Richard Henry Lee Elementary School

I have to be honest, I’m pretty concerned about the health environment at Lee Elementary lately. The school's chronic absenteeism is way up—around 30%—which tells me there's either a major sickness bug constantly going around or families just don't feel the school is a healthy place to be. With over 700 students packed in, it feels like a total germ factory. Whenever my kid comes home with a 'cold,' it's usually something worse because the ventilation in these older Chicago buildings is just not it. Communications from the office about outbreaks are pretty rare, and I honestly feel like the staff is too overwhelmed with the high student-to-teacher ratio to really keep up with sanitizing the desks or checking on kids who look under the weather. It's frustrating because you want to feel safe sending your kid to school, but right now, it feels like a gamble.

I've been feeling really uneasy about the environment at Lee Elementary lately. Honestly, the building feels like it’s constantly struggling with upkeep—I saw some public records about them needing to buy R-22 refrigerant to 'recharge' old wall units, which just tells me the HVAC and ventilation systems are ancient and barely hanging on. It gets so stuffy in those classrooms, and you know that’s just a breeding ground for germs when one kid comes in with a cough. Plus, CPS data shows chronic absenteeism is way too high here, hovering around 30%, which makes me think parents either don't feel safe sending sick kids back or the bugs just cycle through the school indefinitely. Between the ventilation concerns and the general lack of cleanliness I've noticed in the shared spaces, it’s hard to feel like wellness is a priority. It's frustrating because the teachers try, but the facility itself feels like a health hazard.