Enrico Tonti Elementary School

I honestly have mixed feelings about Tonti. While some of the teachers are great, the kids are constantly getting sick and it feels like there’s always something going around the classrooms. Looking at the district data, the chronic absenteeism is pretty high and you can really tell—some days half the class is missing. It makes it hard for the kids to stay on track when they're constantly catching bugs at school. Also, I heard there have been ongoing issues with the building systems, like the fire alarms and electrical stuff, which doesn't exactly make me feel great about the overall safety and maintenance of the environment. It feels like the school is just stretched too thin to keep up with the basic health and safety standards you'd expect.

Tonti has actually been pretty decent about keeping the germs at bay. My youngest is in 2nd grade there and I feel like the classrooms are kept pretty tidy, and they're always reminding the kids to use sanitizer. They are super strict about the 24-hour fever-free rule, which can be a total pain when you have to call out of work mid-morning, but honestly, it keeps the whole class from getting taken out by the flu. Communication is mostly through the folders or the occasional blast, but it's clear enough. Could use more focus on healthy snacks for birthday treats, but overall they do a good job looking after the kids' well-being.