Schools in Oak Park, IL

“My daughter still talks about how she misses the day nursery at 8 years old she says it was her favorite and everyone was so nice definitely loved it she started at 3 and finished up until she was 5 great experience for her loved the updates and pictures we got throughout the day and being able to be involved as well !”

“This school has exceeded our hopes for our daughter's first experience at school. We looked around extensively before settling on PCNS and are so happy with the program. Our daughter was 3, (now 4), and before classes started, her teachers came to meet her at our house and did a little art project with her, and then there was an open house before classes started. Because of this, she already knew them and the space on her first day and she wasn't anxious at all, just excited.Her classroom is well laid out (and is clean!) with a lot of different things to explore and play. There's a mixture of free play and structured play. I am very impressed with her curriculum, which covers literacy, writing & drawing, math, and science every week following different themes. She loves her teachers Mr. Rob and Ms. Molly, and has been learning a lot of social skills and making friends with her classmates. We saw a big improvement with her at home after she started school as she's learning how to manage and express her feelings and communicate them with words.Early in the year, they had parent-teacher conferences and my husband and I were impressed (again) with her teachers. It was obvious they had been paying a lot of attention to her and had identified some areas where we could work with her at home in terms of academic and social skills, as well as the things she was doing very well on. We feel like we have a great collaborative relationship with them and are very comfortable talking to them about concerns or to seek advice.I'll close with a story about something that just really highlights the love and the care that the staff have for the kids. At the end of a week, we picked up my daughter to take her to her yearly pediatric appointment and she was afraid of getting a vaccine. She was crying very hard as we left, and the director of the program, Ms. Emily, (who every day welcomes them as they arrive and says goodbye as they leave) sat down on the ground and talked to her until she started to calm down. Ms. Emily said she was also going to get a shot that weekend, and she suggested that she and my daughter both concentrate on saying the ABCs and they could compare what letters they got to before the shots were done. It was a big help both in the moment and while we were at the doctor. And then she actually remembered and specifically asked my daughter about it when she arrived the next Monday!We're looking forward to another year there. We're also expecting another child now and will definitely be sending him to this school when he's old enough. If you're looking for a wonderful program with expert staff and a play-based philosophy, I strongly suggest this one.”

“We love the teachers and admin at this place! They’ve provided exceptionally kind and thoughtful care of our 1-2 y/o. Very communicative, compassionate, and coordinated.”

“Our daughter has thrived here over the past 6 years that she has been a student in the primary school and Spanish immersion program. The school environment focuses on students' social emotional learning and their individual learning styles, allowing the kids to learn in fun and engaging ways. The school's non-traditional style means small groups, individualized learning, and opportunities for the kids to explore what they are interested in. This environment has really suited our daughter and has allowed her confidence, independence and love of learning to flourish.”

“OK. I graduated back in the dark ages from Hatch and OPRF. We did not have middle schools then and my dad did not have the OPRF addition nor the ball fields. I'd like to thank the School District and the Village of Oak Park and it's residents for such an outstanding school district. I'd jump at a chance to return to HS and take all the courses offered.”