Cyrus H Mccormick Elementary School

Honestly, the health environment at McCormick is pretty rough right now. It feels like every other week my kid is coming home with a cold because the building is so old and the ventilation is terrible. I saw in the district reports that they’re constantly having to patch the boilers and do 'shell repairs' just to keep the heat going, and you can really feel it in the winter—it’s either freezing or stuffy, which is just a breeding ground for germs. The chronic absenteeism is also super high, sometimes hitting over 25%, so it feels like there's always a bug going around that never quite clears out of the classrooms. It’s hard to focus on wellness when the basic infrastructure like heating and air quality is such a struggle. I wish they’d prioritize fixing the actual building issues instead of just putting band-aids on the mechanicals.

McCormick is alright, but it can be a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the health stuff. My 2nd grader says the classrooms are usually kept pretty clean, but with the older building, you definitely notice some dust and stuffiness during the winter. They are pretty strict about the 'stay home if you're sick' rule, which I appreciate, though sometimes the communication about a bug going around the classroom is a little slow to hit my inbox. The nurses and staff are really sweet when a kid scrapes a knee at recess, but I wish they did a bit more to encourage movement and wellness during the day instead of just the standard PE time. Typical Chicago public school experience—doing the best they can with what they've got.