John C Coonley Elementary School

Coonley has a lot going for it academically, but the health environment feels a bit like a mixed bag lately. While the attendance is generally okay, I’ve noticed some maintenance issues that make me wonder about the day-to-day cleanliness. I actually saw on a recent board agenda that they’ve had broken floor scrubbers and cleaning equipment sitting around with 'unknown issues' needing repairs, which isn't great when you're worried about flu season and germs in the hallways. The communication about illnesses in the classroom is pretty standard for CPS—nothing amazing, but they do try to keep us in the loop. It’s a great neighborhood school, but I’d definitely like to see them step up the facility upkeep and be a bit more proactive about deep cleaning when things start going around.

My kids have been at Coonley for a few years now and overall the health vibe is pretty solid. The school is honestly kept super clean for how many kids are running around those hallways, and their communication whenever a bug is going around the classroom is usually really quick. I appreciate that they don't mess around with the sick-child policy—if a kid has a fever, they’re going home, which definitely helps keep the flu outbreaks from getting out of hand. My only gripe is that the nurse is only there on certain days since it's a CPS school, so sometimes the front office staff has to handle the minor scrapes and stuff. But the teachers are great about making sure the kids actually use sanitizer and wash their hands before lunch.