Carson Elementary School

5516 South Maplewood Avenue

School District

Chicago Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
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 September 11, 2013

I feel that this is an excellent school. I have raised my children in this neighborhood since 1991 when the school opened for 1-8th graders. My 4th and last child graduates this year. She's been an honor student with high test scores, like my other 3 (3rd child away at college now on scholarships).Every school can be improved, even the high score ones & I feel this school needs to listen not only to the parents but get feed back from the children (which they don't do).The after school programs are excellent. My child is in their band program, funded by a large grant used for more instruments, individual lessons & more instructors.Carson has homework help, after-school tutoring, dance & sports, along with constant new educational programs that have been introduced to the kids learning environment. I'll admit the staff sometimes lacks in bedside manners & sometimes even commonsense,but they are after all human & I'm sure they'll work on their disposition and attentiveness towards parental concerns. But for the most part this is a very good (and so-far, safe) school for my child's education & well being. A parent shouldn't be upset with 1 teacher and down rate the whole school for it.
Submitted by parent on July 03, 2013

Absolutely awful school! This school was once a great school, but sadly that is no longer the case. Test scores are not everything, but that's all this school worries about. My daughter was fine until she hit the 3rd grade and they started teaching the test to prepare for the ISAT. The office staff is super rude to parents and the principal is never available to talk. Plus, the upper grades are full of gang banging boys. My kids will not be back next year.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2013

What is a ban dada? If you mean "vendetta" then I think you need to look at administration. They are really incompetent and unprofessional. Parents and teachers and students at Carson are treated like criminals. Not a safe place for my children so they are at Talman instead.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2012

As I looked at the review from 06/22/11 it seems that the person who wrote this comment obviously has his/her facts wrong since the school has not been at a downturn. The school s scores keep on going up. If you compare the scores from the schools surrounding the neighborhood you would see that it has the highest ISAT scores and attendance rate in the area. Being a nice teacher does not equal being an effective teacher or that the teacher has his/her credentials required by the state. Turnover of the school happens in good schools too especially if seeking superior teachers is the goal to teach students not just teachers who give good grades based on whether the mother gets along with the teacher. As far as the clerks are concern, I cannot imagine any parent waiting 10 minutes without being acknowledge. If you find it strange that a principal is always in the other building than you obviously did not want to talk to him because you could have requested to talk to him or simply walked to the other building. It is clear that this person has a ban dada after the principal (Maybe a person who has been let go for incompetency?)