Urban Prairie

1310 S Ashland Ave

Chicago, IL 60608

8 Reviews

School District
Grade

1-3
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on April 06, 2020

Urban Prairie Waldorf School fosters my children's' creative and artistic spirit while challenging them to learn math and science through the natural world. The Waldorf philosophy takes a holistic approach to understanding children and how they experience the life.
Submitted by principal on March 09, 2020

My kids love going to school and as a parent, that is great!
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2019

I found that Urban Prairie did not provide a quality education experience.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2018

I couldn’t imagine my kids’ attending another school. I’m so grateful to have found UPWS as an option in a city with plenty of bad options.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2016

A great school if your looking for your child to find their inner purpose in life and to reach their full potential as a human being... It's 100% parent driven, community based with a student body focused on sustainability, self reliance, creative/critical thinking, biodynamics and biodiversity.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2015

I have one child currently enrolled and will have two next year. We made the transition a few years ago from a traditional private school and have never looked back. My boys are blossoming in the Waldorf environment. The curriculum is both challenging and fun and meets them at their level. They are not sedated with countless hours of homework but are encouraged to use the real world to learn. My boys are not dissuaded from being boys and are encouraged to explore their physical and creative limits. They are pushed to be good humans as well as good students. The community is a joy to be a part of!
Submitted by parent on March 18, 2015

I have two children at this school, and we love it. The school has a really rich, comprehensive curriculum including Mandarin and Spanish in all grades, orchestra, sports, fine arts and practical arts (including metalwork and woodwork). In the early grades, the children move a lot in class and still get a good amount of recess time (and are not burdened with a heavy homework load). Urban Prairie values a deep learning experience--the children really dive into their coursework. Recently the 6th graders were studying Rome--not just reading about it but role-playing the conflicts with different tribes, building a functioning aqueduct, and learning about what was happening in art and mathematics at that time as well. I found it really inspiring and wished that I had learned the same way!
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2012

Our son has been attending Urban Prairie since the school opened its doors in the fall of 2009. It has been a fantastic experience thus far: his math and reading skills are impressive; he has recess every day; this year (grade three) he is learning violin as well as diatonic flute and singing; the science curriculum is experiential (dyeing handspun yarn; working on a farm; cooking chemistry, etc). The integrated art is a wonderful balance to the academics (every week they paint, every day they draw, they perform plays and learn folk dances). The connection of the teacher to the class is impressive to behold. Our son loves to go to school, is not stressed about testing or grades and is able to be an active, intelligent nine-year-old without the pressures of many of his friends at other schools.
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2012

This is not the school for everybody. That having been said, it may be the perfect school for your child and your family. This new gem was started with the blood, sweat and tears of the parents of the graduates of City Garden Early Childhood Center in Pilsen. If you need a school that looks like a big techno-computer lab run by a cold bureaucracy, go elsewhere. This is a tiny school with small class sizes governed largely by passionate and invested parents. The classrooms are gorgeous and devoid of all signs of current trends and fads. The teachers have been through a rigorous teacher training program called Arcturus, which is based upon the 100 year-old Rudolf Steiner pedagogy--which is taught around the world. The school is full of programing that has received the axe from mainstream curriculum: art, recitation, languages, theatre, movement, music and yes, recess. The conscientious parent who wants their child to do more than be proficient at test-taker will notice this school attracts a different kind of parent and creates a different type of child.