William P. Gray Elementary School, Chicago | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

The teachers are almost exclusively what makes this a good school. The teachers are AWESOME and the aides are great. Each teacher that my son has had since we transferred him to Gray from a private school 6 yrs ago has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Especially wonderful have been Ms. Caroll (son’s all-time fave teacher) and Ms. Gorecki. What makes them stand out is that they kept in touch with me throughout the year, even when it wasn’t about something negative. Can you imagine the stress at seeing the caller ID say there’s an incoming call from the school, and then finding out the teacher is calling to give a compliment? When do you get calls about things your kid is doing something right? And the calls were made in front of my student so that his esteem would be built up instead of knocked down. Overall, the teachers are good about returning calls and responding to emails within a day.

The downside were that the previous administration left a bit to be desired. And I agree with someone’s old comment that office staff were rude. I had seen them be rude to parents/visitors and students. But when the old administration left, it seems, so did most of the negativity. The office staff at both buildings is friendlier now… you know, once they acknowledge your presence. The other negative comment was about one aide who has retired, but my son says he has seen her there this year as a substitute. I don’t know if she had physical problems or what, but Ms. Earlbach always seemed to have trouble keeping her blouse on her shoulders. She really tested my patience during a parent meeting when she told me that my son would probably not finish high school and that she could see my him dropping out by 10th grade. WTH! He was still in a lower grade at that time. She’s lucky I’m a pacifist because I really wanted to knock out her nasty teeth when she said this. When I told a couple of teachers and said I’d bring it up to the principal, they stated that I wasn’t the first parent with a complaint about her, but because Earlbach was about to retire, the (previous) administration would not likely do anything about it.

So except for those exceptions, I’d say the teachers make the grade at this school. And though the school supply lists can get ridiculous, I’m grateful that the school fees are affordable, bullies are dealt with (more or less), and the school grounds are very tidy.

I AM WRITING TO INFORM EVERY PARENT THAT HAS A CHILD IN GRAY SCHOOL ABOUT A HEARTLESS CRUEL TEACHER BY THE NAME OF MS. B ( SHE KNOWS HER NAME). MY TWO DAUGHTERS HAVE ATTENDED GRAY SCHOOL SINCE THE BEGINGING AND I HAVE DEALT WITH MANY TEACHERS IN MY LIFETIME AND NEVER HAVE I INCOUNTER SUCH DISCUSS. ITS THE CHRISTMAS SEASON WITH MUCH MEANING BEHIND IT. WHILE MS.B DECIDED TO EXCLUDED MY DAUGHTER FROM THE CHRISTMAS SCHOOL PARTY TODAY BECAUSE OF MISSING HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS WHICH MY DAUGHTER WORKED SO HARD TO TRY TO COMPLETE. WHAT SHE FAILED TO THINK BEFORE HER CRUEL DECISION WAS THE FACT THAT SHE MENTALLY DAMAGE MY LITTLE GIRLS HEART WITH TEARS IN HERS EYES AS HER FATHER PICKED HER UP FROM EARLY DISMISSAL BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO ATTEND. HER WAY OF THREATENING TACTICS TO MY DAUGHTER HAVE GONE WAY TO FAR. NOT ONES HAS THIS SO CALLED TEACHER CALLED NIETHER PARENT ABOUT MISSING HOMEWORK. BEHIND EVERY CHILD THERE IS A LIFE STORY AND OF COURSE SHE WOULDNT HAVE KNOWN MY DAUGHTERS BECAUSE HAD SHE TAKEN THE TIME TO GET TO KNOW HER SHE WOULD HAVE KNOWN. EVERY NIGHT FOR TWO WEEKS MY DAUGHTER WOULD STAY UP UNTIL 11PM AT NIGHT TO FINISH ALL SHE COULD BECAUSE SHE WAS SO HAPPY AND LOOKING FORWARD TO HER CHRISTMAS PARTY. HOMEWORK IS ALL YEAR ROUND WHILE CHRISTMAS IS ONES A YEAR AND EVERY CHILD LOOKS FOWARD TO CHRISTMAS IS PART OF BEING A CHILD. YOU SHOULD TEACH MILITARY SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS NOT SMALL CHILDREN. BECAUSE OF YOUR WRONG DECISION MY DAUGHTER NO LONGER WANTS TO GO TO SCHOOL BECAUSE SHE FEELS HATED BY YOU. A CHILD SHOULD FEEL SAFE AND FREE WITH THERE TEACHER NOT HATED OR WORSE YET IN FEAR OF THEM. A PLACE WERE THEY SPEND HALF OF THERE DAILY LIVES.

I went to Gray from kindergarten to 8th grade and all I can say is that some of the staff and ‘security’ people suck because they take their job to another step instead of taking care of kids. My brother goes to this school and he got in trouble for dumb things that the security guard makes up.