I thought this was a good article, addressing many of the concerns we have about staying in Chicago and the schooling options available. When Maude was born, we made a pact to stay in the City at least until kindergarten. We've waffled a bit on that pact for a couple reasons. One, we saw the scores for our local public school (Not good). Two, the cost of private schooling is ridiculous.
I think the article has given us a new perspective on what can be done at the local school level to improve a school's performance...and it might keep us in Chicago.
On a related note, has anyone had experience with the Northside Parents Network? Is anyone a member? Any thoughts and/or insight would be helpful.
Regards,
Jim
NPN
We've been NPN members for about 3 years. The website is a great source of information with active discussion boards on a variety of topics. We've also had good luck buying and selling child/baby gear through the site.
Overall, we've been happy with the organization though your mileage may vary. Let me know if you want more details.
Tony Santone
Northside Parent Network
I've been a member of NPN for several years now and have found their school fairs to be an excellent venue to learn about the many educational options that are available in the city.
Brandon
Chicago schools / NPN
Agreed about the school article. There is some terrific stuff going on at a number of north side neighborhood schools. The key is obviously parental/neighborhood involvement, as has occurred at Nettlehorst and a few other schools, and that's the thing to look for. Keep in mind that test scores are generally lagging indicators of a school's quality, especially if you are considering entering at kindergarten, so the best way to figure out what's happening at your local school is the neighborhood grapevine.
I happen to think test scores are generally over-emphasized in the discussion about school quality. They are more reflective of the socio-economic profile of the children attending the school than the quality of the education being offered there. But of course there's also a circular, self-perpetuating quality to test score data: schools perceived as "good" because of high test scores attract families of increasing socio-economic status (witness the premium on home prices in the Bell School district), which leads to the enrollment of kids from increasingly well-educated households (which itself is a -- perhaps the-- primary factor in further raising scores), more parental involvement, more private financial and other support to improve resources, etc. So to that extent, they're not completely irrelevant indicators of school quality, but they have to be analyzed carefully, and definitely in conjunction with eyeballing the school and asking careful questions.
NPN is a decent resource. I'm certainly glad it exists. It understandably tends to be dominated by the Bugaboo constituency (speaking as a Bugaboo owner), and thus tends to focus on the concerns of Bugaboo families (i.e. a bit too much hyperactive, consumerist parenting talk for my taste). But the discussion groups can be quite useful.