I am writing this because parents deserve to know what kind of "Christian" high school Chicago Hope…read moreAcademy really is. As a child of God, I stand firm on my faith; I also believe that right is right and wrong is wrong and no matter what entity. This educational establishment is not above reproach and due to their lack of integrity where their actions have been inconsistent and disreputable, leads one to believe that the people leading this school is not suitable for ANY trust or leadership and must be held accountable. What happened to my child -- and to our family -- was not just disappointing. It was shocking, heartbreaking, and completely at odds with the values this school claims to represent. My child was expelled without a single real explanation. No meeting. No conversation. No attempt to understand what was going on. As parents, we were left standing there, stunned, trying to make sense of a decision that the school refused to justify. For an institution that talks endlessly about integrity and transparency, the silence was deafening. And let me be clear: this wasn't just a disciplinary issue. My child, like so many teens after COVID, has been carrying real trauma. Anxiety. Emotional exhaustion. The kind of struggles that any school -- especially a Christian one -- should be prepared to meet with compassion, patience, and support. Instead, they responded with the coldest, most dismissive approach imaginable. The counselor, who should have been a lifeline, was nowhere to be found in any meaningful way. No advocacy. No guidance. No effort to understand the emotional reality of a teenager trying to navigate a world that has been anything but stable. Their role felt symbolic at best, nonexistent at worst. And the disciplinary dean -- the person who should model wisdom, empathy, and discernment -- acted with a level of rigidity and detachment that was honestly disturbing. There was no trauma informed lens, no attempt at restoration, no recognition that teenagers make mistakes and need adults who can help them grow. Instead, the response was swift, punitive, and utterly devoid of grace. This school had a chance to live out the Christian values it advertises: redemption, forgiveness, compassion, partnership with families. Instead, it chose the path of least effort -- remove the "problem," avoid the conversation, and pretend that's leadership. It's not. It's cowardice dressed up as discipline. It's easier to expel a hurting teenager than to actually support them. It's easier to shut parents out than to admit that maybe the school mishandled something. It's easier to hide behind vague statements than to practice the honesty and accountability they demand from students. There's a name for this type of action - HYPROCRISY!!! By definition, the practice of professing beliefs, virtues, or feelings that one does not actually hold, often engaging in the same behaviors one criticizes in others. If you are a parent considering Chicago Hope Academy, especially if your child has any emotional needs, any trauma, any challenges at all -- please think twice. A school that cannot extend compassion to a struggling teenager is not a school prepared to guide them. A school that refuses to communicate with parents is not a school that values partnership. And a school that expels a child without explanation is not a school that understands the responsibility it carries. We expected a community rooted in faith and humanity. What we encountered was a system more interested in protecting itself than supporting the young people entrusted to its care. This experience was devastating for our family, and no parent should have to go through it.

Chicago Hope Academy has been a great choice for our son. Prior to attending Chicago Hope our son…read morewas not involved in any organized sports. Chicago Hope encourages every student to participate in a sport or extra curricular activity. Our son began running cross country in the fall, wrestling in the winter, and track in the spring. He has since dropped wrestling to participate in indoor track during the winter season. This has been a great experience for him as it has provided a place where he can feel part of a team, understand the work it takes to be an athlete, and the benefits of working hard to achieve progress toward a goal. The administration and staff at Chicago Hope have been fantastic. They are very receptive to parent involvement, and are willing to work with each student to make their high school experience a success regardless of the students future goals regarding college, trade school, or whatever choice is made. We have been very satisfied with our experience.

I am grateful for the quality education and support my son received at St.Nicholas Cathedral…read moreSchool. My son started studying at this school from PK-3. We are happy to work with you for the second year, because I see the results. Thank you, school, principal and teachers for the fact that my child goes to school with pleasure. A school where it is comfortable, cozy and warm. The school has many additional activities that contribute to the development of a child's various abilities.

Coming from Europe, we have a different idea of what early education looks like. My son is 6 years…read moreold and he's been in this school for 2 years. He can already read and do basic math. The teachers are very kind and teach the kids discipline. The school provides lots of activities for the kids, including sports and Friday church. Additionally, they do a lot of field trips, and my favourite - extracurricular activities exploring European/Eastern European culture.

I've had children at St. Clement for 10 years and cannot say enough wonderful things about the…read moreeducation and community. The teachers and staff are exceptional--meeting each of our three very different children where they are and helping them grow as individuals. For a small school, St. Clement offers an incredible range of sports, music, and clubs. Our oldest graduated fully prepared for high school with a true love of learning and a strong sense of self. We couldn't ask for more from a grade school.

All four of my children have been enrolled here for over 7 years. This school has been an…read moreincredible community for our family the entire time. St. Clement has a true family feel. The teachers are supportive, dedicated, and genuinely care about each child's growth. Academics are strong and do an excellent job preparing students for the very competitive Chicago high school environment. We feel lucky to be part of such a warm, engaged, and high-quality school community and highly recommend St. Clement to any family looking for both academic excellence and strong values.

We have been a part of the St Ben's community for four years and are extremely happy with the…read morequality of the education and how invested and caring the teachers are. St Ben's also has so many extra curricular activities for the kids, sport twice a week, Spanish, Art, STEM, music and many more. There is lots of school events to get involved with for example Daddy/Daughter Dances, Mom's/Dad's nights out, a Gala, Fun Run and great Oktober Fest that the Parish puts on. The communication to parents each week is very clear and informative. Our daughter is thriving at the school, we are very happy at St Ben's!

I went to St. Benedict High School, and this was my home parish as a teenager up until I got…read moremarried and moved to the south side. It was an excellent school. My teachers really cared about making sure that we got a quality education that would allow us to become articulate adults who were ready for whatever path we chose in life. I generally felt like they cared about me as a person, and that they wanted to make sure that I grew into a well rounded individual. I appreciate the time I spent St. Benedict, and I was well prepared not only for college, but for life in general. The church building itself is beautiful, but unassuming. The vaulted ceilings are cream, gold and a soft blue that, coupled with marble floors and dark wood give off a classy vibe. They remodeled it in the late 1990's, and I think the new décor was supposed to be more true to the original. It is not as ornate as some churches in the city but just as beautiful, without trying too hard, in my opinion. The priests were all right, and I remember the masses being engaging. I miss St. Ben's!

My son went here for half a year. His teacher was poorly trained and received her degree in…read moreadministration on line. She could not teach him and told us that he had a language disorder. We agreed to have him evaluated, and she and the principal did not listen to the results of the evaluation, before asking him to leave. He is now in public school, the academics there are stronger, the teachers and administration kinder and better trained, and he's getting A's. If you want your child to get a good education and be fairly treated, look elsewhere I have no respect for anyone who blames her own failures on children. Children deserve better.

This is a terrific school. The school uses the latest research to design its curriculum,…read moreincorporating experiential learning with every opportunity. The class sizes are small, so the teachers get to know each student individually and tailor their approach to the student's needs. The graduates of this school have a very high acceptance rate at the CPS selective enrollment schools as well as selective private schools. Highly recommend this school.

When it was open, it was really nice inside and I liked going. But now, it is closed and I stand in…read morefront of it hearing the kids play at the daycare. Next to the daycare is the pastors house. ( I think, tell me if I'm wrong) and he isn't alive anymore. I always loved to go to the Church on Sundays. It was a family tradition and my kids always loved going with me. Most of them are in colleague now, but I will never forget the amount of memories that i made when I went here.

From the owner: Catholic Church located in the Bridgeport Neighborhood of Chicago, IL…read more Lovingly known to parishioners as St Lucy's

I was a student at Ravenswood Christian School, then known as Ravenswood Baptist Christian School,…read morefrom August 2001 till I graduated Class of 2014. It's unclear to me why "Baptist" was removed from the name (Could it be a branding thing?) but I do feel the current name lacks the same rhythm it once had. What is more, it totally ruins the cheers the cheerleaders recited at basketball games. ("The Patriots are the best! / Yes! / R-B-C-S!") Although, these days, I'm unsure if the school still has a cheer team, let alone a basketball team, to speak of. But times change and so does leadership. I submit I can't speak to the current school administration, nor to their conduct with their students, save for one particularly egregious actor. (More on that later.) At glance, it seems some former classmates of mine are now themselves staff members of RCS. But I digress. I can only speak to my own experiences as a former student, which I would describe as unpleasant. Bad, even. And though I don't resent my parents for enrolling me here, I do believe it was an error on their part. But I know of many other students who had it far worse, who were themselves victims of severe bullying by both students and staff alike. I'm ashamed to admit I was often a participant in this bullying, often greenlit by the staff, when I myself wasn't a target. Even still, that was no excuse. I recall one incident where our math teacher Mr. Ullmann (Long since dismissed, but too little, too late, frankly.) kicked a chair from under one student, V.F., humiliating him in front of the whole class. I even joined in on that chorus of laughter and to this day feel sick to my stomach that I'd been party to this bizarre humiliation ritual. I hope wherever V.F.'s at now he's in a better place and knows that wasn't OK. Last I heard, which, granted, was many years ago, Ullmann got a job as a truck driver following his dismissal. Now, that could've just been schoolyard gossip, but, if true, that's probably a better job for him. Nevertheless, Ullmann's inappropriate behavior spanned numerous incidents, yet, sadly, it took a posse of concerned mothers applying steady pressure on the school admin to get him removed from the faculty. But, as I said earlier, by the time he was dismissed, the damage had been done, and a whole lot of kids were mistreated as a result of the admin dragging its feet. A tale old as time. But that's all in the past, right? Surely the dregs have all been weeded out since then, no? I wish this was the case, but since checking the R(B)CS website it appears Mr. Bob Szontagh is still employed at the school as a secondary teacher. That's too bad, and what I find to be a glaring error on part of the new admin, because this man should have absolutely zero influence on a child's developing mind, and I, now an adult, am worse off for having been his pupil. Szontagh's conduct with us was so vulgar and so inappropriate he made Ullmann look like a Boy Scout. (More than once Szontagh referred to his genitalia as "Big Daddy" in gym class.) Why he is still a teacher there can be explained by way of what clout he has within the larger church congregation, for he's of the last of the "Old Guard" I knew from then and has taught at R(B)CS for decades at this point. And, to his credit, he had undeniable charisma and was often a favorite among the children. His lessons, however, would often shift into these long, tangential lectures that had little to do with the subject at hand. They were akin to watching a two-bit standup comic practicing his tight five for the Klu Klux Klan open mic. And his jokes were awful as they were bigoted. I remember once he opened a science class with "What do you call a gay guy on rollerskates?" ..."Rol-AIDS!" Well, a lot of us 11-or-12-year-olds were fortuitous enough to not suffer from heartburn, so, mostly, the joke went over our heads. Even still, this was a science class. Did my parents really pay my tuition just so I could be sat down to watch this guy make AIDS jokes in class? Short answer: Yeah, more or less. I'd like to say that it's unbelievable how Szontagh's still teaching here more than a decade later but, given what I know about the school, I actually find it pretty believable. Mostly I feel bad for the kids who are getting robbed of a decent education and for their parents who are paying for one that's second-rate.

When I went to school here they gave is seats. The principal spanked kids with a paddle with the…read moredoor closed. You could hear kids crying and screaming. Meanwhile the principles kid got knocked up. I thought I had leprosy as a child making us read the king James version bible. They forced. Me to eat food I told them I couldn't until I vomited. Good times! Watch the movie Jesus camp. That what this school is. Let us pret is another one about fundamental Baptist like this. Two stars because I was a good kid so my experience with the teachers was good. I liked them. I also got a good education.

As parents of four children who have attended Saint Andrew School over the past 16 years--including…read moreone current student--we are incredibly grateful for this school and community. Saint Andrew has truly been a second home for our family, providing a warm, welcoming, and supportive environment where we have formed lifelong friendships and felt connected every step of the way. Saint Andrew has done an exceptional job preparing our children for the academic rigor of high school and college while also providing outstanding opportunities in athletics, leadership, service, and extracurricular activities. Having experienced the school through multiple stages of our children's education--and still having a child enrolled today--we can confidently say that Saint Andrew is a special place that nurtures the whole child. We are proud to be part of this remarkable community and grateful for all it has given our family!

The best part of my day is dropping off my kids at Saint Andrew in the morning. They are greeted by…read morename by teachers, administration, and the 8th graders who hold the doors and welcome them. They are so happy to go to school. My husband and I have made many good friends, including parents across all grade levels. It has been invaluable to meet parents of older kids and get their wisdom and guidance. I keep reading articles in the news about how isolated people are these days. Well, not at Saint Andrew. It's a true community and we feel a real sense of belonging there. Also, the academics are excellent. The teachers are skilled and dedicated, and they communicate with parents regularly. They have a great support staff as well that can help kids who need extra help and challenge kids who are more advanced. I am so grateful we found Saint Andrew School. It's a wonderful, down to earth community where my children are truly known and cared for.

I could not imagine going to a better school. I attended HCA from kindergarten through second grade…read moreand later returned for seventh grade and graduated from high school. If you are looking for a school where your child is not just a number, but a special individual then look no further. The teachers care about every student as if they were their own. I truly believe this school helped shape me into who I am today, not only professionally but also spiritually. If you are on a search for your child's schooling, please do yourself a favor and take some time to meet with someone at HCA. It could be exactly what you are looking for.

My children have attended HCA for several years. I love the sweet, family atmosphere and the…read morecommitment to academic excellence. The teachers and administrators truly care for my kids and they work hard to make sure they succeed. Each year my kids score at least one year ahead of their grade level, as do most students. The tuition is comparable to other private schools its size, and I am pleased with the friends and relationships my children have made. I'm grateful my children are able to be in such a great learning environment everyday.