FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What are your school hours?

  Our school schedule supports our parents’ workday through childcare needs, but also provides the flexibility to customize to your household schedule.  

  7:00 - 8:00 a.m: Morning Care (optional, use as much or as little as needed) 

  8:00 - 8:30 a.m: Arrival, parents can drop off in classrooms for EYFS students or use our car line for Nursery – Year 6.  

  8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m: School Day (optional noon dismissal for Pre-Nursery and Nursery students) 

  3:30 - 6:00/6:30 p.m: After School program.

  Our clubs/enrichment classes for Nursery – Year 6 run 3:30-4:45 pm and our Aftercare program runs 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. for Nursery – Year 6 and 3:30 - 6:00 p.m. for our Pre-Nursery.

  Club registration is by term and aftercare can be used as much or as little as needed and is billed hourly by use.  

   
• What are the age requirements?

  Please reference the below chart to determine which US Grade and UK year group your child is eligible for based on their current age. Please contact the Admissions Team with any questions regarding appropriate placement for your child. 

  The following chart details age requirements and grades for admission for the 2022-2023 school year. Please note that children can enroll in Pre-Nursery as soon as they turn 15 months, depending on availability.

  Birth Date	Age	US Grade	UK Year Group	School Stage
  Sept 1, 2019 - Aug 31, 2020	2-3	Two Year Old	Pre-Nursery	Foundation
  Sept 1, 2018 - Aug 31, 2019	3-4	Pre-School	Nursery	Foundation
  Sept 1, 2017 - Aug 31, 2018	4-5	Junior Kindergarten	Reception
  Sept 1, 2016 - Aug 31, 2017	5-6	Kindergarten	Year 1	Primary School
  Sept 1, 2015 - Aug 31, 2016	6-7	Grade 1	Year 2
  Sept 1, 2014 - Aug 31, 2015	7-8	Grade 2	Year 3
  Sept 1, 2013 - Aug 31, 2014	8-9	Grade 3	Year 4
  Sept 1, 2012 - Aug, 31, 2013	9-10	Grade 4	Year 5
  Sept 1, 2011 - Aug 31, 2012	10-11	Grade 5	Year 6
  Grades 6-12/Year 7-13 are located at the South Loop Campus. Upon completion of Year 6 at the Lincoln Park campus, students matriculate directly to Year 7 at the South Loop without any additional admissions process.

• Do you offer financial aid?

  Yes, we offer a need-based financial aid program and families are welcome to apply as part of their admissions process. You can access more information about our financial aid program here (link to portion of website with tuition and fees). 
• What are your class sizes and student teacher ratios?

  Our class sizes vary by age, for which you can see a breakdown below. Please note, all students benefit from lessons with our specialist teachers in French, Spanish, dance, music, library, STEAM and PE, and these teachers are in addition to their classroom teachers.  

  Pre-Nursery 

  Toddlers: Maximum of 10 students – 1 lead teacher, two learning assistants, 1 assistant director 

  Twos and Young Threes: Maximum of 16 students – 1 lead teacher, two learning assistants, 1 assistant director 

  Nursery – Year 2: Maximum of 20 students: 1 UK-trained lead teacher, 1 learning assistant 

  Year 3 – Year 6: Maximum 20 students, 1 UK-trained lead teacher 

   
• How do you communicate with parents?

  We believe your child’s education is a partnership between home and school, and we're forthcoming and transparent with our communication. We send a weekly newsletter with information from all areas of the school, including a message from the principal. Our Early Years teachers use the Brightwheel app to share daily photos, videos and comments about your child’s learning that day. For our Pre-Nursery this also includes information about diapering, food and sleep.  
  
  Each class has a parent volunteer, who will share weekly emails with updates from your child’s class and messages from their teacher.  
  
  Three yearly progress reports are paired with parent/teacher consultations. You can access teacher email addresses to schedule a time for a phone call or to ask questions when needed.  
  

   
• What are your teacher qualifications and how long do they stay at your school?

  All our lead teachers in our Nursery – Year 6 program are UK-trained, and all lead teachers have completed a level of post graduate work. Our Pre-Nursery team is staffed with local teachers with an expertise in early childhood education. Our specialist teachers carry additional training and qualifications in their area of expertise. While we recruit internationally to ensure we have the highest quality staff, we have a very high retention rate of 96% annually.
• What does diversity look like at your school?

  As an international school in a large city, we have an incredibly diverse population. We have over 40 nationalities represented in our community and 45% students of color. Our enrollment is a mostly local population with about 10% of our community expatriate families.  
• Do you support children with learning challenges or gifted?

  We view all our students as individuals and support and challenge them accordingly. Our classrooms have flexible seating, low student-teacher ratios and our curriculum is designed to be responsive to every student. Lessons are developed with the age-related expectation as the target and then to encourage the children to select the appropriate level for themselves.  
  
  Our learning resources department can provide 1:1 or group work at either end of the spectrum. This team of teachers are highly skilled in differentiation and will work to ensure children are getting additional support in a pull-out or push-in model or will provide opportunity for additional challenge.  
  

   
• How do I order meals for my child?

  Our dining service is provided by Quest, and you can order your child’s lunches through the portal mymealorder.com. If you are having trouble accessing your student’s account, please contact the school at administration@bischicagolp.org.  
• Where do I order uniforms and what are the uniform requirements for my child?

  Our uniform provider is Lands End. You can order all logoed items directly from their store . You can reference the style guide per grade here. We have a gently used uniform sale on campus twice a year in August and January. 
• How do I submit a payment?

  You can submit payment via our online payment portal which accepts both credit card and ACH payments. You can submit payment for tuition, house t-shirt orders, clubs and aftercare or any other school-related costs. 
• How do I register my child for after school clubs or before school/after school care?

  We have a termly registration for our students in Nursery to Year 6 through our online clubs portal. A preview of all clubs will be sent out two weeks prior to the sign update. Clubs are registered on a first come, first served basis unless they are invite-only or audition-based. 
  
  Our before and after school care can be used as little or as much as needed. You don’t need to pre-register your child to use either service. If your child is in Nursery to Year 6, you will be billed at the end of the month based on your use. Pre-Nursery morning and aftercare are included in tuition. 
  

   
• When are school breaks and what is the calendar for the school year?

  You can access the school calendar here. Camps information for school breaks can be found here.
• How do I contact my child’s teacher?

  All teachers are located under the staff section of the website (link to staff page). All email addresses for our staff are listed. You can also locate staff contact information via the whole school app. If you cannot locate the contact information needed, please call the front desk at (773) 506-2097 or email administration@bischicagolp.org. If you are in Pre-Nursery – Reception, you can also message your teacher via the Brightwheel app. 
• Where can I find documents like the student/family directory, class lists, timetables and other school related forms?

  You can find all of these documents in our whole school app. Please email administration@bischicagolp.org to access download and password information for accessing the school app if not installed on your mobile device.