Disney Elementary Magnet School

Top-down approach to administration has led to factors of job dissatisfaction in which most are concerned with working conditions, a hostile work environment, unpaid overtime, no preps, while those who are most satisfied are being untruthful with a smile. Having feelings of achievement, growth, and recognition does not exist and when there is done privately, and tempered with the knowledge that they will be employed for simply a few more weeks until she needs something. Stockholm Syndrome is suffered by all the teachers/students under Dr. Kathy Hagstrom supervision, this comes about by the knowledge they need to produce or be fired/expelled. Some parents mistake "her effectiveness" for leadership. The teachers/students are effective in spite of her hostile work environment not because of it. She manages from what has been proven to be an antiquated counter-effective practice, in which management assumes employees will avoid work. As a result, turn over rate is 35%, which she likes because it keeps cost down and she can hire new inexperienced teachers. Following this trend will leave the school with no teaching talent. Shame on CPS/LSC/Parents for keeping her in dictatorial power.

Kathy Hagstrom is simply a horrible person, and terrible educational leader... Everything is done for appearances sake. She does nothing for the betterment of the students(unless your gifted)... She dwells on things that will make her look good on paper in order to justify her 155K salary... The school is run a the biggest farce Chicago has ever known. Although a magnet school she discourages students from "certain" parts of the city or they are expelled out.

My son was challenged in Kindergarten. Differentiated reading groups helped him read. Our son's teacher was excellent in making sure he was challenged and even went beyond the scheduled coursework to make sure the class was ahead. They do MAPS testing to find out the individual students strengths and weaknesses in math and reading. Many after school activities and field trips. Very impressed with the teamwork that is involved here. Floor directors are responsive to parent's concerns. They are stricter on rules here since it is approx. 1600 students but it works to make sure there is order in the student population. The diversity of the student body is a definite plus. It is a good representation of the many cultures in Chicago. I'm proud to have my son be part of this academic community.
--Submitted by a parent

I was initially very excited about Disney. There are indeed some good teachers. However, I have found the school to be diifficult, offensive and poor in terms of dealing with my son who has a physical ailment. I was terribly disappointed in the treatment given to him, as well as towards me. I have also seen teachers screaming at children, which was unreal. In my opinion, there seem to be some significant cultural orientations towards power over relationship and I seriously question staff morale at the school. Many staff, both teachers and administrators seem angry. It is too bad, as I was really hoping for more. Also, agree with others that non gifted classes are not so strong.
--Submitted by a parent

My son started with the school this year (in Kindergarten) and we are very pleased so far. His teacher is great and the principal is an amazing leader (I haven't seen any unfriendliness but she does come across as no-nonsense, which I think is an asset in a school this size). We have felt very welcome with the school and I like the disciplined approach. We were worried about my son not adjusting well to the pod system because he has always been sensitive to loud noises but he has not had any issues with it. I was surprised at the homework and focus on testing so early but I don't think that is specific to this school--that's just the way things are these days. I wish the kids in the tuition based afterschool got some extras such as Chinese or chess. Also it would be nice if they taught language to non-gifted classrooms, but I understand the need to focus on the basics. Overall we are very happy and our son has learned a lot and made some good friends.
--Submitted by a parent

I have two children here and this is my third year with Disney and I would recommend Disney to anyone! Every year that I have been here, they have introduced new programs and software to help the children succeed. Their emphasis on eduction, supervision, and technology is unmatched as far as I am concerned. There has not been a meeting that I have attended where the principal didn't take a few minutes to stop by and speak to parents and ask if they have any questions or concerns for her. She is amazing! The only concern that I have is their policy on small siblings at the school. Every event, (graduations, fairs, award ceremonies, orientation, etc), has a strict no children under five policy. This is a huge problem for me as I have two small children and literally no family and friends in Chicago. In all fairness, I do believe there are parents for this and they do record the events for you. You just have to pay $15 for them. With that being said, I still plan to have all my kids attend Disney! Seriously though, this school has re-built my faith in the public school system! The teachers and principals here are excellent! 5 stars!
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter attended Disney for four years. She was placed in a classroom based upon her scores for comprehension. She eventually was placed in the gifted program. She wrote a letter in Msndarin Chinese to a pen pal in China and received a response. We never felt resources were that diminished during the three years she was not in the gifted program. She never expressed that she was distracted by the pods. She actually liked the open floor plan. Due to excellent preparation and optimism by a committed teaching staff, she was accepted to Young Academic Center. We enjoyed her participation on both the track and soccer teams. The art program was has a deserved great reputation along with an elective and theater programs. There is a PTA for parents who wish to meet other parents and create community. Our daughter thrived at Disney Magnet.
--Submitted by a parent

We have two children at Disney and they both love the school. The accelerated classes offer Chinese, but after a few years I expected my older child to, at least, be able to speak in phrases, not just single words, as this is how language is learned. The open pod system can be difficult for some children-- it can get noisy in the pods, especially if teachers don't control their classes. I've spoken with more than a few parents who have mentioned that their child(ren) are having problems staying focused because of the noise level in the pods. There are lots of parents/relatives helping out in classrooms. I've heard a few complaints from parents whose children are not in the accelerated program that too many resources are devoted to that program. I question what resources they are speaking of: daily Chinese class; an annual special project and one assembly associated with that special project are the extent of expended resources that I see. The daily Chinese class is incorporated into the standard schedule... not as extra time devoted to these children. Teachers have been, mostly, excellent; executive staff can be a bit autocratic/unresponsive -this seems true at most CPS schools.
--Submitted by a parent

I am not happy with this school I spected more from the school, they dont follow up with the parent when there is academic results, teacher dont get involved until you push them to, they offer tutoring for gifted not for the rest of kids, and I can not see their concern for those parents whos kids are not doing well at school.
--Submitted by a parent

Disney is a great school but the Principal might as well be a drill sargeant in the Marines. She has to ease up a bit/ stop putting the teachers in so much fear. She has very young and bright teachers that will bring better ideas to the table if only, she were to let them. Parent involvement 90%. It obviously has the highest funding from any other school in the city which in turn keeps it above average in the tech. (just about everything else). It's very fast paced and the kids can easily get overwhelmed if the parents do not get involved and tone it down when not in school. This school is very serious (sometimes too much) but they build a strong student in the end. Many of my family members have attended this school and are now at the top high schools in the city, with some on there way to medical school and some that run companies in Washington D.C. (friends children). Two reasons why I give it 4 stars instead of 5: 1) the Principal 2.) lack of community feel. It's very hard to meet parents and for your kids to hold their friends, due to the size of the school. Some high schools are "college prep", I would call this grammar school "corporate/ big city prep".
--Submitted by a parent