Bell Elementary School

3730 North Oakley Avenue

School District

Chicago Public Schools
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 10, 2025

We have been at Bell for the last 4 years and have nothing but positive experiences to report. We are very happy with the new principal Reyes and I think she has made some great improvements with the overall moral. The previous principal had been there for almost 20yrs so things were stale when we first arrived. I’m impressed by the high caliber teachers, support staff and students.
Submitted by other on July 27, 2024

I was a student at this school for 9 years, and I’ve had many great experiences. Most of my teachers were amazing. However, this school barely does anything to solve its issues of bullying and hateful behavior. The school “attempts” to address these problems but never seems to realize that certain kids are the cause. Often, parents who donate large amounts of money to the school or have popular kids who are liked by teachers and students never seem to get into trouble for the issues they cause. Also, some staff members were very disrespectful to my parents and dismissed their concerns and mine multiple times.I don’t like to pull out the race card often, but it was very clear that some of my friends of different ethnicities (other than white) were not treated equally to white students. For example, one of my friends was dress-coded for wearing a crop top that half of the white girls in my grade wore. Additionally, another friend was shamed by a teacher for showing her shoulder, even though many other girls did the same without any issue. Hm, interesting, isn’t it?Overall, I’ve had a great experience at this school and I’ve learned a lot, but there are issues and rampant problems that need to be dealt with immediately.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2024

Great school with amazing staff and teachers .
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2022

My daughter attended a Catholic school! -7 and we moved into the Bell School district and decided to allow her to attend our neighbourhood school. As she begged us to go to a public school.All went well at first because we could walk to school and the teachers were great. but after half a year she came home crying in her room because of mean girls!Not to mention she started her cycle at !0:00 one morning and wanted to call me and the nurse would not allow her to. Plus she didn't give her a pad. So during recess that day she sat down and was scared to walk around as she thought she would have an accident. And insisted we went straight home after pick up and not attend her girl scout meeting. I feel terrible I didn't put a pad in her backpack at this age. However, I would think the school nurse would have been a little more helpful, or empathic to her needs.When I brought this up to the principal she also agreed the nurse handled this okay. And didn't offer any apologySincerely,previous parent
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2022

This school, administrators and student body (parents included) have broken my family. Both my children ended up on medications to be able to go to school. Bullying is a rampant problem. It is never dealt with. There are zero consequences for the behavior of students who are, by in large privileged and all too happy to tell everyone how rich they are.The teaching staff and support staff are amazing but poorly led and unsupported in their efforts to deal with a student body that remains unchecked.
Submitted by other on August 07, 2021

Bell school constantly tries to hide all the horrible things that happen. Hiding stuff so you have a “good reputation” is not okay. I’m a past student at bell and the amount of bullying and neglect from students I experienced for being a little weirder and more shy than “normal” is insane, and most of the time the teachers would see that I was struggling and they would do NOTHING. And I know multiple other people who attended this school in the past and have had really bad experiences beginning to end. Oh and also I almost forgot to mention how racist this school is. Bell school is predominantly white which isn’t a bad thing sometimes but ... I don’t know what these parents are teaching these kids or what, but it results in constant micro aggressions towards the small group of POC people at Bell. Coming from a Mexican family constantly hearing “jokes” about building the wall or Illegal Immigrants was really hard for my family to hear. Just an overall bad environment that will most likely result in childhood trauma. I would think again before sending your kid in such a hostile environment ESPECIALLY if you kid is a minority ( POC, LGBTQ family, disabled, etc). Fakest school ever. Don’t fall for their performative “inclusivity”.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2021

My son loves this school and so do I. Before coming to Bell he was enrolled at a very prestigious and very expensive private school and it just wasn’t there great of an experience for him. He’s so much happier at Bell.
Submitted by parent on August 23, 2019

Excellent school. Very happy with teachers and administration. One of the best in the city.
Submitted by other on March 05, 2019

This school started me into a downward trend in my mental health, with lasting consequences that follow me to this day, only rendered manageable by the distance of time combined with long-term therapy and treatment.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2018

Poor. My daughter has been going to this school for last few years and now I am truly convinced that this school has caused significant damage to her self confidence. This school is way below the level we thought it was at when we moved to this area.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2017

Couldn't be happier at Belding. Our son transfered in this year and absolutely loves his school.
Submitted by other on April 05, 2016

I am a current student at bell in the middle school neighborhood program, and I have to say my experience has been less than welcoming. I transferred in at seventh grade, a time when most friendships had already been established. On top of this difficulty, I am one of very few minorities in the school. There is no racial awareness whatsoever and almost everyday I was subject to ignorant comments and jokes. It took a whole school year and a half for the issue to be addressed, even though I'd been alerting staff members for quite awhile. It was almost like they didn't want to admit that they had a bullying issue. Things have slightly improved this year, but the issues of racism was never really tackled. We didn't even celebrate black history month. This school has the potential to amount to something great, but they really need to face the fact that they aren't perfect.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2016

I'm posting this as a public service for those parents uncertain about attending a CPS school. After starting out at one of Chicago's most selective and expensive private schools, we decided to give our neighborhood school a try. It has been a fantastic academic experience. Bell is a great school. North Center offers a suburban feel within the city. Kids/families walk to school and home each day. The kids are challenged academically. Parents have a voice in school policy. Save yourself a bundle by considering Bell over private. But make sure to put some of that money back into the school bc the things Bell lacks have mostly to do with funding. From a neighborhood perspective this area has a great deal to offer -- swimming, soccer, ice hockey, indoor and outdoor tennis, flag football, gymnastics, winter sports leagues all within a few blocks.
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2016

We have had a wonderful experience with two children at Bell for the past four years. There were some changes with the new principal but they have been resolved and we couldn't be happier with the administration, parental involvement, and the education our children are receiving. They are amongst a great peer group and the environment is challenging but still nurturing, We debated among several north side elementary districts and couldn't be happier as part of the Bell Elementary family!
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2015

We like the Bell community. However, I was disappointed that the principal was not a good leader. I never see her smile or greet anyone. Even when I visited there to volunteer, I felt I was not welcomed. She is supposed to be a role model for our children, right?! Also, she is always late or does not reply to our e-mail messages, which makes me think she is not responsible and she is trying to stay away from us.
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2015

I'm a parent of two students recently graduated from Bell. I think Bell's positive reputation is a remnant of the prior principal. Since he left the school has changed for the worse. I agree with another review on this site regarding the poor job the school does for its 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Most teachers at Bell don't know how to handle this age group, creating a culture that is very uncomfortable for the kids. I appreciate that teaching at this level is a difficult job, but current Bell teachers too often resort to bullying the students, and the administration's chief concern is on perception and self interest. Fair warning to parents with children about to enter these grades - stay involved.
Submitted by other on September 03, 2014

I am a 7th grader in the options department at Bell School and I am honestly very happy where I am. Although I do think that the new principal is not as included and well rounded as the old one, I still find Bell to be such an including and wonderful school. I've been here since I was in kindergarten and I have made great connections with the student and the teachers. I would like to make a shoutout to the seventh grade options teacher (Mr. Klein) I think that he has prepared many students to be able to reach their full potential and get ready for high school which is an extremely helpful pro to Bell. The academics are really good for what I am aware of and some of the reviews saying that they aren't, are not really looking at all of the different view points and really looking at the work that their kid is given.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2014

I think this school has been a wonderful experience for my children! We moved in district just to go here and have not regretted it one second. It is a great community. The teachers are, on the most part, wonderful and caring and my children are thriving in their academic journey here. We have never experienced any bullying or elitist teaching staff as some have reported. I volunteer often in the school and feel I have a great rapport with the staff. They school encourages parent participation and volunteerism, a part that makes is so great.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2014

If you scratch the surface of the hype surrounding this school, you will discover that all that glitters is not gold. I have had 2 kids at this school for the last 6 years and the truth is that this is the most over-rated school in Chicago. The environment is elitist and entitled. Bullying is rampant and not addressed. The "wonderful" education is mediocre at best. Unless you plan on donating a lot of money or spending hours volunteering, forget about your child being treated as anything more than a statistic. While there may be a few teachers who are wonderful, they are the minority and most teachers are extremely passive-aggressive in their attitudes towards the students especially in the upper grades. I moved to the neighborhood specifically for this school and wish I had stayed where we were. . There are a lot of other parents who feel the same way but are afraid to say anything for fear of repercussions.
Submitted by other on April 17, 2014

I do not recommend this school for anyone who has a deaf child. The principal is very inexperienced and is just worried about the how everything looks to impress outsiders. They confuse children and families.