St. James Lutheran School

2101 North Fremont Street

Chicago, IL 60614

22 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 11, 2024

My son loves this school, and so do I!
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2024

We couldn’t be happier with our preschool experience at St. James Lutheran School. The program expertly combines structured learning with creative play, fostering both academic and social growth. The dedicated staff create a nurturing environment where my child feels valued and excited to learn. The basis on Christian values is a wonderful foundation to instill integrity and character into my child's daily education. The facilities are growing with their latest capital campaign (adding two new classrooms), and communication with parents is excellent. St. James has truly exceeded our expectations. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a top-notch early education!
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2019

Excellent environment for an excellent education. Many kids go on to premiere Chicago Highschools.
Submitted by parent on July 21, 2017

I felt like I should update my review based on recent developments. They've recently hired an actual professional educator to be the principal, and the overbearing pastor has been "removed" as well. They still don't have any formal governing structure, so...
Submitted by other on June 06, 2017

Just an incredible place full of great teachers and good people. We've been there for 14 years. Absolutely wonderful school
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2016

We stumbled into St. James with our oldest child almost 10 years ago and couldn't be more pleased with the overall experience. All of our children have thrived academically as well as socially and spiritually. The teachers with very few exceptions have been outstanding - great educators and even better people. Small class sizes and individual academic attention. Despite the size, there is a wide variety of activities for students from athletic to academic to artistic. The school/parent community is exceptional - warm and inviting.
Submitted by parent on February 15, 2016

As the father of two sons who have attended St James Lutheran, I am very pleased to share this brief comment about this school. The smaller size of the school enables very strong attention by teachers to each student, and each student's needs, in the classroom. This is just so critical, and can't be found at area public schools. Additionally, the school is very attentive to its students achieving academic standards, and ensuring students advance according to state/federal criteria. All of this amidst a very warm school community, with active parent participation. Highly recommended.
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2016

As a parent of both existing and graduated students, I believe St. James is a fabulous school. It provides exceptional academics in a loving Christian environment. From an early age, the students learn to love learning and continue to foster and develop their minds and their interests, be they on the cross-country team or the chess team. The class sizes are small so there is incredible attention and accountability. The teachers really know the kids and the kids all care about each other, no matter their similarities or differences. The students are very well prepared for high school and consistently get into their first choice of top tier schools. I feel strongly that St. James was an integral part of my children’s development spiritually and educationally through the opportunities provided in the classroom, on the playing field, on the stage and in the community.
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2016

My oldest child is in her 5th year at St. James and I couldn't be happier about the education, the community, (a researched based curriculum) and the extra curricular enrichments. The small class size (15) allows her teacher to really know her, her strengths, and how to foster all aspects of learning. The community of teachers and staff demonstrate a true committment to nurturing the whole student, with an emphasis on respect, the environment, and a christian perspective. At one point, my husband and I had considered moving to the suburbs, but we made the choice to stay at St. James, so that our children could receive this quality education and life experience.
Submitted by other on March 01, 2015

Wonderful school and community. Fantastic teachers and leadership. Would recommend the school and church to anyone.
Submitted by parent on November 19, 2013

We have nothing but great things to say about St. James. Truth be told, we decided on St. James for Pre K mainly because of its location (we recently moved) and we were planning on going somewhere else for K. But after being there for a year, we decided to stay. We have loved everything about St. James. We looked into a lot of the other private schools in the city (Parker, Latin, St. Clements, FXW) so we know what is out there and we are still thrilled with the educational envoriment at St. James. I can't say enough wonderful things about our children's teachers (Miss. Buschle and MIss. Adams) as well as all of the parents we have met . I know there have been comments about kids leaving every year, but every private school as some attrition as families move to the suburbs or transfer children into their public schools. I also can't speak for the older grades, but we are there until our experience proves us otherwise.
Submitted by other on August 13, 2013

As a graduate, I think the school has both its highs and lows. The highs are that its a great school if you want to be in in a small private school environment. I think the school lacks a rigorous curriculum that prepares students for Chicago's elite high schools. They also don't do a good job of preparing students for standardized tests. Some of the teachers care about their students, but some don't. It was even tough to talk to some teachers when you really needed to talk to them. Some teachers showed favoritism to certain students, and those same teachers were racist to minorities at the school. Teachers there would gossip a lot, and they didn't really give their students personal space. Some teachers also purposely were making sure certain kids were always in trouble. I witnessed this often. The school also doesn't properly discipline certain students. Kids were often being harmed physically and mentally that the staff was aware of and didn't do anything about it. Kids were even being forced to join extracurricular activities even if they didn't want to. There also weren't enough, interesting clubs for students to join. The school also didn't support their students.
Submitted by parent on February 02, 2013

St. James is a sweet little school but there is no consistency year to year in the curriculum. They have trouble retaining students which means the budget isn't stable so so years you may have a language program and an art teacher when other years these programs seem to disappear. My child gets a loving environment every year (which we highly value) but that is the only constant they seem to offer.
Submitted by parent on January 26, 2013

My Family and I have had a wonderful and positive experience with St. James. We have always received the love and care of a true family from the community. I'm thankful to have been and continue to be a part of this Christian family.
Submitted by parent on January 16, 2013

We have had nothing but great experiences with St. James. With the welcoming community of parents, teachers, and staff it has made our time with them the best we could ask for. The teachers are very caring and they still offer challenging work for the students. The class sizes are small. They offer gym everyday, music, world languages. The extracurricular activities are fun for the kids and all of the events are fun for the kids and the adults. I'm so glad we found St. James.
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2013

My family and I have had a great experience at St. James. The community of people are wonderful. We feel the academics have been wonderful for our childlen. They are taught well, loved and respected, which in turns teaches, them the to treat others the same. We enjoy the smaller class size, the teachers, and the assistance which is provdied to us and our kids.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2012

St James puts forth an environment of love, respect, learning, and safety. Each and every teacher, aide, administrator, and employee shows the love of God in everything they do, every day. Whether it is special attention to the student who seeks a challenge, or to the student with which the lesson hasn't quite "clicked", these top-shelf educators give us confident, trustworthy, loving children who will become leaders in the real world. St James is truly an oasis in the city!
Submitted by parent on July 18, 2012

Middle school years can be frightening for both students AND parents! The experienced middle school teachers at St. James are patient and encouraging as we make our way through the pre-teen years! They challenge the students academically, but they also know their students so well that they support without coddling.
Submitted by parent on July 18, 2012

Parochial schools cannot offer the same salaries as CPS, and yet St. James still manages to recruit top-notch teachers. To me this says that the teachers are here for the right reasons: to educate and to nurture the whole child. My daughter is entering first grade this fall. Her preschool years and kindergarten experiences were amazing. She is growing academically and because of the small class sizes, her self-confidence is also strong. She loves going to school every day and cannot wait for the new year to begin.
Submitted by parent on January 07, 2012

I have had two children at this school since 2004. It is an incredible place of learning and community. My oldest is currently in the middle school and I could not be more impressed with the education. They just finished reading The Odyssey! Enrollment is purposefully kept small to facilitate a personalized learning experience. The preschool is sweet, the elementary is wonderful and I'm blown away by the middle school. I can't imagine a better learning environment for my children.