Chicago Public Schools/ Magnet Schools/Programs

In My Humble Opinion
1

I live in SW Ohio, where I’ve been for around 17 years.

I’m from Chicago, born and raised. I’ve lived in Hyde Park, Rogers Park, Uptown and Edgewater.

I’m possibly moving back to Chicago this summer, with 2 teenage kids. I need to investigate high schools for them. (a junior and a freshman) This weekend I spoke with a guy in Hyde Park who talked of Walter Payton, (his kid goes there), Whitney Young and Kenwood.

I’m open to many neighborhoods, but prefer lakefront, and near NW. (as well as Hyde Park, probably my first choice) Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, Wicker Park, Ravenswood, Old Irving, Andersonville, Logan Square, Wrigleyville are some of the neighborhoods I’d be interested in. There are others, but you probably get the drift.

I’ll be going back to Chicago to do homework/research, and it occurred to me that the guy I spoke in Hyde Park was actually very helpful.

Anyone have any kids in CPS/Magnet schools? Any experience with a given school? Any to avoid? Politics? Methods of applying, gaining entrance?

I’ll be looking for information/advice from different sources, including SDMB.

Any help/experiences would be appreciated.

2

We’re going through this right now for next year for WhyKid (14 - going into high school). It sort of entirely sucks, to be honest. I highly recommend getting housing within automatic entry of one of the few good schools - Whitney Young, to be sure, or Lane Tech if you want to come back to the north side.

Lane Tech, if you don’t live in their area, has a lottery system after an entrance exam which you can only take if you’re in the top two stanines on your ISATs (State achievment tests). So they’re selective even before their lottery, and still get 7,000 or more qualified occupants for less than 1000 openings. Their application was due back in December of '06 for the '07 year. Obviously, living near Addison and Western is the easier way to get in there - you’re automatically in!

VonSteuben, likewise as Lane Tech.

Chicago Science and Mathematics Academy is pretty good, but I don’t know if they have upper classes going yet. They’re straight up lottery, with about 300 applicants for 20 spots this year. They pulled names on Friday, and should be letting us know this week. (pleasepleasepleaseplease!)

You just have to look and see, honestly. My kid is a math/science kid, so I didn’t look at art or English-heavy schools. Some of the magnet/charter get better test scores than average, and some get much worse. Nothing is worse, however, than the local Rogers Park school we’re stuck with as our default - Sullivan, which is a total gang warzone with a 26% dropout rate. :eek:

3

Does that mean that if you live in the area of any school you’re in that particular school?

IOW, if I lived in Whitney Young’s area—as just an example—am I an automatic “in” for Whitney Young?

And that’s for regular schools as well as magnet programs?

If that’s so, I think you’re right—my only hope is to move directly into the district of the school I want the little raindogs to go to.

4

No. It is true for Lane Tech, and for most other “regular” CPS schools. Some of the “regular” schools are good, like Lane Tech, and some are bad, like Sullivan. If you live in their area, they are declared your “neighborhood school”. It’s the default school you’ll go to if you don’t apply/get in anywhere else. But you can apply at **any **other CPS school. Many people apply to magnet or charter - either of which may be “selective enrollment” or “lottery”. Or you can apply at any other regular “neighborhood” school - again, some “selective enrollment” and some lottery. I know, it’s weird. Lane Tech is a regular neighborhood school with open enrollment to local residents AND it’s selective enrollment to applicants from outside its neighborhood.

Whitney Young is NOT an open enrollment neighborhood school. Whitney Young in particular is a selective enrollment magnet school - one that you have to meet requirements and apply to even if you live next door. Here’s their admission information.

So if you’re coming into the area and have flexibility in what neighborhood you buy/rent in, your SAFEST bet is to live in the neighborhood of a good regular “neighborhood” school, so you have a backup plan if the magnet or charter of your choice doesn’t take your kids. Of course, most of those neighborhoods are going to be the more expensive ones.

Here’s the CPS website, with information about the school system and each school.