Louis B. Nettelhorst Elementary School is a public

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * K8 telephone box, designed by Bruce M ...

in Lake View,

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. It is a part of the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

(CPS) school district. Its namesake is Louis Nettelhorst Sr., a German immigrant who once headed the

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from 1888 to 1892. An 1893 ''

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'' article described him as "one of the most popular German-American citizens of Chicago".

History

It first opened in 1892. For many decades Nettelhorst had a good reputation. In the 1950s its reputation began to decline. Around 2000, few Lake View parents enrolled their children in Nettelhorst and the school had low test scores. Children from other Chicago elementary schools that had too many students had been sent to Nettelhorst instead. In 2001 parent Jacqueline Edelberg met with principal Susan Kurland. Edelberg desired to enroll her children in a neighborhood elementary school instead of doing so at a private school, going into a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. Normally, a student will attend an elementary school, and this also determines the middle school and high school they attend unless they mo ...

application process, and/or moving to the suburbs. Kurland asked Edelberg what it would take for her to place her children in Nettelhorst. After Kurland accepted Edelberg's demands, Edelberg established a parental group, "Roscoe Eight", for the purpose of improving Nettelhorst; it was named after a playlot on Roscoe Street. The parental group advertised Nettelhorst, beautified the campus, and organized committees to address specific aspects of the school. Parents personally painted corridors of the school. By 2003 CPS chose Nettelhorst to become a "community school" in an effort to lure families back to CPS, and a community enrichment class program called Jane's Place, as part of a partnership with the Jane Addams Hull House Association, opened at Nettelhorst. By 2009 families moved to Nettelhorst's attendance zone for the express purpose of enrolling their children there, and the school's academic performance had improved significantly. Edelberg and Kurland later wrote a book about her experiences, titled ''How to Walk to School''. The authors argued that the manner of grassroot-style fundraising and activism for Nettelhorst may be used to improve other American schools.

Student body

In 2011 the school had 632 students. In 2010 31% of the students were classified as low income. In 2001 77% of the students were low income.Michie, Gregory. ''We Don't Need Another Hero: Struggle, Hope and Possibility in the Age of High-Stakes Schooling''.

Teachers College Press Teachers College Press is the university press of Teachers College, Columbia University. Founded in 1904, Teachers College Press has published professional and classroom materials for over a century and currently publishes 70 titles per year. Hi ...

, April 25, 2015. , 9780807772010.

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109
In 2003 it had 380 students.

Academic performance

In 2010 86% of Nettelhorst students were at or above the Illinois academic standard level. In 2001 35% were at or above that level.

Campus

The school includes a cafeteria that uses a French bistro theme along with a kitchen designed by

Nate Berkus Nathan Jay Berkus (born September 17, 1971) is an American interior designer, author, and television personality. He runs the Chicago interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates and was a regularly featured guest on '' The Oprah Winfrey Show'', o ...

; the kitchen had a cost of $130,000. One classroom has a 1940 mural done by Ethel Spears and commissioned by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

, ''Horses from Literature''. The Chicago Board of Education had the mural restored in 1996.

Feeder pattern

Students zoned to Nettelhorst are also zoned to Lake View High School.HS North/Near North
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. 2013. Retrieved on September 30, 2016.

References

External links

Nettelhorst School
{{Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools Public K–8 schools in Chicago 1892 establishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1892