Mission and History
Our mission is to nurture students' innate curiosity and love of learning through democratic practice, emergent curriculum, and hands-on projects, helping students become lifelong problem-solvers and engaged citizens.
The Children's School
The Children's School of Oak Park is a not-for-profit private school offering progressive education in western suburban Chicago since 2004. ​Founded by Daniel P. Ryan, Ed.D, a contemporary leader in progressive education, the school initially began with just 13 families. Within a year, it had a K-2 program with two teachers in the Gale House of Oak Park.
​
In 2006, The Children's School, now boasting 36 students, moved to the St. Mary of Celle campus in Berwyn, Illinois. By 2007, it expanded to a K-4 program with 62 students and five full-time teachers, adding a 5th grade over the next two years. In 2014, the school added a middle school program, graduating its first class of 8th-graders in 2016.
​In 2018, the school returned to Oak Park, moving into the St. Edmund's parish school building. By 2021, the school had reached its full enrollment of 135 students. In 2023, The Children's School moved to its current location at 820 Ontario Street, where it shares the historic First Baptist Church of Oak Park building, originally designed by architect E.E. Roberts in 1927.​
From its founding until today, The Children's School remains the only private school in Chicago's western suburbs to specialize in progressive education. Its graduates attend some of the finest high schools, colleges, and universities in the nation.
