Douglas Taylor Elementary School

I honestly have mixed feelings about Taylor. While the small class sizes are a plus, the chronic absenteeism rate here is a huge red flag—it's over 30%, which really tells you something is off with the school's wellness culture. It feels like kids are constantly out sick and there isn't much urgency or a solid plan from the administration to fix the underlying issues. The building itself is pretty old and definitely shows its age; I’ve worried about the ventilation and general cleanliness more than once when my youngest comes home with a persistent cough. It’s frustrating because the low student-teacher ratio should mean more personal attention, but the overall environment just feels sluggish and neglected when it comes to health standards.

My youngest is at Taylor right now and honestly, I'm pretty happy with how they handle the health side of things. Since the classes are a bit smaller, the teachers actually notice right away if a kid looks like they're coming down with something, and they're quick to call home. I've noticed they're pretty on top of the cleaning too—the hallways don't have that 'old school' grime you sometimes see in Chicago. They do send out notifications when there's a bug going around, which helps me decide whether to be extra strict about hand washing that week. It's not perfect, and the nurse isn't there every single day, but for a neighborhood CPS school, I feel like my kid is in good hands.