James B Farnsworth Elementary School

Honestly, I'm pretty underwhelmed with how things are handled at Farnsworth. While the new 'Space to Grow' schoolyard is a nice touch for outdoor time, the indoor environment feels neglected. The school has been struggling with high chronic absenteeism—I've heard it's over 25%—and you can really tell when a bug starts going around. Communication from the office about illness outbreaks is almost nonexistent, and the school feels 'moderately organized' at best. With the student-teacher ratios being what they are, the staff just seems too stretched thin to really keep an eye on hygiene or if a kid is actually too sick to be in class. It’s frustrating because we want to love our neighborhood school, but the health and wellness culture just isn't a priority right now.

My kid has been at Farnsworth for a few years now and I'm pretty happy with how they handle things. The school is usually clean, and I notice they're pretty on top of sending emails home when a specific bug is going around the classroom, which helps us stay prepared. Their sick policy is fair—they stick to the '24 hours fever-free' rule pretty strictly, which can be a pain for working parents but honestly keeps the whole class from getting wrecked every month. The nurse there is super sweet and always calls right away if my daughter skins a knee or feels off. It’s a typical neighborhood CPS school, so it’s not fancy, but I feel like they actually care about the kids not being germ magnets.