Fifth City Child Development

To be honest, Fifth City is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the staff is really dedicated and they've been part of the East Garfield Park community forever, which is nice. They do make an effort with wellness and health equity programs because of their partnerships, so you know they care about the kids' overall development. But the building itself is definitely older, and sometimes I wonder about the ventilation and how deep the cleaning really goes when flu season hits hard. The sick-child policy is pretty standard, but communication can be a little slow if something is going around the classroom. It's a safe enough spot and the environment is okay, but it doesn't have that super-polished, high-end 'clean' feeling you might see at newer centers in other neighborhoods.

My little one has been at Fifth City for a while now and honestly, they do a great job keeping things clean, especially for being in an older building in East Garfield Park. They are super strict about the '24-hour fever-free' rule which can be a pain when you have to call out of work, but I appreciate that it keeps the classroom from becoming a total germ fest. The teachers are really good about calling you right away if your kid looks even a little bit off, so I definitely feel like they're staying on top of the kids' health.