Rosario Castellanos Elementary School

To be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle at Castellanos lately. While the teachers are really nice and try their best to communicate, they are clearly overworked and stretched way too thin. It feels like every other week there's a stomach bug or something going around whiteboards, and I'm not convinced the deep cleaning is happening like it should. Chronic absenteeism is also a huge issue here—seeing so many empty desks makes me wonder if the school really has a handle on wellness or if kids are just staying home because they're constantly catching stuff. It’s hard to focus on 'wellness' when the basics like germ control and staffing aren't quite there.

Castellanos is alright, but it honestly feels like your typical overcrowded CPS school sometimes. The building is older, so cleanliness is hit or miss depending on the day, and when flu season hits, it feels like it just rips through the classrooms because the kids are so packed in there. Communication from the office about bugs or local outbreaks is pretty slow, and honestly, you kind of have to figure things out yourself through the parent group chat. They do host a health fair which is a nice touch for the Little Village community, but on a day-to-day basis, I wish they had more staff focused on wellness and better ventilation in those old rooms.