Carl Von Linne Elementary School

To be honest, I'm pretty frustrated with the health situation at Linne. The school is over a hundred years old and you can really feel it—the ventilation in the classrooms is super hit or miss, and I feel like if one kid gets a sniffle, it spreads through the whole grade in three days. Communication from the office about illness outbreaks is basically nonexistent, so we're always the last to know if something is going around. Plus, the student-to-staff ratio feels way too high lately. It seems like the teachers are so overwhelmed that they can't even keep an eye on who is looking sick or needing a nurse visit. It’s hard to feel good about the 'wellness culture' here when the basics like air quality and staffing aren't being prioritized.

Honestly, Linne does a pretty solid job keeping the germs at bay for a CPS school. My second grader is always coming home describing the 'hand washing songs' they do, and I've noticed the classrooms look noticeably cleaner this year than last. Communication about stuff like strep or pink eye going around is usually pretty quick—the office sends out emails as soon as they know, which I appreciate so I can watch for symptoms. My only gripe is that the sick policy can be a bit of a headache with the strict return dates, but I get it, they're just trying to keep everyone healthy. Overall, it feels like a safe, clean spot for the kids.