I'm a McAuley mom, but I admit I had serious misgivings when my daughter--after shadowing at a…read morenumber of other schools--insisted that she felt McAuley was "exactly right." McAuley was our rival school (I'm an AOL grad) and was, back in the day, noted for being snobby, clique-ish, and "fast." (But one never says nice things about one's rival, does one?) My main concern was that McA was so BIG and I felt--from hearsay--that its athletics program was its focus and my budding actress/writer/academic nerd would be lost. I am happy to say that I was WRONG. My daughter immediately found a group of very nice kids who were also grade-conscious. The drama dept (and this is coming from a Longwood alum, now-closed Longwood having had an A-one drama dept. for generations) put on professional productions. My daughter was nurtured and challenged and she found mentors who truly cared about helping her meet her goals, including a close friendship with a retired Sister of Mercy who has been a great emotional support to her. She loved every minute of her high school experience. Best of all, for my husband and me, is that McAuley reinforced our Roman Catholic values. Our daughter was given service opportunities and got a lot out of her Kairos retreat. The theology department is traditional in the best sense of the word: they demonstrate to the students how to live as followers of Christ. My daughter thrived at McAuley. She got into the college of her choice, and is starting this next phase of her life with humor, self-confidence and optimism. I am sorry that one of the other reviewers had such a bad experience at McA. I know that since she attended, the administration has changed, so maybe a lot of graduates made the same complaints which the new staff/admin has tried to address. But at least the reviewer will have some insight when she helps her children pick a school. I hope her kids have the same experience my daughter had, albeit at a different school.

I'm well out of high school but I still look back bitterly at this school. My parents have actually…read moreapologized for sending me to this school. McAuley claims to teach women how to be independent but it does the opposite. The girls are told they don't need men for anything! Well, except to go to prom..then you need a male date. The school is much more concerned with their image than they are with the students. Yay volleyball! What about academics?

This is an amazing school in the heart of Chicago. The new building opened about a year and half…read moreago and it is really state of the art. The building may be new but this school has a lot of history in the city. There is a beautiful green space on the roof of the school. It is great to go up here and enjoy the urban jungle which is our city. There is also a fun play area for the students including nets overhead...we would not want a basketball going over the side and hitting someone in the head 3 stories below. Ouch!!! The staff here is great. They truly care about the students. The IB program here is also really great too. I wish I could go back to grade school and attend here. I also love the front office and the security guards too. Everyone here is so friendly and it makes the experience of school fun. I also must throw out some congrats to Kenneth Staral the school principal. He cares so much about education and the well being of all of the students. If it was not for him, I am sure that this school would not be this successful. He is a blessing for putting together such a great education plan for the students. In the warmer months, there is a guy that lives in the high rise, over the school on Oak, that will play his bag pipes on the top floor of his balcony. At first, I thought I was in some movie with hidden cameras but then realized this guy was up there practicing. So if you are ever walking around the school and you hear the music just look up and you will see this guy. I do get a tear in my eye when he starts playing "Danny Boy"! My little one will start to dance...he has even waved at us from 20 stories above. Fun Fact: The school is named after the first mayor of Chicago. Mr Ogden was involved in real estate, he also was involved with canals too. In fact, his company cut out the canal that made Goose Island in Chicago. He later moved on to the railroads and was president of Union Pacific. He built a railroad to Wisconsin to bring grain to Chicago and also a railroad out West too. He was on the cutting edge of progress and growing our nation. The parents, students, faculty and staff make the learning experience here at Ogden great and I look forward to many more years here.

When I was a kid, I had aced the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Did you know you could ace them?…read moreNeither did I. What I mean by that is that I scored a straight 99th percentile on every single one of my Iowa Tests and got a strange invitation in the mail. The invitation was from pre-International Baccalaureate Program to take an exam and potentially join Abraham Lincoln Elementary or William B. Ogden Elementary. Little did I know, this little invitation would change the rest of my life. At the exam, I met a friend that had moved away in third grade and we laughed wondering why we were both here. We both talked and said that Ogden School sounded better than Lincoln Elementary School, so that is what we decided. After taking their exam, I also had an interview. I was informed that I had scored the fifth best in the city and that I could pick Ogden or Lincoln. Seeing as my friend and I agreed on Odgen, Ogden it was. I missed my first day of school because the school bus did not show up until 9 in the morning, but by then I had already walked back to Volta Elementary as I did not know what to do. Over the years the bus was pretty consistent, except for the day that I missed it and decided to take the train downtown to school. Being eleven years old, sometimes you just don't know where you're going. I got off the train and started walking and then realized that I had no idea where I was. I walked into a police station and yelled, "Help, I need help!" After explaining that I was lost and late for school two cops drove me six blocks to school and apologized for swearing like pirates. I arrived to the playground in the back of a cop car and the kids thought that I had been arrested! With regard to the curriculum, it was a bar up from the Gifted Program that I had been in Volta Elementary and the adjustments took awhile because whereas before I was able to dominate, I struggled with the new social situation and had to take extra time to regain my bearings. By 7th grade, I was doing well in school again and liked French class the best since it was the most interesting. I still speak French today, which serves as a testament of the merits of Ogden's rigorous curriculum. At Ogden, you also learn to deal with kids coming from the deep south side and kids who live right around the corner on the Gold Coast. The pre-IB Program at Ogden set me up well for my future IB entry exams at Lincoln Park High School. The French curriculum is a must have for kids who will want to be speaking French in the future and is a cheaper alternative than sending kids out for private lessons. I also learned the ability to respect and tolerate the diversity of races and socioeconomic statuses of the various Chicagoans that will be found at this school. If you ever wonder who William B. Ogden was, he was the first mayor of Chicago. He worked extensively with land developers and reached the epic agreement that guarantees the land on our lakefront as public parks now and forever. Well forever until the city decides to lease it out for the next quick buck.

Unfortunately, this school has gone downhill significantly. It feels like many of the good teachers…read morehave left, and the overall quality and professionalism have declined. Communication is a major issue -- emails often go unanswered, messages left with the main office don't get returned.

I spent the second half of my grade school years here, before it was called an Academy. Back in…read morethe day it was just John H. Vanderpoel (poel pronounced pool) elementary school, which served grades K-8. No middle school back then, and grade school to high school was a big jump. No buses then, either. We walked to school. In the dead of winter, we walked. It wasn't far for me, though, about 5 blocks down quiet streets lined with huge trees. We lived next-door to my grandparents, who had lived in Beverly since before my mother was born, so I'm thinking my mom went to Vanderpoel, too, but I can't remember for sure. But I do remember the school, a 3-story old brick building that included swings on the playground. I remember my teachers, I remember the gym that doubled as an auditorium, I remember my classmates. The school was named after John H. Vanderpoel (in 1910?) as was Vanderpoel Ave., the street behind the school. John Vanderpoel, born in 1857 in the Netherlands, was an influential artist and taught at the Art Institute of Chicago for 20 years beginning in 1880. Georgia O'Keeffe was one of his students. She praised him as a teacher. Vanderpoel's book, "The Human Figure", was published in 1907. BOY could he draw in pencil & charcoal. Until 1929, his works were housed in the school, then moved to nearby Ridge Park Field House & displayed in the art gallery named after him. Vanderpoel School is indeed part of Beverly's rich history & I loved it there. I loved my neighborhood, my friends, my school, and the simplicity of growing up back in the day (not saying how long ago but it was....long ago). I still have many of my grade school papers & projects. Wow, so different from the work kids do today. Example: a geography project for a state (or country?) that exported cotton. In addition to a written essay, I glued a hunk of cotton to one of the pages. I got an "E" for excellent, no "A" back then at this school. My favorite class: art. I also took kiddie art classes at the Art Institute & then majored in Fine Art in college. I went on to have an art gallery in a Chicago suburb. I'm guessing Mr. Vanderpoel would like that. I'm guessing I would have liked Mr. Vanderpoel.

CANNOT BELIEVE THIS PLACE CLOSED DOWN. I had the BEST memories here. Yes, it was a small school but…read morethat is what made it great. I am still BEST friends with the girls I became friends with in first grade. This place needs to come back.

Never went to school here, but I attend church here while I was living with my grandmother in the…read moreearly 1950s. There are lots of great memories here, but I haven't gone to the school because because they did not have Special Education School for the mentally retarded. I DO NOT like Archbishop Cupich, because he is a weird asshole, of closing down every single catholic church in Chicago! He is one big ass DUMMY who think he is Dick Biondi, by his Get Rich Scheme, and wants to be the richest archbishop throughout in the whole entire Chicagoland area.

I've only been here one time for an event, it was for my great niece. Her cheer team had won a…read moretrophy so they were doing their routines and so were a couple other different age groups did their cheers. It was located in the gym. We sat on the bleachers. Everyone was very pleasant.

I am a happy and successful graduate of Reavis High. It offers more than just a place to fulfill…read moreyour pre-college requirements. It may not be the ideal place of higher educational accomplishments on your list of credits for those seeking some pencil pushing no talent work environment. But for those who know what they want, and are aware of the real world and it's requirements, it offers more than any Ivy League, high brow institution can even begin to. Personally I consider myself beyond successful with accomplishments acquired only through being taught what the real world is like and how to survive in it. I'm not knocking the brainy ones who have worked hard academically to achieve their respective degrees in their desired form of work, who may have also claimed Reavis as their Alma-mater. But I am here to defend the place where I got to realize, and learn, what I am capable of in order to survive in American society. From first grade on I never "fit in" to the accepted curriculum, and was "tolerated" at best, by the teaching community. Until I got into the halls of Reavis where the world opened up for me and I was not only with people of the real world, both student and teacher, but had choices no one knew were lurking in my little brain. I was opened to being able to express and expand the genius concealed inside what the academics said to my parents "Al does not belong here." It was taken as "this kid has a problem" not "He's too smart for this type school." Until I got to Reavis I struggled with fitting into the meaningless and unfruitful forms of education that was offered to the general community. At Reavis my life exploded into the word "opportunity". Yes I had to take what the educated of society told my parents I had to take as classes, but getting that out of the way as quickly and easily as I could I looked forward daily to attending first the basic industrial arts classes and then on to the real shop hands-on classes where I excelled. Where I learned from great men like Caroll Repasey and Bob Moser and others I can't remember at the moment, who could have made twice the money out in the real world. They had a desire and quest to teach those who were willing to learn what they needed to excel in the real world. Money was not the object for these men, as mentioned, they taught me "how to learn" not "what to learn". I can tell you from a lifelong experience with men who have accomplished the "how to learn" that conquering the physical world through "hands-on talent" and being confident in this sort of self knowing has a lot more to offer than book smarts alone. I admire and praise those with doctor's degrees and diplomas that proclaim their dedication to their chosen form of work, but Reavis High School claims more successful and self satisfied individuals because of it's dedication to the education of young adults than can ever be counted or tallied up. I hope and pray, for the sake of society, that Reavis has not changed it's curriculum.

school was alright the swings at the park were epic i would not send my kid here though because…read moreyeah.

This School Has the best Music Department Ever! When I came…read morehere I had an instant connection with the teachers. Especially The band teachers. They will fool around to keep the class fun but will be strict depending on the students. During the course of my attendance the school got rating 1 for music because of how well they guided the students

I attended this school from 6th to 12th grade. The majority of the time I experienced daily…read moreinappropriate remarks from some very ghetto kids from 2001 to 2007. The sexual vulgarity that came out of their mouths was so frequent I started walking from one class to another with headphones. Then I was told by security I was not allowed to wear headphones. At the time, we only had 2 security guards who regularly circulated. One was almost bed ridden due to physical ailments and had to roll around in an a special chair. The other was hearing impaired so he couldn't hear any of the sexual obscenities the boys were shouting. I would not recommend this school for that reason.

Very questionable school. Lots of very interesting faculty. I've had some very bad experiences with…read morethe faculty. Students are overall pretty nice. Some of the parents are also problematic.

Rating based on: Building /property (exterior)…read more Online information I always thought of Gunsaulus as a rather impressive school. A friend lived nearby and I often passed the school over the years. I guess it's been a few years since I went past Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy because it is more impressive than ever! I remembered a playground on the corner section of the school property near 44th St.& Sacramento Ave. It has been replaced by a track and soccer field. (see business photos) It looked more like a high school to me than an elementary school. Well, maybe that's because it is a "scholastic academy"!?! A Little HISTORY The school opened in 1924 and the estimated cost was $650,000 - - a considerable amount of money nearly 100 years ago! Lovely built-in features included: *Foyer with fine heavy oak woodwork, leaded glass windows and decorative plasterwork. *Terrazzo and marble hall floors. *800 seat auditorium *Large gymnasium on the fourth floor. *Enormous original kindergarten with non-working fireplace and kitchen. *The building originally accommodated 500 elementary students as well as the Freshmen of nearby Kelly High School. *Gunsaulus became a Scholastic Academy in 1982. https://gunsaulus.org//m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=200710&type=d&pREC_ID=400544 For history of Frank W. Gunsaulus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_W._Gunsaulus TODAY Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy: *Grades PK-8th *Instruction based on NWEA and Fountas and Pinnell Assessments aligned to Common Core State Standards. *Offers high school algebra to 8th graders who are prepared for success in the program. School Introduction : https://gunsaulus.org/m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=200710&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=401084 Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy seems to be a school where a child can get a very fine education. I just hope they moved that playground that used to be where the soccer field is now to the back of the building. (I did not check out the back of the building) I think it would be nice if the kids can have some fun on their journey to becoming "a community of passionate, loving, and respectful life-long learners and leaders who empower themselves as global citizens" - The Vision for the Students in the School Introduction link above. School -Review #1 Brighton Park Neighborhood Review #6