Chicago International Charter School

CICS Irving Park is very impressive (note: test scores are lumped with all CICS campuses). My son is a 2009-2010 Kindergartener. His teacher is highly qualified, motivated and experienced. The Principal and V. Principal are outstanding. Overall teacher quality is top-notch. Academics are rigorous; progress closely monitored; expectations high (especially compared with regular CPS schools). Discipline focuses on positive reinforcement. School spirit and responsible behavior is rewarded during monthly assemblies where "Green Team" kids are applauded and cheered by peers and parents who are welcome to attend and do. Every morning my son is welcomed to school with big smiles and enthusiastic Good Mornings from the staff often the Principal and/or Vice Principal. I feel my son is in a safe, supportive, positive learning environment. We are very fortunate. I highly recommend this school.
--Submitted by a parent

Red letters are for discipline problems, it is to inform the parent that your child did not follow the rules. All schools should have the kind of system.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has attended CICS-Ralph Ellison for 2 years now and I am quite pleased. He attended a catholic grammer school and the grades were not always good and he was in trouble a lot...mostly because he was not being challenged enough. Once starting at Ralph Ellison he was a totally different child. I am quite pleased with the curriculm as it does prepare the student for college. The new principal and staff are great. I think if the students come in with an open mind and positive attitudes, they will certainly learn a lot.
--Submitted by a parent

CICS-Irving Park: We have a child in K and are pleased with the tailored learning approach. Our child has made tremendous progress this past year. The school also welcomes parental involvement. The administration is involved and present. The teachers are more than qualified. It's a gem in the CPS system. CICS-IP has exceeded our expectations. I wish they published the test results for the individual CICS campuses.
--Submitted by a parent

CICS-Irving Park. I regret the decision I made sending my son to this school. The teachers are so unexperienced, it's pitiful. We are very involoved in the school and our sons education. Irving Park don't have any clue of dealing with children who might need extra help with academics or behavior. They would rather send 50 red letters, and repeat childrens grade level (which I know now is a scare tatic so that you can pull your kid out, and they can make their quota in the limited time they have). Very, very sad! I'm looking into Virtual school or our local Public school. My son deserves the best, and this school isn't it.
--Submitted by a parent

I am sorry that the previous parent feels the way that they do but I am a parent that had a K5 student enrolled. I was involved with the school and I only have great things to say about the school. The faculty is wonderful, the principal is awesome and the teachers are very well educated and care about their students. Yes, it was the first year and things had to be adjusted but that goes for anything new. It is our jobs as parents to be our children first teacher and help the school in doing their job effectively and not expect them to be the parent but a teacher is only suppose to enhance what a parent has already instilled in their child. In short the school is very good!!!
--Submitted by a parent

CICS - Loomis Primary Academy: 2008 was the first official year for this new campus and my son attended in K5. The best way to describe this school is inexperienced teachers coupled with an inexperienced staff. The school got so out of control that they called in staff from another school to come in and train the teachers on how to deal with behavior issues. I mean really this is a bunch of K5 - 2nd graders!
--Submitted by a parent

CICS-Irving Park Campus. Kudos on the academia. My children have really learned and made successful gains in reading and math. Poor follow through and communication among administration and staff. The school does not teach cursive writing and allowed the students to publish books with several grammatical errors (teachers did not help to edit???) Do not expect a quick response from either the principal or assistant principal (if you get one at all - I still do not know what the assistant looks like). However, the Dean and school secretaries do respond in a timely manner. There are no science labs or computer classes. School committees are too involved in raising funds to build a new playground (apparently the perfectly good one that exists does not meet their standards) rather than raise money to create a computer lab or science lab or even an actual library.
--Submitted by a parent

Irving Park Campus- Please note that scores are for all 11 campuses. Some are performing above and others significantly below the average posted for all CICS schools. My child previously attended the gifted program at CPS. Once he arrived at CICS-Irving Park it was a shock to see how many skills he was lacking. In the year and a half that he has attended the Irving Park campus, he has grown tremendously in both skills and confidence. I am always in awe of the positive school feel, the attentive teachers, and the helpful administrative staff. I do refer friends and family to the school. A niece now attends.
--Submitted by a parent

CICS Bucktown. I have three children at CICS Bucktown and cannot say enough about the quality education, curiculum and the helpful attitude of the teachers. I have not seen a major turnover in teachers at the Bucktown campus. Most of the teachers really care about the students they are available to discuss just about any aspect of your childs development. They have afterschool programs that help, they are strict but it really is in your childs best interest. If they notice that you care about your childs education they will do everything they can to help you help them. Another parent critisized the school Pricipal for not responding to thier inquireies, I have not had that experience on the contrary I think it is a vote of confidence that his own children are pupils at this school. The only problem I have seen is with some of the parents.
--Submitted by a parent