Skinner North Elementary School

640 West Scott Street

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 20, 2025

Wonderful school in the heart of the city. Kids learn at an accelerated pass while also engaging in the social and emotional learning. The kids are advanced and need more emotional support which the teachers and school leaders are aware off.
Submitted by student on August 12, 2024

Terrible school. I feel like it has been getting worse and worse lately. Very bad.
Submitted by parent on March 19, 2024

The admin would say no to any suggestion from parents. They say they welcome any suggestion, but each time when parents raise suggestions, the reply would be like: we have done the best, so there is nothing can be improved. The place has bad driving and parking conditions, and they just set rules to make it worse and wait to parent to solve the problem. They only want parents to do all the school jobs, including teaching, fundraising and traffic. There are good teachers, but there are also some teachers who don't care about teaching and only want more vacation during school days. They really rely on good students who are self-motivated or family-motivated. The majority of the students study extra materials or class from parents, and the school is only a social place. Half of the students can't wait going to Academic Center when 6 grade.
Submitted by student on October 01, 2023

This year they have banned phones, wireless headphones, and even smartwatches! Oh and can’t forget the gum ban. But overall I have had a great experience here at Skinner.
Submitted by student on September 25, 2023

They banned gum,phones,airpods,and smartwatches. It feels like prison. I can't wait to leave. I do not recommend coming here.
Submitted by student on September 25, 2023

The school is alright, my experience there was great, but some of my friends and family had worse experiences, also, they were overall a good, fair, and free country
Submitted by student on May 02, 2023

I've been here for about 5 and a half years, and I did not dislike one teacher. They make you feel actually engaged and connect the subject to real-world topics. Two problems are that a few of the kids are sort of violent (I don't mean severe fights) or attention-seeking in a negative manner, and the bugs there just REFUSE to go away. Besides that, the school is great and I would recommend.
Submitted by student on May 18, 2021

As a student, I can say that this school is not great. I've been going to this school for 7 years almost, and luckily it is all about to end, hearing that I was moving to a different state and going to a different school was like listening to my favorite song for the first time. Once you get past 3rd grade, the teachers act like you can do any amount of homework. I've seen the tiring amounts of homework somehow work out for like a few people, but it never worked out for most. Sure the teachers help you get it in on time and if not, they remind you a lot, but that doesn't mean they can assign an hour of homework per day. And during online it's literally just getting the assignments in on time, we aren't learning much other than Math. Other than all of that, I can say that the principal is a bit rude, and doesn't necessarily target people, but she does make it clear that she likes some students, and doesn't. But I can say that the assistant principal is a great person and really nice to other students, and does not hate any in particular, same exact thing with the counselor, great person. Adding on, a lot of teachers don't do anything about bullying. If you want to report it just go to the main office/talk to the assistant principal if you want to handle it in the best way. Lastly, the special education teachers are really nice and caring for anyone, possibly the best teachers in the school. In conclusion, this school is not great all around (select teachers are nice which is the most of it I guess lol), so I don't recommend going here unless you want to do pointless quizzes, countless hours of homework, and get called curse words by 4th graders that didn't have breakfast.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2021

The school has really changed since we started. All of my child’s K-4 teachers have left, and who could blame them. The bullying is more intense here on all levels. The principal is mostly interested in pleasing parents and the focus on the children in their school environment is lost. Sadly, whomever the principal is talking to at the time will be told one thing, while others are told the opposite. Leadership is so important, and all of the magic left when the previous principal did (and so did all the best teachers and many active, caring families that cared about the school saw the writing on the wall and left, too!). We are counting down our final days.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2021

My son started in kindergarten. Skinner was only a couple years old. Didn’t know much about it, but the principal at the time made it seem that Skinner was the only choice. Like any school, there are teachers who shouldn’t be teaching. Most teachers there are amazing! They go above and beyond to ensure true success of the child. Well, fast forward a few years and the amazing principal left for a better opportunity elsewhere. Consensus voting was to move the Vice Principal into the Principal position. She. Is. Completely. Useless. She spits out policy like an automaton. Walks the line and refuses to step on toes to be effectual and fight for the students. She does not belong in that position. For that reason, I’m not sure I would have made the same decision to send my son there if she had been Principal at the time. If you don’t care about who’s steering the ship, go. My son received a great education, but if we had one more year instead of one more quarter, I’d tear my hair out.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2021

Skinner North is a truly special place. Despite living in a great neighborhood school we chose Skinner North because of its focus on social-emotional learning, small size, and academic differentiation. The school really cares about developing the “whole child.” Social emotional development is equally important to academic in the eyes of the wonderful teachers and administrators. The counselor is unbelievable, even during remote learning. The school is less than 500 students with only two classes per grade, which creates a truly intimate feeling. By the middle grades the kids know almost all the other kids in their grade as well as kids from adjacent grades. Skinner North is a classical school and so of course teaches an advanced academic curriculum. But the thing that makes it unique is the care many of the teachers put into differentiation. There is a clear effort to nurture the interests and abilities of the specific child. Additional plusses are a focus on the facilities (a beautiful new playground and auditorium), a wonderful and diverse parent community that works hard to build ties despite living across the city, and an engaged and high functioning staff, administration, and LSC.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2021

If you have a child that tests well on the selective enrollment exam, do yourself and your child a favor and choose a different school. Skinner North has gone so far down hill over the last few years, they're never going to bounce back. The administration is awful, and the LSC is too afraid to vote the principal out, despite many parents pushing for it. The vice principal has no idea what he's doing and is just there to pad his resume. There are so many new teachers every year because the school is run so poorly that they all leave. The curriculum is laughable, as teachers rely on worksheets and small assignments worth hundreds of points because they have to have enough points to give out grades. If you think Skinner North will offer your advanced student an advanced education, you are mistaken. It's just worksheets out of a workbook from a grade or two above. When teachers are asked to explain concepts, more often than not, they are unable. When parents point out incorrect information being given to the students, they are either ignored or belittled (incorrect information is OFTEN given to students in science, math and social studies). Teachers rely on a million random, non-accredited and/or academically supported websites to "teach" the students in every subject. If you can afford it, I'd recommend private school. If you can't, try Beaubien or Wildwood (not selective enrollment, but a great magnet school). And bullying is a HUGE issue at this school that gets completely ignored by the administration. They have told many parents "we'll handle it, but we can't tell you how". And then magically, nothing changes or improves. It's shameful and terrifying for a lot of students.
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2019

AMAZING! So blessed. Skinner North is welcoming, loving, diverse and run by skilled folks. Students receive a super education.
Submitted by parent on June 24, 2019

The past administration was a dream. Skinner North is now run like every other mediocre cps school. Growth scores are gradually decreasing. Definitely choose Academic Centers over SN 7 & 8th grades.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2019

Great experience through 6th grade. 7th and 8th grade have been disappointing. If you have the option to send your student to Academic Center for 7th and 8th grade, your student will likely be better off.
Submitted by parent on December 07, 2017

Not good at hiring a good teacher.
Submitted by other on December 07, 2015

Our son has been at Skinner North for four years now and we are mostly pleased with everything. The previous reviewer nailed it when he or she wrote about the social emotional curriculum and the mellow attitude of the administration and teachers. There is NO pressure on the students when it comes to academic performance or standardized test scores. They are so much more focused on making sure the kids are growing up to be respectful and kind, which I think is the ideal for elementary schools but is rarely realized in this age of testing, testing, and more testing. When you have a selective enrollment school, you can have an environment where the academics (which are challenging, to be sure, and advanced) basically take care of themselves, but it doesn't usually turn out like this (see Decatur and Edison, e.g.) Principal Netterstrom sets this tone. He has also been very responsive to us, as have the rest of the teachers and administrators, always very quickly responding to parents' emails and welcoming respectfully student concerns and questions. The school size is small so that everyone knows each other. Seriously, this school is the dream of what public school should be. I only wish every kid in Chicago could have the experience mine does at school every day (I really, really wish his siblings could, too, fingers crossed for a good testing experience for his little siblings!)
Submitted by other on November 12, 2015

Our daughter is thriving in the early grades at Skinner. She is appropriately challenged and surrounded by stimualting, like-minded peers. We really appreciate the social emotional curriculum and the low key attitude about being the #1 ranked school in Illinois. The Skinner faculty doesn't make a big "to do" about the student body's abilities and really focuses on letting kids just be kids. The diversity of the population is also a big plus to us - it's truly a slice of the greater Chicago population and much less segregated than many neighborhood schools can tend to be. We're very happy at Skinner and have our fingers crossed that our second child will get in too!
Submitted by other on December 21, 2014

I am currently (as of December 2014, winter break) a 4th grade student from Skinner North. I think my school is awesome. Scratch that, it IS awesome :D The teachers are all nice, but also look out for you and make sure you do the right thing. I made lots of friends in the 5 yrs I have went to school here. The staff set rules that allow you to enjoy yourself here while letting others as well. The homework isn't TOO much... it's in moderation, which is fine. The only downside I can think of is the reason I bring home lunch... :) But that's every school, so... :-P This is why Skinner North is an awesome school. PS this is a K-7th school now B-)
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2014

Skinner North is an amazing school. The leadership truly focuses on the children learning to be their personal best. We were concerned that there would be a lot of pressure on the students to achieve, but that has not been our experience at all. Our child is thriving and loves going to school. The teachers have fantastic organizational skills, and the students have ample time to work individually, one-on-one with the teacher, and in groups. If you want to volunteer, the school welcomes parents, but there isn't any pressure to do so.. The diversity of the student body is really impressive. We are very pleased that the school celebrates birthdays and holidays without sugary sweets or food! The pricipal also recognizes the importance of physical education, and recently added PE time to the daily schedule. The art teacher is very creative, and comes up with master pieces! It's a really well rounded school.