Edward Jenner Elementary Academy of the Arts

I honestly have a lot of concerns about the health environment at Edward Jenner. The chronic absenteeism rate is super high—like over 30%—which tells me there's a serious issue with kids staying healthy or just not feeling supported enough to show up. With the student-to-teacher ratios being what they are, it feels like the staff is just stretched too thin to keep a close eye on things like handwashing or even identifying when a kid is starting to look sick before it spreads to the whole classroom. It’s a constant cycle of bugs going around and the communication from the front office about illness outbreaks is pretty much non-existent. I want to love the arts focus here, but it's hard when the basic wellness and attendance culture feels so unstable.

Jenner is okay when it comes to the health stuff, but it's definitely a city school vibe. The classrooms usually look pretty clean, and I've noticed they've been pushing more hand sanitizer stations lately. My biggest gripe is the communication when a bug is going around the classroom—sometimes I don't find out until half the kids are already out sick. The sick-child policy is standard CPS, so they're pretty strict about the 24-hour fever-free rule, which can be a hassle for work but I get why they do it. It'd be nice to see more focus on kids' mental wellness and maybe some better playground upkeep, but for the most part, the staff does what they can with what they've got.