University Village/Little Italy is a community with large academic institutions

as its neighbors to the east and west. As such, our community is one that

cares deeply about not only higher education, but also elementary and

secondary education. The University Village Association and many dedicated

parents have worked diligently to make our schools among the best in the

Chicagoland area.  Many people want to raise their children in the City of

Chicago and will do so if high quality education is available for their children. 

The following schools are options for residents with children who are

considering residence in the University Village/Little Italy community.

Elementary schools:

 

Andrew Jackson Language Academy - 1340 West Harrison Street.  Andrew

Jackson Language Academy is a Chicago Public Schools magnet school.  A

beautiful sculpture garden, trees and green play-area surround this uniquely

designed, modern, light-filled building. With a solid all-around educational 

curriculum, students additionally learn French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese or

Spanish during their tenure here.  Its 550 K through 8th grade students

represent a diversity of racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. A close 

relationship exists between Andrew Jackson Language Academy and the

University of Illinois at Chicago.  Students are selected by either a proximity

lottery or city-wide lottery depending on the location of their residence. 

Andrew Jackson Language Academy ranked 12th in the Chicago metropolitan

region (Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will and McHenry counties) based on

combined 2009 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores for grades

3 through 8. 

 

Mark T. Skinner Classical School - 1260 West Adams Street. Located in the

West Loop area, Skinner Elementary is a Chicago Public Schools Classical

school with a neighborhood component. The school facility is a brand new

building designed to maximize learning in beautiful surroundings.  Skinner Park,

adjacent to the school, is a large, peaceful stretch of trees and green for sports 

and exercise.  In order to enter Skinner's classical component students must

successfully test into the Classical program.  Children living within the

neighborhood boundary of the school are accommodated beginning with a

29-seat kindergarten class for the 2009-2010 school year. Skinner ranked

11th in the Chicago metropolitan region based on combined 2009 ISAT scores

for grades 3 through 8.

 

Galileo Math and Science Academy School  - 820 South Carpenter Street.

Located in the heart of Little Italy in a safe, tree-lined residential area this

school is a Chicago Public Schools magnet school with 612 students, pre-K

through 8th grade.  Galileo provides reduced class sizes in grades 1st - 4th.

Galileo students have won awards for the Daniel Murphy Scholarship and

Young Authors Program. Galileo ISAT scores show that 76.6% of its students

are at or above Illinois State reading standards, 76.7% of its students are at or

above science standards and 91.7% of students are at or above mathematics

standards. The school has been recognized as a School of Distinction and a

Spotlight School.  The school is also adjacent to Sheridan Park.

 

Children of Peace Catholic Elementary Parish School  -  1900 West Taylor

Street. This Archdiocesan Catholic school has several different early childhood

programs, an extended day program and a core academic curriculum that

includes language arts in addition to the basics of math, science, reading, and

other disciplines.

 

Francis Xavier Warde Catholic Elementary School - Old St. Patrick's campus

120 South Des Plaines. Street. This academically challenging school has received

acclaim throughout the region for it core educational curriculum.  The school

offers financial assistance to thirty percent of its students.

 

High Schools:

 

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School  -  211 South Laflin Street. Whitney

Young ranked 3rd in best overall 2009 Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE)

scores in the six county Chicago metropolitan region (Cook, DuPage, Lake,

Kane, Will and McHenry counties) ahead of noted schools such as New Trier

Township High School, Deerfield High School and Hinsdale Township High

School Central.  The achievements of this school and its students are too

numerous to mention. Whitney Young High School's Decathlon Team took 4th

in the Division and 5th in the Nationals in Memphis, Tennessee in 2008.  The

school has a long standing tradition of academic excellence and ethnic and

cultural diversity.

 

Jones College Preparatory High School - 606 South State Street. Jones ranked

5th best in  overall 2009 Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE) scores in the

six county Chicago metropolitan region (Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will and

McHenry counties) just below New Trier Township High School.  It is a diverse

urban school located in the nearby downtown area of Chicago.

 

St. Ignatius College Prep.  -  1076 West Roosevelt Road. This historic Jesuit

school in our community has been educating young students since 1869.  It is 

one of the premier Catholic high schools in the United States and its campus has

seen extensive expansion and renovation in the recent past.  Its alumni are among

the most active and organized of those of any high school in the country.

 

Chicago Hope Academy  - 2189 W. Bowler Street.  This exciting school is a

non-denominational college and life preparatory school in a newly renovated

campus in the Tri-Taylor community.  The school, located in the St. Callistus 

School and parish formerly owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago, underwent

an extensive, year long renovation and welcomed its first class of freshmen and

sophomores in 2005.  A new wing was built in 2006 and added additional

classrooms and state of the art athletic facilities.