min).
SW is relatively closer to more affordable areas in the city; however, only one out of their 4/5 classes is SEE program.May I ask where you’re currently tested your kid, and what grade are you testing your kid for SN?
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So, we are in Indiana. She started K a year early this past August in a High Ability Kindergarten which she tested into. If we were to move to Chicago, I would have her repeat K. CPS said that is ok. They said she would have to because she is not eligible for early K due to be out-of-state. So, if she repeats K, she will actually be in the correct grade for her age. That’s another thing to consider. A million things to consider.
Can I ask if Edison is significantly better than Bell or Pritzker? Thank you so much!
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Edison, and Bell them are regional gifted center; Skinner North is a classical school.
Edison sends students to top high school, so as Skinner North.
Bell has different programs which also include neighborhood students. It’s going to be a mix in the bag.
Edison has one class per grade; SN has 2 classes per grade
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But, in terms of the comparing just the regional gifted component of Bell and Pritzker to the Edison program, is the Edison program known for being “better” (I know, loaded word haha). That is, do they send more to the competitive high schools (proportionately) than the regional gifted programs at Bell and/or Pritzker? Or, is this not really known? Thanks again:-)
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According to the stats from last year, SN sends 40% to Payton; similar to Edison; however, there are 2 classes for SN, so by numbers, SN sends the most kids to Payton. Many Edison kids choose to go to Northside, so do Bell kids.
As for Pritzker, tbh, they are good enough school, and a large portion of kids go to SEHS (but not always the very top ones)
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Ok this is helpful. Thank you!
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As far as the cut scores released last year for K entry, all three schools (Bell, Edison, and Pritzker) had very similar cut scores for Rank and Tier 4. All were at the 99% for entry, with Bell requiring a slightly higher score for Rank and Tier 4 than Edison and Pritzker. Fair to say they are all quite competitive for entry. One big difference is Edison is only an RGC while the other two schools have neighborhood and/or magnet programs also at the schools as well.
The only other consideration with your list may be whether you also want to include a slightly less competitive school in your ranking, based on last year’s cut scores. It is an individual choice, though something to consider.
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Bell has quite a few student from the regional gifted class leave for AC centers in 7th. It has increased since the pandemic. Roughly half. The rest stay at Bell by choice. Last year, the entire RGC 8th grade class received an offer to a SEHS. The entire 8th grade class had 50% attend a SEHS (including neighborhood classrooms) So a good amount of neighborhood students (not in RGC) also end up as SEHS. At Bell there are thee neighborhood classrooms per grade and one gifted classroom.
Here are stats copied from Bell’s website. Keep in mind that this is for ALL 8th graders (gifted and neighborhood combined) Lane is a popular choice because it is right across the street from Bell, and close in proximity to most of the students that attend Bell.
High School
Students from Bell attend a wide variety of high schools across the Chicagoland area. For the Class of 2024, here is some data related to offers to students:
62 of our students received an offer to their 1st choice high school program
50% of students who applied got offered a spot in a Selective Enrollment High School
Lane Tech, Lincoln Park, and Amundsen were the three most popular choices among students
47% of students who applied received an offer to one of the top 5 high schools in Illinois
49% of students received an offer to an IB or Honors program
3 students received an offer to a STEM or CTE program
2 students received offers to a Fine and Performing Arts programClick on this link below to show how many students attend Peyton vs Lane vs other schools.
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Correcting my spelling.. bell has three neighborhood classrooms per grade, and one gifted classroom.
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Also want to add.. due to the amount of students that leave bell for AC’s the 8th grade graduating class is significantly smaller then the 32 total allowed students. Yes, they do fill a few seats. I think there is probably somewhere between 20-25 in the graduating RGC class. So keep that in mind when looking at the amount of students that attend Payton, Lane, etc from that 8th grade class.
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Nice find for the Bell 8th grade stats BPMommy! I’ve been searching for something to compare to Edison. The only stats I could find from Edison were from a 4/17/23 LSC Meeting:
24/28 students received an offer to a SEHS. 24/28 received an offer to a selective program (IB, arts), and 26/28 received an offer to one of their first choice schools.
Like other parents here mentioned, most parents choose a school based on school tours and proximity to home. There really isn’t a “better” school, but each school has their own reputation. We looked at Edison and Bell closely because of proximity. My personal analogy is that Edison and Bell may compare to University of Chicago and Northwestern, respectively. U of C is usually ranked a few spots higher than NU, but they are so close that even this year, NU was ranked higher than U of C. The area where the U of C campus is located in may be less appealing than NU’s lakefront campus. North Center may be more appealing to live in than Albany Park, but also quite pricier. You really can’t go wrong with either school.
Edison has a great reputation because it won a National Blue Ribbon award in 2018, and its Kindergarten teacher won the Golden Apple teaching award in the same year. Bell is right up there as you can see from BPMommy’s stats, and has a legendary 1st grade RGC teacher as well. I ask multiple Bell RGC parents and graduates who are now in high school and college, and they all say, “Is Ms. Kaim still teaching there? She was the best!” I don’t know the cut scores in previous years, but last year the general rank cut scores for Bell were just barely higher than Edison (255 vs 252.5). Also, if it matters, the start time for Edison is 7:45am and Bell is 8:05am. Hope that helps!
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Ms Kaim is legendary! What a year 1st grade is. Bell is so lucky to have her.
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You’ve listed some excellent schools with a great mix of classical and RGC options. I think the ranking decision ultimately comes down to personal preferences during school tours or how close the schools are to your home. For us, proximity was key since we couldn’t see ourselves committing to a long, unsustainable commute for a school we plan to stick with for a decade. As someone else mentioned, I wouldn’t count on CPS busing—it seems to work best if your child has an IEP or 504 plan, based on what I heard during the McPherson tour. You might also want to consider whether you prefer a larger school community or a smaller, close-knit one where your child will stay with the same classmates for many years. Staggering your choices is also smart because you never know which test your child might do better on.
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As for ranking the schools, I personally would target for schools that your child is a better fit for the programs. For example, if your child is more cut out for classical programs, I would rank at least 2 schools on the top of your 6 choices.
SW and SN both have classical programs; however, SN is 100% classical whereas SW is only 25% classical. That’s something you would like to weigh in.
SW has advanced placement for math and reading for their other programs. I know families whose kids went through their advanced math and reading, then they are all at WY for highschool.
SN is know for sending students to AC, as well as top SEHS. They represent a huge proportion in Payton, Jones, WY, Northside, Lane.
Good luck with choosing your school!
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