Anyone familiar with UChicago Lab School?

[Anonymous]

What’s the rep? What would you say is a DC area peer?

[Anonymous]

The Obama girls went there pre-White House.

[Anonymous]

I lived in Chicago about a decade ago. It has a great reputation. A lot of the kids are U of C faculty's kids, so less rich than other top private schools in the city. A great thing in my mind. I actually don't think there is a peer in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Obama girls went there pre-White House.

No public?

[Anonymous]

Former Chicagoan here. It's a truly fantastic school. I don't think any of the DC-area privates have an equivalent culture or structure. If you're moving to Chicago and considering it for your kids, I'd highly recommend it for kids who are intellectually curious but temperamentally relatively low-key. Smart, studious kids. No emphasis on athletics (and a "no cut" policy). Upper middle class professional parents, especially U of C faculty.

I'd guess that, given that Obama was working at UC, he probably had reduced tuition for his kids, and the school would have been right in their neighborhood. They might have been there starting at PK3.

[Anonymous]

It has a very strong reputation. Pulitzer and Oscar-winning alums, Supreme Court Justice Stevens, Paul Nitze, and a slew of media, arts and political types. Think it is one of the top (if not the top) schools in Chicago. Would rank it as comparable to the Big 3 in DC, though I'm not specifically sure about the teaching style vs a specific school here.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there is a real peer here. It has a great reputation in Chicago and people bring their kids to the South Side from all over the area. It's probably more intellectual and innovative than a lot of the schools here where here it feels like schools are either quite academic or on the innovative side but not both.

It also has a uniquely diverse population (race and socioeconomic) - both because of its location as well as the tuition benefit for UChicago employees (including non-faculty like cafeteria workers, etc.).

If I were moving to Chicago, it would definitely be on my list.

[Anonymous]

It’s a fantastic school! Academics are on par with any of the top privates here, although it’s hard to compare overall with any DC private (party because there is a lot less of a private school “culture” in Chicago).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former Chicagoan here. It's a truly fantastic school. I don't think any of the DC-area privates have an equivalent culture or structure. If you're moving to Chicago and considering it for your kids, I'd highly recommend it for kids who are intellectually curious but temperamentally relatively low-key. Smart, studious kids. No emphasis on athletics (and a "no cut" policy). Upper middle class professional parents, especially U of C faculty.

I'd guess that, given that Obama was working at UC, he probably had reduced tuition for his kids, and the school would have been right in their neighborhood. They might have been there starting at PK3.

Yes, the Obamas lived fairly close to the Lab School. Agree with the pps here-- it's fabulous and there really isn't a peer in DC, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

It's a great school, but one thing to consider is where you live. It is in Hyde Park so if you are living in the North part of the City it might not be convenient.

[Anonymous]

Its raison d'etre is to be a school for the children of the faculty at U. Chicago, so they don't have to send their kids to Chicago public schools.

[Anonymous]

I know Rahm Emanuel’s kids were driven there every morning from the north side. That’s gotta be 90 min round trip each day. His son only ended up at UCLA.

Like a pompous TJHS is how I’d characterize it.

[Anonymous]

I'm a Lab lifer (N-12).

It is currently ranked #1 in the the state of Illinois. Great liberal arts, progressive education. Partially because of the quality of the teaching, partially because of the expectations of the parents.

In high school you can take classes at the University and use the University's libraries. Some students also do science research at the University. The school produces life-long learners. I went to an Ivy, and am more impressed with my high school classmates and what they are doing in the world than my college classmates.

When I was a student, I would guess about half of my classmates were children of University or school faculty and staff (who had reduced tuition). Not sure what the current breakdown is. Most families lived in Hyde Park, Kenwood, or South Shore, but there were a number from other neighborhoods and suburbs, too, particularly by high school.

The student body is not as wealthy as the other top schools in Chicago (Latin and Parker), nor as showy. Not as diverse economically as the parochial schools though.

When I was a student it was known as "druggie high" compared to the neighborhood public (Kenwood Academy was "fashion plate high"). I don't know if that still applies.

The closest equivalents in DC would be Sidwell and GDS.

[Anonymous]

They also brought us Everyday Math -- one of their less stellar innovations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Lab lifer (N-12).

It is currently ranked #1 in the the state of Illinois. Great liberal arts, progressive education. Partially because of the quality of the teaching, partially because of the expectations of the parents.

In high school you can take classes at the University and use the University's libraries. Some students also do science research at the University. The school produces life-long learners. I went to an Ivy, and am more impressed with my high school classmates and what they are doing in the world than my college classmates.

When I was a student, I would guess about half of my classmates were children of University or school faculty and staff (who had reduced tuition). Not sure what the current breakdown is. Most families lived in Hyde Park, Kenwood, or South Shore, but there were a number from other neighborhoods and suburbs, too, particularly by high school.

The student body is not as wealthy as the other top schools in Chicago (Latin and Parker), nor as showy. Not as diverse economically as the parochial schools though.

When I was a student it was known as "druggie high" compared to the neighborhood public (Kenwood Academy was "fashion plate high"). I don't know if that still applies.

The closest equivalents in DC would be Sidwell and GDS.

The school says 60% of students are university-affiliated now.