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Need to decide between Skinner North and Bell RGC for my 5th Grader. Please help!
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We chose SN. We found parents really love both schools. SN students probably stronger academically. Bell stronger with other areas.
Use more convenient commute as the tie breaker.
Two good options. Congrats
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Assuming your child is a returning student for one program and was just offered the other, I’d focus on whether a 5th grade transition feels like the right move. Has your child been at their current program for several years or just one or two? Do they have a lot of friends in their current program who they’d be sad to leave behind? Are you targeting a transition to an Academic Center for 7th grade, and if so, is switching schools now only to leave in a couple of years worth it? Is the current program a long commute and the offered program one that would be more manageable? Is one school’s bell schedule more convenient for you?
I doubt there’s much real difference between them academically, so I’d personally look at quality-of-life variables when deciding.
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We chose Bell, for the exact reasons SadCubs mentioned. Bell also would be the more convenient commute for us. If we lived closer to SN, we probably would’ve chosen SN. Two good options!
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Thanks for all the helps! It seems that we will choose SN since it is a much easier commute for us.
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Hi all, I heard this year Bell RGC kids are mixed with neighborhood school kids for specials from second or third grade (PE, arts, music, etc), but the core subjects such as math, ELA, social studies and science are still 1-2 years above grade level. Has anyone here experienced this new format? Does it help gifted kids to be mixed with other kids? Any insights would be appreciated.
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That’s a return to how it worked before the pandemic, and I think a plus for all the kids in the three programs. The options program at Bell is not a separate school within a school.
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Thank you and I generally agree. I guess my only concern is whether this may somehow affect students’ focus, especially those kids who are on the introverted side (and there are a lot of those kids in RGCs). If the school is mixing the kids in specials, I am just hopeful that the academics and rigor do not suffer in core subjects. We really like the Bell community and location of the school, and it seems to be more much more balanced overall compared to SN and Edison. Though it is probably true that SN and Edison are more rigorous due to the full-site nature.
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Why would there be a concern that the academics and rigor would suffer? I’m not seeing any connection between the presence of neighborhood students in an RGC student’s specials classes and the level of academic rigor in their core classes.
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I haven’t had direct experience at Bell, but acceleration and rigor in core subjects for advanced students and attending specials/electives with traditional learners is essentially the traditional model of schooling. The CPS experience puts so much pressure on selective enrollment that we’re all used to advanced learners being siloed into their own schools. But if you go to any typical American school, you’ll find advanced, honors, & AP kids taking electives next to non-honors children as the norm. I’d even bet that the balance you sense and like at Bell has a lot to do with how they’ve structured the school.
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I am also questioning this concern. My child is in 4th grade options and they do set up “PALMS” groups for electives. So for one period per day, the kids go into their specials (art, music, gym, mandarin, STEAM ) with a mixed grouping of kids from other classrooms. They are assigned groups that are created at random and stay the same all year. It is a great way for kids to make friends in other classrooms. The kids do have a tendency to remain closer to other kids in the options classrooms, but they do get to know and play with others! As well as meet kids in neighborhood program in Girl Scouts, sports,and extra curriculars. Parents that send their kids to Bell, tend to love this. This was historically how it was handled pre-pandemic and took a temporary hiatus and is back again. Core subjects are taught 1-2 years ahead, as it’s a constrained classroom otherwise. K-3rd they are one year ahead in math but this year they are going to be finishing 5th grade and starting 6th grade math.
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(Contained classroom)
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Such a tough choice as both are phenomenal schools. Any other thoughts from SN or Bell parents as to academics? I am particularly interested as to how many kids go to ACs after 6th grade from both SM and Bell RGC?
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Not sure about the ACs, but one of my kids just started at Payton and commented that it seems a large amount of other incoming freshmen graduated from SN and ACs. We also attended open houses in 2024 and 2025 and noticed many of the students on panels were from those schools as well. I personally know of multiple kids from Bell and Edison who went on to Payton, Lane, WY, and Northside.
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