Adam Clayton Powell Paideia Community Academy Elementary School

My kid has been at Powell for a couple of years now and honestly, the health stuff is a bit of a mixed bag. The school actually has a decent wellness score compared to some others in the district, and you can tell they try with the physical activity programs and the garden. But let's be real—it's an older building in South Shore and it feels like it. Sometimes the cleanliness isn't 100%, and when a stomach bug hits a classroom, it seems to spread like wildfire because the sick-child policy isn't always strictly followed by other parents. It’s an okay environment, but you definitely have to stay on top of your own kid's hygiene and hope for the best during flu season.

My youngest is at Adam Clayton Powell right now and overall I'm happy with how they handle the health side of things. The school actually feels clean when you walk in, which isn't always a given for CPS, and the nurse is super responsive if kids get a bump on the playground or a stomach ache. They’re pretty strict about the '24 hours fever-free' rule before coming back, which can be a pain for working parents, but it definitely helps keep the flu from sweeping through the whole classroom every month. I do wish they’d communicate a bit more when there's a localized breakout of something like pink eye, sometimes we find out from other parents before the official email goes out, but general wellness seems to be a priority for them.