Helen Peirce International Studies Elementary School

Honestly, I’m pretty frustrated with the health situation at Peirce right now. The chronic absenteeism is hitting over 20%, and you can really feel it in the classrooms. It feels like there’s always something going around, and I’m not sure the school is doing enough to stay on top of air quality or deep cleaning in the older parts of the building. With the student-to-teacher ratio being as high as it is, the staff just seems too stretched thin to notice when a kid is struggling or coming down with something until it's too late. It’s a great community in terms of the international focus, but from a wellness and sickness prevention standpoint, they are definitely lagging behind. I wish the district would put more resources into the actual environment instead of just the curriculum.

My son has been at Peirce for two years now and honestly, the health side of things is pretty solid for a big CPS school. The nurse is super responsive if there's ever a playground scrape or if a kid starts running a fever mid-class. I really appreciate that they actually stick to the '24-hour fever-free' rule before letting kids back, which helps keep the classroom plagues at a minimum. The building is older, but it usually looks pretty clean and they do a good job of reminding the kids to use sanitizer. Only downside is that communication during the flu season can be a little slow sometimes, but overall, it feels like a safe, healthy spot for the kids.