My son is about to turn 2 in a month and I am starting to think about pre-schools. He knows his letters, talks very well, counts etc, so I think he's right along with the most of his age group (right?) I am looking for something in or around Wicker Park--likely private or Catholic. I heard about St. Helen's...does anyone have any experience with this school?
I heard that the process of finding a pre-school, applying and getting admitted can take quite a while, which is why I am starting now--hopefully he can start when he turns 3 (his birthday is 9.2, will this be an issue in terms of cut off?). Since he is an only child I am eager to get him involved in something social, educational and where I am not there for him to run to all the time...
I am also looking for a place that he can go from pre-school to K-elementary...I don't want to be switching schools every year :)
Any advice you might have on this process etc. would be GREAT.
Thank you, Thank you!
GO TO THIS WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO ON CPS PRESCHOOLS: http://www.oism.cps.k12.il.us/elementarydirectory.shtml
Dear M.,
I don't know about the school you mentioned or if one day will make a difference when your son enters school, but I do have a friend who teaches at a preschool associated with Old St. Pat's. And if it isn't associated there, it's within their facility so you could contact them to ask. They also have a daycare associated with them; perhaps he could enter there for a while each week. I know there is also Lake Shore School with one campus up here in Andersonville on Clark, but I understand they have other campuses. I don't know much about them such as philosophy, cost, etc. Good luck to you. My sons are 25 and 22 years, but I remember the preschool search. So long as the dad is OK with Catholic education. My ex and I started having trouble when mine stayed in Catholic school and when it came time for sacramental preparation.
S.
FYI: the cut off for school entry is Sept 1 in the state of IL. So, your child will need to be 5 on Sept 1 to start kindergarten; therefore, he will start school on the day before his 6th birthday.
Hi M.! You should go to the CPS website and find out how to contact Ellen Lorden. She is the woman who goes around and speaks to families about preschools in the Chicago Public School System. I recently attended a talk that she gave on the subject, and it was fantastic. There is so much more information out there than you could even imagine! Too much to try and sort through on your own.
We also received a book about 1" thick that lists every school in Chicago along with all of its ratings. I believe you can get this book through your local library too - Ellen said that she often gives her talks at libraries and leaves extras of this book for them to hand out to people upon request.
Ellen is super nice and extremely knowledgable on this subject. If I were you, I would not proceed without running all of your questions through her! Or at the very least, getting a hold of this book - it is called "The Elementary and Pre-K Directory 2008-2009" Good luck! : )
My daughter goes to school at St. Helen's. She absolutely loves it and looks forward to going to school everyday. The school is rated well and all of the teachers really love the children. They also have a great aftercare program with scheduled activites for the kids. All that you need to do is schedule a tour of the school. This year, they had so much interest in the pre-K program that they opened another class. It is not difficult to get in. They also have K-8. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Check out A.N. Pritzker on Damen by Wicker Park. They are just starting a preschool program this fall, my son will be attending. You might want to wait until the program has a little time to get established, but so far, I am impressed with the parents and principal.
