Most entitled parents I've ever seen. Does nothing but damage the businesses around it by having luxury cars blocking the whole road, both the limited parking for businesses and these people actually parking in the road blocking traffic in one direction. Ridiculous. Would be incredibly helpful if the schools traffic guards would do something about them lining up outside the school. This can't be that difficult. read more

Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School - Elementary Schools Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We have been parents at this school since 2010 and have two BZ grads and one current lower school student. Bottom line- this is a remarkable school. You will find top notch academics and your children will not only be very prepared to thrive in a rigorous high school but also have the social emotional skills, self advocacy and confidence to be a leader in their highschool setting and beyond. Our own kids are self starters, loyal friends, hard workers, engaged learners, and leaders and we attribute this to their schooling at Bernard Zell. The BZ early childhood program is spectacular. The thoughtfulness that has been put into the training of the staff and actual physical environment serves as a model of what an ideal developmentally appropriate pre-k program should be. Take a tour to see for yourself. I love the progressive flavor of this school. Our kids learn conceptual math, how to think analytically, how to be confident public speakers, how to work collaboratively with others and beyond -there is no route cookie cutter learning to be found. Other things we love about BZ: -This school has an awesome low to student teacher ratio and every single teacher my children have had has truly known their strengths and challenges and are invested in how to support them as individuals each year. -I love the growth mindset philosophy that you will see at every age level at BZ for making sure kids have "good struggles" and teaching them their brain is a muscle and while everything may not be easy at times that with dedication,persistence, practice and hard work (and accommodations from the teachers as needed) they can be successful. -We have loved that BZ has phenomenal resources for kids on every end of the continuum- kids who need a little extra enrichment will find it here and kids who need a little extra learning support will also find it at this school. - The school has a nice PE program ( the yearly rollerblading until in the school's gymnasium has been a definite highlight for my kids) . There is also a fantastic after school athletic program starting in 5 th grade which is included in tuition . Our kids chose to participate in soccer, basketball , volleyball and golf but there is also track, girls volleyball, and girls softball. Practices are typically offered 4 days per week ( but kids only have to commit to about 50 percent of those if involved in other extracurriculars.). The teams do surprisingly quite well competing with other local private schools , sportsmanship is emphasized, and it's a huge bonding experience for the kids ( the majority of students seem to participate in at least a sport even if they aren't stellar athletes ). For kids not interested in sports or who want to do some sports and some other activities, there are other cool offerings like robotic team ( one of my kids that and the annual competition was super fun to watch ) or lots of music extracurricular opportunities ( e.g jazz band, pit band for the school orchestra) - BZ has an extremely warm parental community. A long term teacher told us once that when your child goes to BZ, the whole family goes to BZ. That is spot on- there are so many ways to get involved here as parents and we feel we have made lifelong friends at this school. -We have loved affording our children a Jewish education. We aren't the most religious family and BZ has taken the pressure off of us to provide our kids with an excellent jewish education. My children who have already graduated are proud to be Jewish and have a strong Jewish identity. Sending our kids here was one of the best decisions we have ever made as parents. I highly recommend it ! read more

I've noticed some negative reviews, which I do not believe were fair. We sent our four children to Anshe Emet (now BZAEDS). It is a Jewish private school so anyone who complains about that should have known better. All four of our children were extremely well prepared for high school and especially for college. All of them graduated college and various grad schools. All of them are married with children, professionals, focused and productive. What could be better than that? Two of our grandchildren are recent graduates and now attend a selective Chicago public high school. Their friends come from all backgrounds and they have remained friends with their fellow BZAEDS alums. They are spectacular kids. Well adjusted, hard working students and athletes. Their BZAEDS backgrounds have served them well. Meanwhile another grandchild currently attends BZAEDS. She is learning, growing and is kind and attentive to others. She doesn't even realize that she is being prepared for the rest of her life to grow and succeed. But she is. One last comment. There are few non-Jews at the school but one of my daughters best friends at Anshe Emet is of Thai descent. They remain best friends today more than 30 years after they first met. Of course the school is not right for everyone, but everyone deserves such a wonderful education and such a wonderful place. read more

I experienced this school first hand and I can tell you that it was a horrible time I didn't learn, the food, 1/10 id rather have eat hot dogshit we found a hair in our pasta, and a bone in our hot dogs. we had a total of 4 good teachers in eight years so do not send us here please read more

I went to this school several years ago and have mixed feelings. A lot of what I'm referring to may be dated, but I assume much of it still applies. For some background, I attended this school for ten years, from kindergarten to eighth grade graduation. BZAEDS offered me a good education. I'm not sure how much of that was improved by private tutoring given to me outside the school by my parents, but I generally excelled in school and ended up at a great CPS selective enrollment school. The school was also well-funded, as about anyone who has seen their tuition costs might assume. The Shabbatons and Tiyul could be fun when it wasn't a religious service. And finally, it did end up instilling a sense of Jewish identity, but one I ultimately needed to break apart and piece together myself years later. The major positives end there. Next to BZAEDS's generally competent academics was the Jewish Studies department. About an hour and a half was dedicated to Hebrew and Jewish Studies every day. These classes were almost always boring, with 10 years of learning Modern Hebrew leading me no closer to fluency than a year of high school Mandarin Chinese. Jewish Studies is Jewish Studies: if you're not into religion, it's a painfully dull experience, and if you are into religion, don't be surprised if it turns you off of it. Tefilah, the weekly 45 minute prayer session, felt like a prison, with teachers watching the praying students like hawks (I used to trace paths in the popcorn ceiling in my mind to try and escape the monotony). Besides all of this, Israeli nationalism was rampant. I, along with most of my classmates, had never been to Israel until Tiyul in the 8th grade. And yet for years before that point, we were given talks by IDF soldiers and made to sing Hatikvah every week to the Israeli flag. It took me years to deprogram it all and learn about basic history like the true scale of the Palestinian exodus. The school was wealthy (the snobby kind), homogeneous, and clique-y. I was bullied, but the bullies were given a slap on the wrist and it didn't stop until I left the school. Staff would make comments about interfaith relationships being impossible, knowing well that I belonged to a healthy interfaith family. Collective punishments were common, and enforcement of said punishment was often not so collective. The stories I've told of my times at that school have left people with a "what the hell" expression. I've had to confirm some of the events that happened with other people in my year to ensure I wasn't making up or gaslighting myself about some of the crazy (and often awful) things that went down. Leaving BZAEDS, I immediately opted to go to a less-wealthy public school. It was the best decision I ever made, and I encountered something that BZAEDS was never close to really having: diversity. Coming from a school where basically everyone is a rich, white, Jewish kid means that you live in a bubble. A lot of bubbles. Bubbles that public school gradually popped for me, in terms of class, race, religion, politics, nationality, sexual and gender identities, and more. BZAEDS built me up as this sheltered Jewish kid, leaving it turned me into the person I am today. I often find myself wishing I was raised with that diversity from the start. BZAEDS made Judaism sickening to me. It took several years to break down the idea the school gave me of what being Jewish meant, and several more to build my Jewish identity back up into something I was more comfortable with. That forced journey of self-discovery, and I guess some of the puzzle pieces, have been the only Jewish gifts this school gave me. Maybe the school has changed over the years. I know that fancy new wing wasn't around in my time. I've seen that they now celebrate Pride and give some LGBTQ education, something that was sorely missing for me as a queer kid during my time at the school, which gives me an odd mix of relief and jealousy. At least this school is not a yeshiva, or like one of those wacky Evangelical schools, but it is still a religious school with all the problems that come with that. My parents have stated that sending me to BZAEDS was one of their biggest regrets, and I happen to agree. It's hard not to look back with some semblance of nostalgia, but I know I hated it while I was there and I would hate it if I was suddenly thrust back into that school. I certainly would not send my kids here if I was a parent. The academics were good, that's the two stars. read more

The fake and prewritten reviews tell you nothing of this school. My children used to go Zell and you will not find top-notch education here. After graduating, my children were behind and considerably less prepared when compared to CPS kids. There is no diversity and we noticed the "woke" trend only started once Gary Weisserman arrived. Parents are unafraid to speak out because of retribution from administration. If you have an issue or a problem, good luck trying to get it resolved. Any way we can get the former head of school back? read more

I can't imagine being anywhere else. BZ has been such a welcoming community where teachers care so deeply about their students, where families help each other out, and where students become wonderful humans. The school has supported my student in all avenues of his education and are always open to find ways to be even better. I love being here! read more

Bernard Zell has been a haven for our family for the past 8 years. The strong education combined with the constant teaching of values is what makes the school so very special. Behind the large brick wall is truly an oasis in a large city where the students and teachers come together to instill a "menchiness" in all our children. From the endless educational resources to the fun sporting games, this BZ community has enriched our lives in so many ways. We are beyond thankful our children get to spend their days here growing into strong and compassionate leaders! read more

This school is so bad. Do not send your children there thinking they will be properly prepared for a CPS Select Enrollment school, let alone ANY High School. If you are interested in deep diving into conservative religion, it is the place for you, but not for any academic minded person. Their policies of getting IEP's (Individualized Educational Program) for students and asking families to pay for extra tutoring and in class aides are crazy considering the cost of the tuition. If your child is gifted, like mine, they will ask you to take them for a educational psychological evaluation (cost $7,000-14,000) to see if they are ADD or ADHD. After spending the money (in 1st and again in 5th grade) we were told by a Psychologist that our student was highly gifted and should have been given accelerated work rather than being slowed down by the other students. They never accelerated him, fyi. Luckily, we got the kid out to attend an Academic Center at a CPS Select Enrollment school- basically starting High School in 7th grade. Thankfully. Our other bright student was in a very different boat- by the time she enrolled, just two years later, the school had dumbed down the program so that fewer academic assignments were required than her older sibling and the emphasis of the curriculum became religious studies. When she was in 7th grade, she knew that over half of her class had IEP's, at the the direction of the school, so that they could have an easier time getting in to the CPS Select Enrollment Schools. The effect of this was that her academic classes were slowed down to accommodate the idiots. And the topper is that almost 20% of the kids that year did not get accepted into CPS Select Enrollment! Run away, don't walk. The suburbs are calling if you don't get a spot at Latin, Parker, City Day, Lab School or a CPS magnet or gifted program. We love CPS! read more

I went here for 8 years and was it hell. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because there was so much money put into it, and the amount of money this school got on donation only basis was amazing. The school it self was kept nicely and everything was very "rich" Now, that being said, the people there.....I graduated with a class of 30 or so and once you step into that school for the first time, you have to decided which group you are going to be apart of...actually, they choose you. There were the top 'popular' boys and girls, the loser children and then me, right in the middle with 2 other girls...the outcasts. We weren't the rich girly girls nor the weird odd ones. They force religion on you so hard here, but i guess that is to be expected seeing as it is a Jewish school. But if you weren't a hard core Jew, you didn't fit in. The school is a wonderful school for a great education but only if you can afford it. When I was going there tuition was about $18,000 a year. Ouch! read more

Delighted. Its a fantastic experience for both kids and their parents. I like the school's constant focus on being a good person. Kids are hard workers, gritty and nice. The faculty are top notch educators. My kids love going to school and are passionate about learning. read more

Our family loves Bernard Zell. Our daughter has learned how to be a kind, caring, smart and independent person at this school. This is all done through a Jewish lens. read more

my two children went to the school for 11 and 10 years respectively. they got the best education available in Chicago, a close loving community and an ethical roadmap for life. Both my kids, now 24 and 25, loved their experience and still speak of it fondly. They are both more than happy we sent them there and talk about doing the same someday--G-d willing--when they have children of their own. read more

My twin boys have been going to this school since nursery school and they are now in second grade. We have had challenges along the way and the school has risen to the occasion with enhanced and specialized instruction. Recently we had to deal with some bullying which happens in all schools. The school responded by separating the bully from my son so the bully couldn't do any more damage. I wish all bullies were dealt with so appropriately. The academics are outstanding. I could not hope for better instruction or more dedicated teachers. A Jewish education is also very important to us and this school delivers without sacrificing academics. I highly recommend this school to all parents who value Jewish education (including mixed families which are equally valued at this school) for the excellent secular and Jewish education, enhanced differentiated instruction, and social support that doesn't tolerate bullying and encourages healthy social development. read more

I have been taking a class here with my son and it has been wonderful! They have teamed up with Bucktown Music and I couldn't be happier with the results. They sing, dance and have time to play and explore different instruments. I highly recommend this class. All of the community at Anshe Emet have been great and friendly. I look definitely look into more classes for my son and I to take! read more

This school is a terrible place, I went there and it was hell on earth. They force Religion on you and teach you a useless language, Hebrew. This is why this school is so bad. read more

This school is perfect for the rich, spoiled, Jewish kid. But if you want your kid to hang out with different types of kids, from different backgrounds, this is not the school for that. For me, a great education includes diversity. This school has none of that, from the teachers, to the parents and down to the students. And what good is Hebrew starting at the age of 3? read more

I am both an alumni and a parent at the school. The school was wonderful when I went there and years later sending my child it is leaps and bounds better. Each year I am impressed and so far each year my socks are knocked off. I love that it's a Jewish education but even more impressed with the core curriculum that is also taught. Someone mentioned community or lack there of and I totally disagree. Continuously there are actions to give donations for different community needs. People either donate through the school or have the opportunity to do it on their own. Many families live in the area. When I show friends that have kids at other schools or are teachers at other schools the week write ups or videos, they are in awe! So am I. I cannot recommend the school enough. read more

I have three kids at BZAEDS and I can't say enough good things about it. They hire (and keep) fantastic teachers, and what's more important than that?! Our children are very happy, as are we. Tuition is no joke (as it is at every private school in Chicago) but the financial aid offerings are excellent. read more