Our two children attended this school. While we did meet some good people, both our children's…read moreexperiences at the school were quite negative. There is a small but influential group of parents who essentially run everything and if you or your children cannot break into that circle your children will likely suffer. Sports is the key focus at the school with parent socialization a close second. Parental cliques dictate whether your children will have friends and many of those parents are intimately involved in the administration, social events and are even teachers and aides. Unfortunately for our children we were not well connected and they suffered, our daughter in particular. If you are able to break into the fraternity-like parent social structure and your child is an excellent athlete, your children may thrive. But most people don't and you will have to try and find small niches of other parents who are similarly situated. Scholastics are sub-par so you will have to supplement your child's curriculum. Teacher turnover is high. They resort to hiring parents to teach on occasion. The focus here is not a Christian education but an institution dominated by self-serving parents who have managed to use the structure to their own children's advantage. Before enrolling, conduct your own research and try to speak with parents of students outside of those who run the school. Not worth the risk given the strong public system and other larger private schools in the area where your kids may have more options for friends and activities other than sports.

I have 2 children who currently attend SMG and will soon have a third! So far we have had a great…read moreexperience! I am in education myself and have high expectations for my children's education. We toured several schools before deciding on St. Mary's. I am confident with our decision and can see that our children are excelling academically and spiritually. SMG focuses on educating the whole child! I appreciate the values that the school instills in the children and the support that I have received from all levels (support staff, teachers, aides, and administration). I'm not sure why it is saying I am from San Fran. I do live in Downers Grove, IL!

Good School, not perfect...administration and teachers are always striving to make it a better,…read morebalancing academics, after school student participation and sports. Dr. Waterman is a hands on, personable principal. Things are looking up at Hornetville!

It's a pretty big school. We had gone there for attending a fund-raiser in the auditorium, it was…read morepretty good.

Woah, I can write a review of my high school and in doing so be the first Yelper to bash his alma…read moremater? Don't mind if I do. I set foot in the building in late summer of 2004, graduated in spring of '08 with honors, and I've never been back since. Worst four years of my life, hands down. --THE PEOPLE-- Some former excellent/horrendous teachers I had-- The good: Chris Gales (biology), Adam Conard (physics), Glenn Spitler (english), Tim Linders (calculus), Anthony Neverly (phys ed), Marian Masa (geometry) The bad: Jan Heiteen a.k.a. the speech nazi ("english" / "acting"), Linda Dawson (heavily skewed social studies) The ugly: ? Honorable mention for overall worthlessness: Anita Carpenter (college career counselor). While a very friendly and amicable person, she didn't know what the fuck she was talking about on numerous occasions; she once advised that I apply to SEVEN universities, because, you know, non-refundable application fees aren't like $50+ each, and another time chided me for wanting to attend Purdue because she "thought I wanted to go to a big school with a good engineering program, like U of Illinois." Since when was Purdue a 'small school' with a below-average engineering system? Lay off the crackpipe, lady. The student body was mostly chumps. A few kindred spirits here and there, but for the most part my classmates were moronic assclowns having no regard for authority or respect for others. I would frequently see the douchiest offenders SPIT in the hallways indoors, right where everyone walks. Way to keep it classy. --THE BUILDING-- Prison-like. Way too small to accommodate 3,000+ students; the lockers were minuscule, the classrooms typically filled to the brim, the stairwells and hallways jam-packed with idiot shitbags thinking that every hour was a free-for-all, stopping in the middle of a huge traffic flow to play grabass. The facilities were generally acceptable, although the workout room in the basement was in dire need of an updating. During my time there the cafeteria food was marginally passable, BUT sometime in the fall of '05 they eliminated the one thing that made buying food worthwhile--these perfectly seasoned, breaded french fries that to be quite honest, were incredible. Those and spicy popcorn chicken got removed during the trans-fat scare and got replaced with baked bullshit that was dull and flavorless. Gross. --Closing remarks-- The ONLY thing saving DGS from a 1-star "couldn't-like-it-if-I-tried" review is the quality of a few select teachers who've had a profound impact on my education, and moreover, my life (see those mentioned above). Gales and Conard were easily two of the best teachers I've ever had (college included), while Heiteen and Dawson were without question two of the worst. I'll attend the 10-year class reunion, but I doubt I'll ever willingly go back to Downers South to visit. I hated this place with a fiery passion. ~end rant~

DGS is a mediocre high school at best. I am rating based on my child's experience. We had to fight…read moreto get her an IEP and the experience was so emotionally draining I felt the Special Educational Department (SPED) were unsupportive, rude and demoralizing. Alyssa Gundersen was incompetent, unprofessional and nasty. SPED teachers seem more interested in coaching than teaching! Very cliquey. Must be an advocate for your child because this school will just placate them until graduation, meaning they just move your child along as an assembly line hoping you cause no trouble so they can earn their huge pension without actually working!

Beautiful school my child loves it teachers are great and sports games are fun to watch. BE THERE…read moreBE LOUD GO NAZ

Fantastic School, can't wait for the rest of my time here, deserves more than 3.5 stars. Several of…read moremy sibling went here, and I would love for my children to go here one day