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Which one of the Skinners is better – overall? Need some clarity please. Thanks in advance.
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Skinner North’s principal, though capable, is very equity-minded, discouraging parents’ push for scholastic excellence, while devoting sizeable resources to remedial students. This, however, doesn’t mean that, overall, students are not doing well academically.
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I am surprised the previous post said that Skinner North has remedial students. It is a selective enrollment school only.
We have a child in Skinner West classical and I must say I am not impressed at all. My other child, in a CPS magnet, is just as challenged if not more than my Classical child and I often regret going to the trouble of having them both split up. I have a friend who has 2 classical school kids [one just finished at West and one still at North] and she much preferred North in terms of the academics. I think the classical program at SW is going down-hill. That being said, SW is still one of the better schools in CPS and they have a lot of good extra-curriculars, music, etc
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What grade is your child in at SW classical?
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There are students who work at the nominal grade level – therefore one year behind the norm – and some even worse. They are given plenty of “support”, which is remedial in nature for the purpose of trying to catch up with the majority.
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Second hparker, it is true.
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Leadership is much better at SN. SW leadership is on the verge of retirement. They are not on the forefront of educational innovation. They also have to deal with the neighborhood component of the school. Yes, the West Loop has a middle-upper class demographic but also keep in mind they have a large Section 8 demographic that they cater to as well. With that being said, we have friends’ kids at SN who are burned out. Pick your poison.
If your kid is bored at SN or SW then it’s probably safe to say they’re extraordinarily smart and he/she needs to be challenged with outside programs like Kids Science Labs or Northwestern’s CTD program. Despite these schools being SE programs, it’s the parents’ job to keep their kid’s engaged. Don’t expect that much from an underfunded public district.
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To Launchpad
“If your kid is bored at SN or SW then it’s probably safe to say they’re extraordinarily smart and he/she needs to be challenged with outside programs like Kids Science Labs or Northwestern’s CTD program. Despite these schools being SE programs, it’s the parents’ job to keep their kid’s engaged. Don’t expect that much from an underfunded public district”.
I would also add Math Circles as well and not as expensive as KSL or CTD both great programs. I know parents who moved their children from SN to Bronzeville not so much of burnout vs the commute and bad traffic. Are they giving out that much homework and student projects ( more so All Hands on Deck via the parents)?
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We are at Skinner West and love it, although we can acknowledge some problems. One problem with the classical program is that there is now only 1 classical classroom per grade-so kids are not being switched around and grouped by ability as they were in the upper classical grades which have 2 sections. Also, if there is a child with a behavior problem in the class, they are stuck in the classroom with that child until 8th grade. The good is that for the most part, there are excellent teachers (with a few exceptions) in the classical program and they are guaranteed to be teaching at least 1 year above grade level. Our child is actually learning high school level math and English this year. The kids are definitely challenged. The neighborhood program is excellent, for the most part. The benefit of the neighborhood is that there are multiple classrooms per grade level and they can switch for reading and math and be grouped by ability, but the teachers don’t always choose to do that. As for the “large population of Section 8” I would say that’s not quite accurate. The school is only 17% low income compared to Skinner North’s 8%. I don’t have any experience with Skinner North but I can say that there is a very strong emphasis on academic excellence at Skinner West, if you can overlook some of the issues typical of a Chicago Public School.
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The CPS results are out…My son received 99 percentile in reading and match and 150 . He was offered Skinner North & Disney Magnet ? I would like to know on whats everyone’s opinion about Skinner North ?
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Where did you find your result? I do not see it on my gocps account. What does it mean?
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99 reading
98 maths
142 gifted
Skinner North – choice 3 behind Bell and Edison
Tier 4
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Got skinner north and STEM academy. We stay close to STEM academy. Do you think it will be ridiculous to let go of SN for STEM??
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Yes
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KT,
You can look for the school rankings based on standardized testing on this website: https://www.schooldigger.com/go/IL/city/Chicago/search.aspx
Skinner North is among the top 3 schools. Disney can’t compare to SN. Your child will be surrounded by students who got tested in and these students mostly are very talented. Disney is a magnet school where the students get in by lottery, so the quality of students is less.
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What factors are important to you when considering which school is “better” — academics, testing statistics, extracurriculars, parent involvement, etc.? We’re going to accept our offer to SN. We’re friends with several families with kids there, and I get the general notion that it’s a great school — the kids are challenged academically (but not overworked), there’s a fairly high parent involvement (especially for a school that is a “commuter” school), and the administration is approachable. I’m not sure if having a principal who is “equity-minded” is a bad thing for a public selective enrollment school that has to accept kids from across the city and various tiers. I have not heard that resources are being wasted or earmarked for students who need extra support when they could be used otherwise. I’m not sure about Skinner West, but from my friends who have kids there (some in the classical program, some in the neighborhood program), I get the sense that there’s a clash between the two programs where the neighborhood families want to eliminate the classical program and the resources are being pushed and pulled to appease both groups.
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docdad,
I think if you look at the schooldigger ranking above with standardized test scores, SN is definitely better than STEM. Remember, every single one of SN’s students are tested in based on their abilities, whereas STEM Academy is based on a lottery system.
If I were you I would be willing to make the sacrifice of a longer commute for a higher quality student body. (In fact, I do live farther away from SN than you.)
If you Google for previous years’ discussions, you’ll find that the waitlist for SN is way longer than any other school. So basically, if you don’t accept this offer this time and want to go back to SN, you might not get a second chance anymore. I’ve known friends of a friend who wanted to go to SN for grade 1, both tested 99/99 but only one was given an offer.
Since you got in on the first round, your child is definitely talented. Wouldn’t you want to cherish that and let him or her grow to his/her best potential?
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I am a a student at Skinner North. I love my school, I have learned so many things from all of my teachers I have ever had, they bring us into deep discussions that don’t take place at other schools. I have also learned so much about other kids at Skinner North, our school is extremely diverse so we get the privelage to learn about other cultures while in the classroom. Not only the academics, but the environment we are put in at Skinner North really helps my classmates learn and thrive.
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I am a student as well and wholeheartedly agree with your comment. I feel that I am able to have discussions I wasn’t able to when I went to another school and growing up in a diverse environment has changed my view of the world.
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Hi, I have been going to Skinner a North for 6 years now and I really like it here. The teachers keep learning fun and exciting while giving us one of the best educations in the state. It is truly a place where everyone feels welcome. The staff really helped me and many other kids I know after moving to Chicago from our old homes in other countries.
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I have a Skinner West neighborhood program student here who just got into Whitney Young Academic center for this school year. I do believe that the neighborhood program has more advantages to the classical program academically. I’ve had my minor complaints about the how large the student body is and how large classrooms are but the academics shine, if that’s your main concern.
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what advantages does the neighborhood have over the classical school program academically?
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@Dolphin Dad I am interested in hear more about this as well!
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Congrats @dolphindad and go Dolphins! I also explained above how the neighborhood program now does have some academic advantages. The main one being that they can divide the kids up by ability for both reading and math because there are 3 neighborhood classrooms. The high levels receive instruction one year above grade level, just like the classical program. Most students in the high level neighborhood program are all scoring in the 90th percentile and above. Unfortunately, the classical program is down to only 1 classroom per grade level and there are always a few kids in there who may struggle a bit. The class tends to have to wait for those kids to catch up so the highest level kids can be affected. Not a lot, in my experience, but it does happen. They aren’t moving as fast as they maybe should be through the curriculum. My experience at Skinner West involves both neighborhood and classical programs. Overall though, I would say I am happier with the classical program as the focus is consistently on academics and the students in there are for the most part all serious about learning. As an FYI, Skinner West just had 24 students who got into the Whitney Young Academic Center this year (which may be the most out of any CPS school) and at least 4 who got into Lane Tech. So I would say overall it’s a great program. There will always be things that can be improved at any school but obviously they are doing something right here.
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“the classical program is down to only 1 classroom per grade level and there are always a few kids in there who may struggle a bit. The class tends to have to wait for those kids to catch up so the highest level kids can be affected”
I guess this applies to all programs/schools. I won’t necessarily say its Neighborhood Class has an advantage over Classical Class academically.
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Our daughter is at Skinner North, and we are transferring her out this year. She has begged us not to go back in-person. The school has completely changed since the previous principal and many of the fabulous teachers have left. In fact, none of our daughters K-4th grade teachers are still at the Skinner North. There is a pervasive bullying problem, and when kids or parents report, they are given lip-service. While our daughter wasn’t being bullied, her best friend was and it was so upsetting for her to witness. When we reported, we were told the bullied child has emotional problems, but our daughter told us that it was only because of how other kids and staff treated her friend. We can attest to that as they have been friends for years, and we have never seen the kind of behavior the school wanted us to believe come out of her friend, who is the sweetest and kindest kid we know. The stories shared by our daughter were really painful to hear. The older the kids get the more competitive and mean they become- so many kids have left in recent years. Other parents can be pretty snobby and treat the school like their own private school. It used to be an amazing school with supportive teachers that allowed for mutual respect in relationships. The principal can be heard saying “if they don’t like it, then they should just leave.” It shocked my husband as the school says they want to honor cultural differences and understanding, but it’s pretty clear they are also selective in who they want to be in their community.
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Macy,
Could you elaborate more on what you mean that kids become competitive and mean. How exactly is it exhibited?
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ES,
The bullying I said above was so mean and never should have happened or gone on so long without the school stopping it. Our daughter told us that there are students made to feel like they don’t fit in and get picked on by most of her grade, and it is sad because most of them all know each other since K. She says she tried to tell recess people and teachers but it just kept going and going. She also says it happens in other grades too.
The kids have been online for over a year, and our daughter has us read group texts about who got what grade on their tests, very competitive, and then who did and didn’t understand-mean spirited. There are chats about how many got an A, B, C…D, F. Add the stress of getting high grades and do well on the test to get in an academic center and then getting into a high school. That is what I meant way to too much stress for elementary school- too competitive and mean when they get older. She gets straight As, but knows her cousin does also, yet has more fun in school and feels way more happy at a different school. School should be not be so stressful, and it makes her cry a lot. We listen to LSC meetings and heard other parents were saying the same thing about bullying in other grades than our daughter.
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Many SN families have high expectations of their children’s academic success, so “way too much stress for elementary school” isn’t surprising, and will probably keep increasing as such families self-select. (Some families are just unable to anticipate what they would get into when applying for K there.) There are students who enjoy being competitive, or don’t care, and others who can’t keep up. C’est la vie. The school’s admin has done a lot to contain the top and help the bottom. Also, has it ever been possible anywhere to eradicate mean-spirited in/out-group dynamics among kids?
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Mary and hparker, thank you for explaining.
hparker, when you said the school administration “contains” the top, do you mean not allowing them to advance even more academically? How is containing done?
I understand they help the bottom through some remedial pull-outs with Reading or Math specialists.
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Just circling back as I realize the question was never answered about those at the top. I can tell you my child is at the top and essentially is asked to answer questions from her peers and help others during class. I’m all for this, and I think students working with students and lifting each other up is so supportive. Here’s the concern-the teachers don’t do it; kids teach each other and the imbalance of power impacts the kids so much. Those at the “top” get lost, and their learning is held back. We have paid a lot of money for our child to participate in after-school enrichments because she loves math. Sadly, we have received a lot of lip-service from the principal and the staff that our child should just go to an academic center (which she is!). Basically, we are being told repeatedly that Skinner North has NO PLANS to work with her. This is one of the many reasons we were leaving the school. THE BULLYING IS SO INTENSE AND IS UNACCEPTABLE ANYWHERE (the comments above normalize bullying, and that is so sad). We are one of so many families leaving the end of this year 2020-2021. Many are going to their neighborhood school or moving out of the city. Check out other schools and move Skinner North to the bottom of your list. It is not what it used to be when we enrolled. Save yourself, and most importantly your child, the stress.
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Our experience with SN has been completely the opposite and overwhelmingly positive. My son just finished 6th grade and year after year the quality of teaching has been miles above what my daughter got in the neighborhood school (Lincoln). Not everyone in the class is at the same level — they do have a handful of kids who tested in early on, but did not live up to their test results, struggled oved the years, but still prefer to stay — but a vast majority of kids are very strong and this challenges everyone to excel. It is competitive, but mostly in a healthy way and my son never had issues with that. Never heard of bullying from him and I know that he is not a bully himself. Once or twice some kids said something stupid about his heritage which made him upset, but that’s what the kids do; nothing of a sort of a persistent issue. He also is moving to academic center now, but teachers never pushed him to do so. I would strongly recommend SN to anyone.
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Honestly, I am puzzled by reviews that allege bullying is prevalent in SN. Our experience so far is that the issue exists among a tiny set of kids, year after year. In this remote year of a middle grade, the rare conflicts in chatrooms were mainly led by girls. Overall, it seems SN’s anti-bully teaching actually works, like a vaccine, in the sense of limiting the issue to a very small number of students. Those kids also tend to be academically challenged, therefore in no way can dominate student conversation in a very scholastic school. Here’s hoping it can offer high school geometry.
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Well, I just learned from our daughter that yet another star teacher (the Golden Apple winner) is leaving the school. I’m glad that your kids weren’t impacting in the bullying, and sorry to hear about the heritage comments…
Maybe I had front row viewing to some of the online comments that made our daughter (and us as parents) really upset? Not sure, but we completely understood why it was in the best interest of our daughter to leave the school. Who are “those kids” being referred to in the comment above? What does “student communication” and “dominate” mean? What does it mean to “not live up to the test results?” Kids at the school should all experience the educational growth no matter what. A small (or large or even just one) number of students who experience bullying all got themselves into the school and deserve a healthy and nurturing environment that enhances their lives. Gosh, I’m so glad we are leaving. Best of luck.
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Dear Mary,
I’m writing to you to tell you that your kind, measured, intelligent comments pulled me back from the brink of sadness after reading some of the “reviews” printed on this site. I am a retired Early Childhood administrator whose children want to the Bank Street School for Children in NY City. I’m so glad you have the courage and compassion to advocate for your child.
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Mary A,
Which teacher is leaving? I know SN has a couple golden apple teachers, so if you do not want to say the name, grade will be sufficient.
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The 7-8th grade math teacher, if she is indeed leaving, may or may not be missed. She’s a good teacher for sure, handling middle-school contents well, and deserves her Golden Apple. But Skinner North families need a math teacher who’s open to adding high school geometry and introducing other topics to challenge advanced students. Otherwise, the school’s one-third-plus leakage each year to Academic Centers is unstoppable.
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1/3 of the students attending AC isn’t problematic. It is a sign that students are prepared well for the next leg of their academic journey at SN. Not all elementary school students, even at SN, are ready for Geometry in 8th grade (especially during a pandemic).
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Just to give you perspective: I am from Europe and it is typical to start geometry in grade 4 of a regular neighborhood school. Not sure why people are saying not all students at SN 8th grade are ready for that. My 2nd grader does geometry. We are the only ones who limit our kids or students to tell them what they are ready or not for. Hopefully, the new SN 7-8 grade teacher will be more open to more advanced material.
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Mary, I’m very sorry that you and your child felt that way. Best wishes at the new school.
I’m also a Skinner North mom and have never experienced bullying at SN. From my experience the teachers do a wonderful job emphasizing to children about being kind and inclusive. For the younger children, they even practice through story scenarios of identifying if someone’s feelings are hurt and how to resolve the problems.
Even though the students are divided into different ability groups for math, spelling, and reading, the group names are neutral, like colors and shapes, so that they don’t imply which level a child is at. The teachers are very respectful and sensitive in this regard. Part of the reason I picked SN is precisely the reason that the entire school has the same students, no special labels such as “gifted” or “normal”.
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For clarification, all students at Skinner North learn Geometry. I am referring to High School Geometry.
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Multiple selective enrollment high schools have math placement tests for new students upon their entry. Those who pass HS Geometry can then take Algebra 2 as their starting point, which will usually lead to having AP Calculus under their belt at the time of college application – an almost necessity for those desiring highly competitive universities. SN’s past excuse for not providing HS Geometry was that, unlike Algebra 1, CPS doesn’t allow elementary school students to earn the credit. Which is ridiculous because the same 8th graders, if they are in an Academic Center, can earn that credit. But what’s more important than the credit is the placement-based course sequence mentioned above that opens up opportunities for highly desirable colleges. Even more important is the fact that, for advanced students, waiting for Algebra 1 in 8th grade and HS geometry in 9th is a waste of their time.
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Just going to say…we are so glad we left. It is amazing to hear how far some will go to defend the school. Please…parents. Do your research and read through and/or listen to LSC comments. There has been an alarming number of families and staff that left the school…
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Hparker
you are correct about the math levels for CPS my son is at Lindblom AC he passed the algebra test and then took geometry over the summer 5 weeks for 4 hrs M-F. Passed did very well now going to 8th grade Alg/tri for 8th grade and will hit prevail or cal for 9th grade. The AC really open things up and gives a lot of HS credits.
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I’ve read all the comments above and wanted to give perspective on SW and some feedback on bullying in general. I believe that no bullying should be discredited or doubted because it happens in pockets and should be taken seriously and reprimanded. It is up to the staff and parents to rear children away from behaving this way. There is a thing called “healthy competition “ and not pressuring the kids to the point of mental illness or the need to bully to meet their parents expectations. It starts at home , always remember that.
As a parent of SW my daughter is in neighborhood even though I put her in boot camp twice before she took the K classical test and she was doing worksheets for homework with me since she was 18 months old. She didn’t get in to classical however she’s in the highest class for math and reading which is the same curriculum as classical. With that being said, she does love her school but since remote learning her math skills have weakened and her teachers are not good at supporting their learning. I will also have to say that the school is struggling to fill the empty teachers spots who have left since covid and are hiring young teachers at 24 years or below who have little to no teaching experience. Also, we just got notice the principle is leaving, but this could be a good or bad thing depending on who’s taking over.
I will have to say that I am guilty of pressuring my daughter to get 100% on all her homework and tests when I see that she struggles at getting one wrong each time and even though I feel bad after seeing her get so upset BC of the pressure I know the only answer is not to pressure but to support by giving her additional help like tutoring and prep classes in addition to her schooling. A lot of parents went private this year or suburb BC of the remote mandate and they were smart in doing so BC the remote learning impacted the students ability to learn and the teachers motivation to teach. I’m going to supplement my daughters education this year with additional support but depending on who takes over as principle she may or may not be attending SW next year.Also, when looking at test scores online to compare schools keep in mind that the test scores for SW is an accumulation of both their neighborhood and classical together so if it’s lower than the other classical schools it’s because it’s a combination the neighborhood scores as well which is not a fair representation of SW classical test scores. It never was so it’s hard to gauge. I will have to agree with the other SW parent aboves comments that having my daughter in the highest neighborhood math class is better than the classical BC she’s learning the same but gets variety of students each year and no one in her class holds them back. I will be training her on testing each year to get acclimated to it so that by the time she’s ready for the AC testing she’ll get in and get out of the CPS elementary school classroom sizes.
Feel free to ask me any questions about SW, happy to help.
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SW is getting a new principal. Not sure if new person will prioritize Classical kids as much of the focus is on neighborhood. The Middle School program is great at Skinner W. Skinner north recently ranked 1 in test scores though as a Classical only school it is being directly compared to West which is only 25% classical or less and 75% neighborhood. I think they are both good. And they are both CPS so you get all that comes with that….
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New mom, seeking info on SW and SN which is better for my kids currently kinder and 2nd grade.
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These are great thoughts for both Skinners. My K just got an offer to SN and I wonder if we should forgo the offer to try SW for R2.
These concerns about bullying and families leaving is really concerning.
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Thank you everyone for very honest conversations on SN and bullying.
my 5th grader who is in Bell Options program offered SN for 6th grade. Would you kindly consider commenting to help me decide if we should move her now?
Thank you in advance for your kindness.
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The sixth grade teachers are all very good (esp. the literacy and social science teacher👍🏻👍🏻) at Skinner North and my son never had the bullying issue at school. Overall, we were so happy for the time my son at SN (from KGN to 6th). My son just left this year for the Academic Center.
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The SW new principal is really de-prioritizing classical. She has actually said that she doesn’t know why it exists.
A lot of good teachers have left & retired. Others were re-assigned to Neighborhood including the excellent 6th grade Math teacher and English teacher. This year the 6th grade has two brand new teachers with little experience and they are teaching the regular CPS 1-year ahead curriculum [which is really just kind of on par with normal material in the suburbs or what you might get at a good neighborhood or magnet program in CPS]. The world language program is also suffering teacher shortage and has gone partially Virtual.If you are considering going in for Kinder [unless you live in the boundary or nearby anyway] I would say don’t bother the commute. Also there is no before care, spotty aftercare, no bus, and they open doors at 8:45am. A committee is supposedly “looking at” these issues. There are still some parents who are really passionate about excellence in education, both in Classical and neighborhood program, but the parents wanting accelerated material are not getting a lot of support from Administration. Be ready to aggressively advocate for your child.
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This is interesting about SW and I am not surprised. I can tell you that you always will have to advocate for your child, control the curriculum and level of academics, including at magnet schools, classical and RGCs. Unfortunately no public school is interested in quality acceleration without strong incentives (read- money, promotions, etc.) We have been at SN, Decatur, one RGC and then switched to public magnet due to bullying and intense culture in all these schools, kids were watching cartoons during aftercare, nobody truly cared about acceleration except parents… Now we live in suburbs, and I can tell you there is not much difference in academics, but there is a huge difference in culture. Culture is what matters, it makes your child a whole human being, and you can always catch up on academics.
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Skinner west is an overall better school. With new and updated appliances and gyms and facilities. If your kid wants a safe community and more friends go with the better route, SKINNER WEST SUPERSTARS!!!
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We did SW neighborhood program for first grade and my child hardly learned anything new. We were at guidepost Montessori before
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“The SW new principal is really de-prioritizing classical. She has actually said that she doesn’t know why it exists.
A lot of good teachers have left & retired. Others were re-assigned to Neighborhood including the excellent 6th grade Math teacher and English teacher. This year the 6th grade has two brand new teachers with little experience and they are teaching the regular CPS 1-year ahead curriculum [which is really just kind of on par with normal material in the suburbs or what you might get at a good neighborhood or magnet program in CPS]. The world language program is also suffering teacher shortage and has gone partially Virtual.If you are considering going in for Kinder [unless you live in the boundary or nearby anyway] I would say don’t bother the commute. Also there is no before care, spotty aftercare, no bus, and they open doors at 8:45am. A committee is supposedly “looking at” these issues. There are still some parents who are really passionate about excellence in education, both in Classical and neighborhood program, but the parents wanting accelerated material are not getting a lot of support from Administration. Be ready to aggressively advocate for your child.”
Slow your roll there. MY kid has been going to SW since preschool and it has been a great fit for her because they are inclusive and friendly. They seperate the age groups so some won’t get hurt. It is perfect for younger grades because there is more of a challenge and can help you in the upper grades.The new principal is fabulous and had created new ways for the students to participate and learn.
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@Unimpressedmom
I see what you mean, if you stick with SW, through the years your child with gain more skills and knowledge. Have you been testing for the classical program?
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What grade is you child in now?
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Skinner West 1st grade neighborhood parent here. There is no question CPS is not going to have the same bandwith resource wise compared to suburban school districts. Are you able to personalize the education and accelerate for the most advanced the way you can with a private school? Of course not. That being said, I feel like my child has learned an incredible amount in just a few months, and they are learning what other 1st grade programs around teach. I know a family who had moved to the North Shore in a well known suburban district. A year later they moved back (for various reasons) and family saw no difference in what the children learned in that suburban district than Skinner West. I saw more progress in my child than I ever did previously (was in a Montessori, not Guidepost). They also have really nice extra classes – 1st graders get a foreign language, STEM, art, PE and dance at the moment (varies slightly as the grade levels go up). Is the school perfect? No. Classrooms are on the larger side so children have to be ok in that setting (our started ~ 30 but some have left/moved so more like mid-20s now) and there are the usual things that come with being in a large school district that has to serve the needs of kids across the city (no bussing unless you have an IEP, initially could not drop off before 845 but now you can by 830 and there is an after school program available, some of the admin staff are not timely with responses to email etc). There is a pocket of kids who are accepted by lottery and thus do not live in boundary (the rest are fully neighborhood or have tested into the classical program, one in each grade). But does it have mostly great teachers with low turnover. The families in the neighborhood are very invested (our class has lots of parent involvement and we had like 8-9 parents volunteers for their holiday party, and the school is able to fundraise through its Friends Of organization what the CPS budget lacks). The school is clean and relatively modern (basically was rebuilt in 2009 with an annex that was added later). I will add the diversity is incredible – literally children of ALL backgrounds which is fantastic exposure for them all. I think there were mixed feelings on the old principal. The new one seems like she’s making an effort but it’s a large school and I would not expect someone to be able to fix every problem. If you’re expecting daily communication, that will not happen, but there is reasonable communication from the school through FB and newsletters, just takes some effort. So overall while not perfect there are many positives given its tiny spot in the CPS system.
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As a long time Chicago resident, Skinner has always been one of the crown jewels within CPS.
Dont forget Skinner North was a branch school started because of how successful Skinner was.
But SW has been spiraling downward for the past 15 years. It’s a sad sight to see and the schools abysmal performance is reflected in every school grade available. Any intelligent kid just wont get challenged and inspired here any more and teachers have left in a steady stream.
Rankings don’t mean much but isn’t it telling that Skinner went from a top 10 rank (by all lists including usnews, schooldigger, Chicago mag) to the current rank somewhere around 150?
The only saving grace is that the school now has about 30% low income students attending and that number has increased each year.
These students need help and I applaud the new principal who has guaranteed these students spots in the school.
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How does everyone feel about Skinner West these days? Everytime I step inside, it feels like chaos. I never see the principal, drop off is chaos. Communications are all over the place. I’m not sure I understand what everyone loves about skinner west. I’m seriously considering moving my child out of the classical program to a different school, but hoping others have a different perspective to share that might provide insight into why this school is so highly rated.
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@AT. Agree with you. Skinner west always seems chaotic. Our concern is also the social growth of our child and safety issues that parents have raised. These may be a deal breaker.
What grade are you in? Do any students leave their classical program?
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One or two have moved away. But it’s not common. The kids get super emotionally attached to each other.
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Mine is in second. One or two occasionally leave classical but not often.
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What do people think about Skinner North? Lots of old posts about the negatives aspects of the school, but wondering if they still exist? If so, why such a huge push for people to get their kids into SN?
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I think the negatives will always be there. The social emotional is always a factor and a concern w high achieving kids. Some didn’t like that the principal placed more focus on that than academics. Skinner fell from 1 to 11 in some best elementary schools list, so there’s scrutiny around that too. I have a kid there and while everyone wants kids there so badly, the community aspect is far from showing that they want to be there. It’s frustrating to say the least.
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I have heard some recent and growing unhappy feedback from SW parents. But my kids aren’t there so I have nothing first hand to share.
I am a parent of multiple Skinner North kids. I like the principal. Based on my experience, she addresses concerns promptly and practically, but I have not had many concerns that warranted interaction with her. The teachers have been good. Most to care about the students, school and community. The families really care about learning and take pride in the community. The students really make SN exceptional. The vast majority of kids I have encountered through school events, car pools, birthday parties and playdates are super exceptional. When you combine that with their belief in learning and motivated families, it’s a desirable place for like minded students and families. My kid’s friends are AMAZING.
But you have to take an honest assessment of your student. They may be gifted but not motivated at this age. They may be motivated but not gifted. If either is the case, they may have less fun at SN and that could be counterproductive.
I don’t see a lot of school specific negativity but I do think it’s harder (for families to stay engaged and students to have weekend playdates) when everyone is spread around the city. Plus the removal of busing for selective enrollment tired people out. Plus maybe the CPS CTU push away from selective enrollment has driven some to the burbs.
SN is a great place for the right kids. Teachers expect a lot but in a caring way.
Downsides: SN attention to arts, language, and music is below average. CPS class sizes make it hard to get private or suburban school level attention. Kids have below average interest or ability to commit to school sports.
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We currently have multiple kids at SN and truly love the school. Our kids enjoy going every day, and as parents, we feel very supported. Like another parent mentioned, the principal does a fantastic job addressing any concerns promptly and is highly involved. She and the assistant principal consistently attend school events—everything from parent coffees with teachers to after-school events organized by families. They are present not only during the planning phase but also during execution, which really shows their commitment.
The teachers at SN are amazing—dedicated, caring, and great with the kids. One of the things we especially appreciate is how much they care about the social-emotional well-being of the students, not just their academics. Academically, SN teaches one grade level ahead, and even if students fall behind, there is additional support in place to help them meet those expectations.
I just spoke with the principal after the selective enrollment high school (SEHS) results came out, and she shared that roughly 90% of SN students were accepted into the SEHS of their choice. That’s a huge testament to the school’s academic strength and the support provided.
While it’s true that the school could offer more in terms of arts, music, language, and sports, we’ve supplemented these extracurriculars outside of the school anyway, so this hasn’t been a major concern for us.
I’ve spoken with many other SN parents, and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. One parent I know has an older child at a CPS gifted school and a younger one at SN, and she said she would choose SN again without hesitation.
Regarding SW, we attended their open house and even enrolled our child in their preschool program a few years back, though we ultimately chose not to attend. The first part of the open house was well-organized, especially the student performances in the auditorium, but the school tour felt a bit chaotic, and the overall atmosphere of the school seemed overwhelming. After we declined the preschool offer in August, we continued to receive weekly calls through December asking why our child hadn’t shown up. Despite informing them several times that we had enrolled elsewhere, the calls persisted. It left us with a negative impression of the administration and their internal communication. Needless to say, we did not include SW in our application for selective school choices.
Just wanted to share our personal experience for those considering their options!
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I have a student at SN and I’m very happy with the administration (the principal and the AP) and the teachers. Concerns are handled well, feedback is asked for and listened to, my child is thriving. In regard to the ranking changing- there are a lot of factors that go into ranking systems, but a big factor is what are the student’s year over year improvement on standardized tests. After COVID, the SN kid’s test scores dropped a little along with the rest of the country. Then they came right back up once in-person school resumed, giving a nice ranking lift. Now though, with so many kids testing above the 95% every year in all subjects, its hard for the student body to see big improvements year over year- which hurts them in the ranking systems that are out there. Perhaps other factors are at play, but that is the reality of the test data.
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Thank you so much for those with kids at SN providing additional information! While it does sound like there could be improvements to art, music, language, etc, do parents find it necessarily lacking or that it could be improved upon? How often do kids have art, gym, music each week? Do they get gym in addition to recess each day?
Our current school has a lot of offerings (drama, dance, music, AV, gym, art) which sounds great, but I find that the multitude of offering results in gym or any sort of physical recess (not just classroom free time) only happening once or twice a week.
Has bussing come back to the school? Not that it can be counted on, but wondering if CPS has implemented the hub system back to only certain schools and whether SN is one of them.
Thanks in advance!
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I have one kid in SN. They have recess every day, PE every day. Art and music are definitely weak school wide. I believe it’s because of the small size of the school, a lot of group activities are hard to organize.
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SN is not one of the 18 SES/magnet schools that has had bussing services turned back on. Perhaps next year. The kids have recess daily, gym 2x a week, Spanish 1x a week, art 1x a week, music 1x a week. There are also clubs and programs- starting in 4th grade kids can try out for the annual school musical and participate in that with rehearsal 2x a week before school. There is an open house and tour on Wednesday April 16th for admitted families.
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SN is not one of the 18 SES/magnet schools that has had bussing services turned back on. Perhaps next year. The kids have recess daily, gym 2x a week, Spanish 1x a week, art 1x a week, music 1x a week. There are also clubs and programs- starting in 4th grade kids can try out for the annual school musical and participate in that with rehearsal 2x a week before school. There is an open house and tour on Wednesday April 16th for admitted families.
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We are ‘graduating from’ SW to go to an academic center after this year [6th]. SW is generally a well performing school within CPS, but during our years there, we do feel that the classical program be reduced in priority, and had changes in some personnel as teachers retired. The current difference for the classical program at SW compared to the neighborhood program, as stated by the principal, is that the classical kids learn 1 year ahead the typical SW curriculum in English and Math. That’s it. Stand-alone classical “schools” like Bronzeville, Decatur, SN – are able to do more to create a specialized program and ‘school identity’ related to Classical than SW can. SW is a classical program housed in a primarily neighborhood school. Recommend to check the website / ask Admin for the latest info but in terms of some logistical things: the start time is 8:45am, doors open 830, no beforecare. There is aftercare. Language class is in person or Virtual, twice a week and very basic in our experience. Gym is twice a week. Busses are back but the hub system is inefficient. Out-of-boundary siblings have not been accepted in the past couple of years, by policy / due to crowding, unless they test into Classical. We do appreciate our wonderful classmates and teachers, and are grateful for our time there.
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