GreatSchools Rating
Teacher quality
Principal leadership
Parent involvement
My daughter has been attending Bell for five years and is entering her final year there in September. She has always been a fabulous student but each year, she has performed more strongly than the last. She is in the neighborhood program and her ISAT scores were an average 99 across all subjects for 7th grade. Those who mentioned the neighborhood program as being substandard, clearly are not familiar with students, teachers and the curriculum in the neighborhood program. Almost all teachers my daughter has encountered expressed strong interest in the children they teach; the children the community trusts them with. Mr. Guercio is an energetic and involved leader who is very approachable and always warm. It would be lovely is CPS could provide him and Bell with more resources for languages and Arts. I am a single mother with biracial child, and guess what, diversity never means substandard!
The Bell Options program is excellent and provides an excellent start and the reason why the Bell School rates so well on the Standardized test. Put simply, the Options program brings the overall scores for the school up on the rankings. If the true scores separated out the neighborhood program scores, the school would be rated much more like an average Chicago Public School --well below National average that means. So, in short, the Options program is top notch but academically the neighborhood program academics are still struggling to even match an average suburban public school.
I graduated from Bell in 2000 and I am now in one of the best colleges in the country. I still use the techniques I learned from Bell today in many of my classes. Bell is one the best high school prepatory schools in Chicago. The principal is always there for you.
I graduated from Bell School. It is a very diverse school and I have to say Thank You to all of the teachers there. I have learned a lot. At the time, I thought the workload was too heavy, but now I realize how much Bell prepared me for high school (Lincoln Park IB) and college. When I moved on to high school, I was very much ahead of other kids in the school and I am very much ahead of my peers today. Highly recommended!
Bell School is overated. We had 2 children at Bell while living in the neighborhood. When we moved to a suburban school district we were much happier with the academic quality. I just wish that we had wised up earlier to the low academics at Bell. We were blinded by the 'diversity' thing that people kept talking about. We now understand that diversity is nice but academics is much more important to our children during their formative years. We know that open-mindedness to diversity is taught in the home not by just being in the same classroom with children who are bringing down the academics of the school. Our 2 kids academic education is much more important to us than anything; the other priorities are secondary period!
Bell school is a good school. The only caveat is that it is a good school as far as Chicago Public Schools go! The CPS system is horrific but this school is good when set against the rest in Chicago. Most Chicago suburban schools are above and beyond Bell school. But, for those who choose to remain within the Chicago school system for whatever reason, Bell is good.
Bell is an excellent school. One of the best schools by far. Teachers not only teach the child they care about the child. The Principal is very involved and makes it a point to get to know everyone. If you want your children to start out right in life and set high goals this is the school to put them in.
The school somewhat rests on its laurels. I don't think teachers are eagerly trying to improve their teaching but rather keep doing pretty much what they've done in the past. Which of course is pretty good.
Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.
The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.
3730 N Oakley Ave
Chicago,
IL 60618
Website: Click here
Phone: (773) 534-5150
Thank you! You will begin to receive newsletters from us shortly.
Great work! Only one more step. Now we just need you to verify your email address. Please click on the link in the email we just sent you to complete your registration.
Great work! Only one more step. Now we just need you to verify your email address. Please click on the link in the email we just sent you to submit your review.
Please click on the link in the verification email we just sent you to complete your change of email address.
Whoops! It looks like we still need to verify your email. To do so, please click on the link in the email we sent you. Can't find the e-mail? Click the button below and we'll send you a new one.
Thanks for registering. Welcome to GreatSchools, the largest online community committed to improving educational outcomes through parental involvement.
Thanks for verifying your updated email address.
Oops! You haven't verified your email address yet. To do so, please click on the link in the email we sent you. Can't find the email? Click the button below to receive a new one.
Oops! That email verification link has expired. Please click the button below to receive a new one.
Join GreatSchools to participate in the parent community and other discussions on our site.
Your review has been posted to GreatSchools.
Share with friends! Post your opinion of Bell Elementary School on Facebook.
Welcome to GreatSchools!
For principals and school officials, we offer a special Enhanced School Profile (ESP) which allows you to update and add information about your school, as well as respond to reviews. If you are a school official, click Continue to start.
Please note that it can take up to 48 hours for your comment to be posted to our site. While you're here, we'd like to invite you to fill out a survey on your school's programs, activities, and extracurriculars. It only takes a few minutes and will help parents get a full picture of your school.
Continue to compare the schools you have already selected or Edit schools to change your selection.
Get started now! You have successfully registered and can now start updating your Official School Profile. The information you provide is extremely valuable in helping parents and students learn more about your school, so thanks for taking the time!
Thank you for registering as a school leader. We just need to verify your email address. We've sent you an email - please click on the link in that message to get started editing your school's information!
