John a Walsh Elementary School

To be honest, I'm pretty worried about the health environment at Walsh lately. The school's attendance rates have been dipping below 90% and chronic absenteeism is a massive problem here, which usually means stuff is constantly going around. It feels like every other week my kid is coming home with some kind of bug because the sick-child policies aren't really enforced strictly. The building is older and you can really tell—the ventilation feels pretty stuffy in the classrooms and I've heard other parents complain about how clean the common areas actually are. With the student-to-staff ratios being what they are, it doesn't seem like there’s enough adult supervision to make sure the kids are even washing their hands properly before lunch. It's frustrating because the community is great, but the actual wellness side of things feels really neglected.

Walsh is a decent school, but being an older CPS building in Pilsen, you can tell it has some wear and tear. My youngest is there now and I’d say they’re pretty strict about the 24-hour fever-free rule, which is a total headache for working parents but I guess it keeps the stomach bugs from spreading too fast. The nurse is really kind, though she’s not there every single day of the week, so sometimes the office staff is the one handling the scraped knees and calls home. Cleanliness is okay, about what you'd expect for a neighborhood public school—not sparkling, but they try their best with the resources they have.