Concordia University Early Childhood Education Center

After 2 years on the waiting list, I was excited to enroll my 3-​yr-​old in this program. Its reputation seemed solid, it was closer to home than the one I was using, and it has an indoor playground — great for Chicago winters — which the other place did not have.
On 4 different occasions, my girl came home with red marks on her. Not ones the school told me about. Ones I found while giving her a bath in the evening. So she had been whacked by something hard enough to have a red mark for hours… sometimes for a couple of days. Each time, I asked what happened, who did it, whether she’d told the teacher. The answer was always the same «It was [boy] and yes I told the teacher.»
After the 4^th occasion, I steamed into the director’s office and asked why I hadn’t been told, what was being done about this boy, whether my child was his only victim. I was told a) Oh, they should have told you. b) and c) We work with children who have issues. Hitting is expected at this age. I cannot discuss this child, due to privacy laws. Not a satisfactory visit, to say the least. I told her if it happened again, I’d take my child out of the school.
The 5^th time, the teacher mentioned it to me. Yes, it was the same boy. Whispering, she said, ‘No, she’s not the only one, he’s a problem.’ So my daughter is now back at the old place, farther away, with no indoor facilities… and with the news that two kids had just been kicked out for being too rough with other kids.
Folks, this place is resting on its laurels and its shiny facilities. Once upon a time it was probably terrific. Fact is, the teachers do not communicate with the parents (the old place gave me a written report every day on activities, lunch, nap), if you care about that sort of thing.
And frankly, if the director had been honest with me (since I clearly knew there was a problem child in the class) about what was being done, I probably would still be there. But the arrogance was just too much. Do your kid a favor — Find a place that pays attention and cares about the children. Concordia does neither.

Update:
It is now our son’s second year at Concordia University Early Childhood Education Center. I can not stress how happy we are that we found this school. He absolutely loves going to school. He is self-​assured, confident, and his vocabulary, comprehension skills, and reading ability has really floored us. It brought us to tears when we were given our son’s portfolio that truly reflected his development from the beginning of the year to the end. We feel so fortunate to have the same teacher, teacher’s assistant, and teacher’s aide again this year.
⁰⁶⁄₀₈ Original Review
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!
It’s come to that point in our newfound lives as parents that we needed to shop preschools. Holy Mother of Christ, I’ve never felt so lost and scared in my life.
I personally have very little memories of preschool other than making friends, learning my phone number, my street address, using safety scissors and Elmer’s glue. I now know that Preschool is supposed to teach your child independence, by building their self esteem. It also gives them the skills to deal with separation anxiety and most importantly socialization with others.
As parents, we want only the best, even if it means selling our house, and eating Ramen noodles so that we can make it happen. I could not find a decent preschool in the Chicago public school system. I really had no concept of what a preschool cost… what was considered normal and what was expensive. I talked to a few friends of mine out in the suburbs, and they were paying roughly half of what private schools cost in the city.
I had heard great things about the Montessori Method. After researching the tuition rates, I felt like I was hit by a Mack truck! After paying for tuition, registration and material fees, we were looking at rates comparable if not more than a state college tuition fee! I then looked into a few preschool programs offered by some suburban park districts and was dismayed to find that the majority of them were basically glorified day care programs that taught color, shapes, and letters. At age 2, he had already mastered that. He needed to be challenged. I wanted to find a school that was not only safe but actually offered an education.
During my son’s 3 year wellness checkup, I brought up my fears to our pediatrician. Our pediatrician saved the day once again. He highly recommended Concordia. He had nothing but good things to say about the school, it is where he enrolled his own son. Being the ninny that I am, I asked a fellow Unilocaler to join me. She has a better gauge of this sort of thing than I do. She and her husband are brilliant, they crunch numbers, they’ve toured a bunch of facilities, and I trust them.
I can not stress how impressed I was with this school. I felt giddy when we left. It is absolutely beautiful. We toured the school, the school grounds, and even had the opportunity to observe a class. The classrooms themselves are incredible. Tons of opportunity to explore, learn, and have fun.
Doris, the school director put us completely at ease. She answered all of our questions and even gave us information that we would have never thought to have asked… or was uncomfortable asking. She provided us with samples of their daily class schedule, meals, etc. I was also very happy to learn of their students to teacher ratios. Concordia University specializes in graduate programs for child development. It is also a lab school. There is 1 teacher, a teacher’s assistant and a teacher’s aide in a maximum classroom size of 20. They keep their class sizes small to provide the best education and attention to their students.
What really struck me and impressed me the most was their security system. I love the fact that I can feel completely at ease and never once worry about his safety and security. They do thorough background checks on all their employees, and no one is allowed to pick up your child who is not on the list. You are also issued school ids and parking permits. The interior of the school itself and the playground area is not accessible to outsiders. It is really high tech!
The curriculum is play-​based with some Montessori methods. They call it the SCEWD curriculum. They concentrate on social/​spiritual development, communication arts, expressive arts, wellness and discovery. They also will take several drawing, writing and comprehension samples throughout the year. The students also have the opportunity to bake for one another, something that I hadn’t anticipated.
We couldn’t have picked a better time to visit. They only had 2 openings left for the upcoming school year. I immediately filled out their registration paperwork and paid their nonrefundable fee. We received our acceptance letter last week, and I officially made my first tuition payment and class materials fee today. I am so overjoyed and relieved that he will be attending this schoo

My son attended a two day afternoon pre-​school last year, and will be returning this year to a three day afternoon session.
His social developement has really taken off (he is the only son of a «middle-​aged couple», so this is very important to me)
He looks forward to school every day, and cant wait for the new year to start. The campus is neat and clean, the teachers and assistants seem very happy and pleased with their work environment. A really lovely place to go to.
downgraded my review. although I would send my child here again, I have to say the way they handled some routine childhood quirks, was really off-​putting. They actually told me my son was the only kid they ever met that actually did this one weird thing he did (it was nothing involving other kids, not mean or violent, just a personal quirk that he outgrew)… then I talk to others in my moms group and find its really pretty normal… whats up with that? Were they really just trying to make a minor thing more serious? Like a mom doesnt have enough to obsess about!