Brian Piccolo Elementary Specialty School

Honestly, keeping my kid healthy at Piccolo is a part-time job. The chronic absenteeism here is super high—well over 20%—and you can really feel it in the hallways. It seems like there’s always something going around and the school struggles to keep up with it. It’s hard to focus on 'wellness' when so many kids are out sick or just not showing up. While I heard some talk about a wellness center years ago, the day-to-day reality feels more like they are just understaffed and stretched too thin. Communication about when kids should stay home is pretty hit or miss, and I don't feel like the building is as deep-cleaned as it should be given how many bugs (the viral kind!) keep circulating through the classrooms.

Piccolo is okay when it comes to the health stuff, but like most CPS schools, you can tell they're a bit stretched thin. The nurses are super sweet if your kid actually gets to see one, but they aren't there every single day of the week which is a bummer. I do appreciate that they're pretty quick to call if there's a fever or a bad cough going around the classroom. The building is older so it doesn't always have that 'sparkling clean' vibe, but they've been better about keeping hand sanitizer stocked lately. Just make sure your kid knows to wash their own hands well because the bathrooms can get a little messy by the end of the day!