Need Info on U-46 School District

Hi-
I understand that U-46 does not have a good reputation; I think it has more to do with the community than the schools and curriculum. I work in the district; I have worked in elementary schools in both Streamwood and Elgin, and have been with the district about 7 years. Their curriculum is very good, and I have never seen a district offer more training to their teachers in the latest and most up to date and best practices. To be quite honest, I live in Mt. Prospect, and was very disappointed in the curriculum they have in the early elementary level; they seem to be about 6 years behind u-46, at least in literacy.

On the other hand, I would hesitate to send my kids to my school district when they got older, mostly because there are problems with gangs in the community. However, gangs are a problem that faces almost every community; it's just to what extent. I also taught in a middle school in the district, and was disappointed in their curriculum and emphasis. Keep in mind, too, that u-46 is very large, and no matter the school or the district, a LOT depends on the principal of the school, and your child's particular teacher.

I have worked in a lot of schools here and in other states, and in every school, I would feel comfortable having my child learn at the school in which I taught, if I could hand-pick the teacher at each grade level.

Test scores only tell part of the story; keep in mind that when a school serves a population which includes students living in poverty, learning in a language which is not their first, and sometimes with parents who can't help their children for a myriad of reasons, this is going to make the "test scores" look poor; Test scores do not always reflect the teaching OR the curriculum. If test scores were poor at a high-income school, I'd worry about the school. But u-46 has a huge range of incomes and communities it serves, many low-income.

I guess my advice in the end is to go and visit the elementary school your children will attend, no matter what district. The same goes for middle and high schools, because there can be a huge difference between elementary, middle and high schools in the same district.

Sorry to ramble...

M.,

Personally, I do not have experience with this school district but two people very close to me are in the area.

1. My boss. Has a 15 y/o Freshman and a 13 y/o 8th grader. The freshman is asking to be transferred to a private school due to the situations going on at his public school. He's not an outcast by any means. He is a varsity athlete and on the honor roll. My boss has a custom built home about 5 years old and has considered moving.

2. My very close friend has 3 young children (twins age 3 and a 1 y/o). She will be moving out of the area so that her kids don't go to the schools.

PLEASE, other Mama's in the area...I am NOT trying to bash anyone's choice of the school district and I'm sure there are many who have positive experiences with the U-46 district. Personally, I truly believe that as parents, we have much more control than the school district by being involved in our kids lives and activities. I am only sharing what people close to me in the district have expressed.

Good luck, M..

T.

I'm sorry but it's true u-46 is worthless there not honest,staff can't be either because their afraid to lose their jobs.I wouldn't move into u-46 worse district ever,it works for some special needs but not all

What did you end up doing? I lived in Hoffman but went to Barrington schools. Now we are buying, and we'll probably end up in U-46, but Bartlett High, which is very good. The elementary/middle (in Hanover Park and Streamwood) have somewhat lower rankings, so I am unsure what to do. These are not terrible schools, though, just lower stats than some of the Bartlett ones.

Hi M.,
I live in Elgin where some of the U-46 are under preforming. If memory serves,U-46 is the second largest district in the state of IL and it tends to get a bad rap. My kids have been to 3 schools here for prek and K and 1 was awful, but two were fine, so go figure. At this point all 3 of my kids attend St. Laurence Catholic School in grades 1 and 3 and I absolutely love it. Check out the website www.stlaurenceschool.com.

Take Care,
M.

Hi. There is a great website called greatschools.net. They rate individual schools and compare them to other schools in a given area. They also tell you the student/teacher ratio, ethnic breakdown, test scores, etc. We are also looking for a new house and we find this website very valuable. It also has crime ratings for given towns.

Hi M.. Just checking out your other requests to see if I could help! I personally am of the opinion that the U-46 school district appears to do poorly academically because a good majority of the kids do not speak english as a first language in certain areas. I don't think the district as a whole is that bad, just certain parts of it. I was also concerned about this as well when we moved into it! Hope that helps!

I heard you were meeting with Sandy tonight! After you meet with her if you have any more questions about her - feel free to ask me!