Lasalle Elementary Language Academy

1734 North Orleans Street

School District

Chicago Public Schools
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
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 January 17, 2024

Lasalle provides a wonderful academic community and a unique educational experience within CPS. Love the world language program and support given this is a small school compared to other CPS elementary schools.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2023

I was a previous parent of Lasalle students as well. I had 2 children attend this school. I've felt the exact same way over their years at Lasalle. Being minority African American boys they had the worst experience when it comes to students teacher relationships. It is so obvious and apparent. I don't know how the teacher and administration don't see the biases that occur with their African American population. Primarily the boys. When my children were younger we were warned by a program that helps parents of students with behavior issues that Lasalle has a reputation for not being good not only for Black boys but boys in general when it came to their students. So we know our concerns were legitimate as parents. At Lasalle each year was hit or miss depending on their teacher and if they knew how to build relationships with students. Parents would receive calls about the dumbest things it was ridiculous. Most of the boys weren't required to attend field trips or man of those special opportunities when they could finally enjoy their time outside of class. Parents would be told they could only attend if they were chaperoning or if they could send another adult baby sitter on their place. This wasn't the case for any of the other female students or. Again it was mostly the black boys that would have those requirements. When my boys were younger things did not stick out as much with those differences in treatment but the older they got the more apparent things became. I can't change their experiences now but would strongly tell other interested parents to keep looking. If it wasn't for the location and neighborhood of this school. I would have never let me boys stay if they had the chance.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2023

Lasalle used to be the holy grail of schools but times have changed. The lower grades are wonderful but once they are in the upper grades things change especially if you are AA and a boy. The language program is filled with so many biases against them and sadly the staff don’t even see that and you as a parent don’t see it until what you went there for is taken away based on your race. So if yo want your child to have wonderful K-4 experience this is the school but you may want them to be move at least at the 6th grade level or maybe move them to an academic center in 7th&8th grade. Someone told me this before my child got into the upper grades and sadly I didn’t listen and my child suffered. Would I sign up again for LaSalle yes as I stated before but trust 7th and 8th grades are not nice to black boys.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2022

Amazing school! Staff have been very attentive to our kids needs and have handled issues very well!
Submitted by principal on April 26, 2022

In response to a recent comment on April 23: as Principal, I appreciate that you took the time to comment, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to address it -- especially as it concerns our teachers, who are among the most talented and devoted I've had the honor to work with.LaSalle is a special place! We strive to give our teachers the training and resources they need to succeed, our families are active and involved, and our students have a sense of ownership and voice in their school community. I'm pleased that so many parents have volunteered to share their positive experiences on sites like these, but I'm always grateful for all input. I have an open-door policy when it comes to feedback from everyone in our community -- parents, students and teachers alike. I welcome the opportunity to hear directly from parents about any concerns they might have so we can address them in a collaborative, productive way. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me.Academics are extremely important at LaSalle, and that's why our students do so well here and beyond. We also believe in the power of social and emotional learning, particularly emerging from a pandemic that was so isolating and challenging for young people across the city. This holistic combination of academic rigor and social and emotional learning is supported by research, and it's one of the things that LaSalle does best.My email is cgraves3@cps.edu, so please reach out anytime! As always, whether you are supportive or have feedback on how things are going at LaSalle, I'm here to listen. :)
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2022

My kids love LaSalle. They love going to school (even my older child, which is no small feat) and they come home happy. They're learning so much and I'm especially thrilled with the social and emotional support they've experienced. Growing up is not easy; growing up in a pandemic is a mess. But they have wonderful friends at school, teachers who are kind and understanding, a guidance counselor who is truly outstanding, and a principal who knows them and makes them feel seen every day. The families at LaSalle are fantastic and look out of my kids, too. There's a real sense of community.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2022

I have had 3 children attend this school. I have a lot of concerns with the current principal. The principal does a poor job of managing teachers. The teachers run the show and are not properly supervised. There are teachers that should be on improvement plans. The principal is not always honest or professional. The principal focuses too much on social emotional development and not enough on academics. It appears as if he is either unwilling or unable to focus on academics. The teachers need more training. The principal has an “in” crowd and he publicly admitted he recruits parents to say positive things about the school on social media/internet. Perhaps he should spend more time focusing on the realities of the school instead of just the perception of the school.
Submitted by parent on April 22, 2022

My son attends 2nd grade at LLA, we joined LLA in 2020 when the entire CPS district was still in remote. Even during that time, we found our teacher to be engaging, understanding and really flexible and creative in making e-learning fun and effective. Now that the school is back in person, we are overjoyed with how communicative the teachers and principal are with us and how close knit the family community is. We feel supported and safe at LaSalle and looking forward to our younger child joining LLA next year for kindergarten!
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2022

We love LaSalle because our kids love LaSalle. We know from experience that invested, engaged teachers can really make a school special and the teachers, staff, and admin at LaSalle are so compassionate, creative, and really love their students. Although COVID has definitely limited the opportunities for community events over the past few years, when the community comes together, they really come together to lift each other up, supportively. From the long standing athletic traditions of the Long Distance Classic and Field Day, where the kids and teachers alike really get into supporting each other to do their best -- healthy competition! -- to the various arts and culture celebrations that celebrate the diversity of the school, you can tell there's something special and magical happening here. Homework feels reasonable with NEA standards. Rosetta Stone for language is the primary homework in K-2. Very little in KG, 10m a day in 1st, 20m a day in 2nd, with about 30 mins of math and reading starting in Grade 3 and on from there. While the academics are rigorous, they are also differentiated. There seems to be an ongoing focus on improving interventions and enrichment to meet the needs of every student. Teachers communicate with parents via text apps, newsletters, email, conferences throughout the year and do a lot to engage parent volunteers. The leadership is open-minded, considerate, and solution-oriented. School climate and community building feels like a priority, striving to make the school inclusive, and a place where all feel they belong. Like any school, LaSalle has many challenges and areas for growth and improvement. The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, and LaSalle has not been immune to those challenges. The administration and teachers seem responsive and interested in taking action to help students adjust to behavior challenges coming out of the pandemic, and and take bullying allegations quite seriously. In fact, they take most complaints seriously and seem to always be striving towards improvement. On the whole, we have a lot of faith in the school, and we love the community there. We feel fortunate that our kids can attend such a great school!
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2021

Was once a great school but has been in great decline for years. Pandemic made it worse.
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2020

Our 7th grader will remain however, the 4th grader will not be returning. His sibling in preschool will not be attending either. We pray that the 4th survives without permanent emotional scars
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2020

This was a school that used to be great, but has really fallen apart. COVID-19 showed how big the cracks in implementation and execution were. We had kind teachers, but with 30 kids in a class and poor behaving students remaining a distraction, all the kids fell short on what they could have learned.
Submitted by parent on November 30, 2019

The principal and staff are highly effective and we are so thankful we received a spot at this school
Submitted by parent on July 21, 2019

10/10. My child had a wonderful experience at LLA!
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2019

Was top notch. Slipping since their historic principal left. Problems with classroom management and uneven instruction. They administration talks a lot of double talk educational jargon, but they don't seem to be making any appreciable improvement.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2018

We wanted our children to attend this school ever since we heard about it 10 years ago. When we received a call that our son was called off a waitlist, we were filled with so much joy. LaSalle has been everything we had hoped it would be and more. Our daughter has not only grown academically but culturally through great academics and school trips to Yellowstone and Spain. The parent teacher organization is VERY strong here, and the school culture is fantastic. Children from every walk of life will excel here.
Submitted by parent on April 18, 2017

I have two children at LaSalle and they are very content at LaSalle. I love that it is a smaller school and also diverse. Parents are involved and teachers set expectations for students' overall behavior. Great social events are planned by the LLC throughout the year for students and parents alike.
Submitted by parent on November 12, 2014

LaSalle is a great school that has only improved over the past few years. The world language program is truly special and there has been a strong emphasis placed on art and music in addition to the core subjects. Extensive work has been done over the past few years to bring more technology in the classrooms. Large class sizes are unfortunate, but are compensated for by reduced sizes during foreign languages classes. New electives for grades 5-8 are a major hit with kids who get to select a class that they want to take. Virtually all of the "deadwood" teachers mentioned in other reviews are now gone. For a CPS school that you don't have to test into, LaSalle clearly deserves to be ranked among the very top schools in the city and consistantly places high percentages of students into the best selective enrollment high schools. We have been here six years and count ourselves as incredibly lucky to have gotten in.
Submitted by parent on October 31, 2014

There is an exceptional quality to the school at many levels. A real jewel in the city.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2014

LaSalle is simply the best! We love it for our daughter and can' wait to enroll our son. Good to know: once you are in, all siblings coming in kindergarten are enrolled in the sibling lottery.