George F Cassell Elementary School

Honestly, after being at a much larger CPS school, Cassell feels like a breath of fresh air. With the smaller student body, things just feel way more manageable and the building generally stays much cleaner than most. The 11:1 student-teacher ratio is a huge win for health because the teachers actually notice when my kid starts looking peaky or is coming down with something before it turns into a total classroom-wide plague. Communication from the office about bugs going around has been pretty solid and they are actually quite organized about it. My only real gripe is that like most neighborhood schools, the ventilation in some of the older parts of the building isn't the best, so it can get a bit stuffy. But overall, I feel like they actually care about the kids' wellness and it's not just a chaotic germ factory.

Honestly, Cassell has been pretty solid for us. The school is on the smaller side since it's only about 350 kids, so the nurse actually knows my daughter by name, which is a huge relief when she gets those random stomach aches. They're usually pretty quick to shoot out an email if there's a bug going around the classroom so we can keep an eye out. The building feels clean for an older CPS school, and the teachers are pretty cool about letting kids carry water bottles around. My only minor gripe is the pick-up policy for mild symptoms—sometimes they’re a little too cautious and call you to pick them up for just a sniffle, which is a pain if you work, but I guess it keeps the germs down overall.