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University Of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Right. Another one. Let's get this over with. Don't expect me to hold your hand.

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

This article, frankly, reeks of over-enthusiasm. It's trying too hard, like someone wearing too much perfume to a funeral. It's got issues, sure, but who doesn't? If you want to fix it, fine. But don't expect me to polish this turd for you.

Overview

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, or "Lab" as the locals insist on calling it, is a private, co-educational, day school. It spans from the nursery years, which is frankly adorable in its absurdity, all the way through the 12th grade. It's tethered to the University of Chicago, and more than half the families involved have some connection to that ivory tower. It's like a well-manicured garden attached to a sprawling, slightly decaying mansion.

History

Founded in 1896 by John Dewey, a man who apparently thought he could revolutionize education by treating it like a petri dish. He set it up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Calvin Brainerd Cady was apparently in charge of the music department, which, knowing Dewey, was probably an attempt to prove that music could be dissected and analyzed like a frog in a biology class.

This whole endeavor was meant to be a progressive educational institution, a concept that always sounds better on paper than it is in practice. It covered everything from nursery school to the hallowed halls of the 12th grade. The idea, as I understand it, was to create a seamless educational pipeline, from the sandbox to the ivory tower. It was managed by the university's Department of Philosophy, Psychology, and Education – a rather ambitious title for a place where they were presumably trying to figure out how to make children learn without making them utterly miserable. Dewey, who took charge of the department in 1894, wanted to test his own theories, which is a polite way of saying he wanted to experiment on unsuspecting youths.

His wife, Alice Dewey, apparently contributed to the school's early days. Dewey even admitted it in his book How We Think (1910), which is either a testament to his humility or a strategic move to share the blame if it all went south.

Campus

The Laboratory Schools spreads itself across two campuses, which is either a sign of expansion or an inability to consolidate.

The Historic Campus, located at 1362 East 59th Street, takes up two full city blocks. It's a monument to Modern Gothic style architecture, which is just a fancy way of saying it looks old and imposing. This is where the 3rd through 12th graders, about 1,200 of them, are crammed into five connected buildings: Blaine Hall (1903), Belfield Towers (1904), Judd Hall (1931), the high school (1960), the middle school (1993), and the Gordon Parks Arts Hall (2015). The latter sounds like it might have some actual life in it, with its 100 classrooms. There are also two gymnasiums – Sunny Gym (1929) and Kovler Gymnasium (2000) – because even progressive educators understand the need for physical exertion, I suppose. Students can also access Scammon Garden and Jackman Field, presumably for moments of quiet contemplation or escape. Judd Hall, bless its old heart, got a massive exterior renovation in April 2021, an attempt to preserve its century-old façade. One wonders what secrets those stones hold.

Then there's the new Early Childhood Campus at 5800 S. Stony Island Avenue, which opened in September 2013. It houses Earl Shapiro Hall, designed by architects who clearly have a penchant for the sterile. This is where the nursery through second graders, about 625 of them, are kept. Earl Shapiro, a graduate from 1956, must be thrilled his name is attached to this monument to early childhood development.

Student Body and Academics

The school boasts approximately 2,203 students, from Pre-Kindergarten all the way up to Grade 12. It’s neatly divided into the Nursery School, Primary School, Lower School, Middle School, and High School. Many students apparently begin in nursery and stick around until graduation, which speaks to either remarkable loyalty or a severe lack of imagination. Seventy-five percent of applications are for nursery school or 9th grade, which means the real gatekeeping happens early. The student-teacher ratio is a cozy 8:1. One can only imagine the intensity of that proximity.

A survey from 2021 revealed that a significant portion of students, 37% in total, identify as part of the LGBTQ community. It's a statistic that speaks volumes about the school's atmosphere, or perhaps just the general shift in how young people express themselves.

In 2007, The Wall Street Journal decided to rank high schools based on their ability to churn out graduates for elite colleges. Lab came in fourth nationally, which is impressive, I suppose, if you're into that sort of thing. They sent graduates to eight elite colleges, including their parent university, the University of Chicago. It’s a testament to their ability to prepare students for the next rung on the academic ladder, or perhaps just their skill at navigating the admissions gauntlet.

U-High, the high school division, offers over 150 classes. They're all college preparatory, naturally, with more than 30 Advanced Placement or Advanced Topic courses. Students can even take classes at the University of Chicago itself, free of charge, though only about 20 do so each year. The average ACT score is a rather robust 31.5. They use a 4.0 GPA scale, don't rank students, and allow open course selection. No academic tracking here, just a free-for-all of advanced learning. The school maintains four separate libraries, holding over 110,000 volumes. Enough to get lost in, or perhaps find oneself.

Extracurricular Activities

High school students have a staggering choice of over 90 clubs and activities. The math, science, and Model UN teams are apparently perennial winners, which is a polite way of saying they dominate. The school's newspaper/website, The U-High Midway, and the yearbook, U-Highlights, also snag awards with alarming regularity, as does their arts magazine, Renaissance. Other popular pursuits include theater, identity and affinity clubs, Student Council, policy debate, and, of course, Model UN. The Model UN team, in particular, is apparently world-renowned for its competitive prowess, ranking second in the United States in 2011. The Debate Team also racks up national circuit tournament wins. It seems the students here are trained for war, albeit a diplomatic one.

The Maroon Key Society, composed of students nominated by faculty, serves as the school's ambassadors, giving tours to alumni and prospective students. It’s a role that requires a certain level of cultivated charm, I imagine.

The school's extracurriculars have even made national news. In 1990, then-Governor Thompson declared a "Matthew Headrick Day," and the US House issued a proclamation when Headrick, a student at the time, appeared on talk shows like Today after winning the Regeneron Science Talent Search. The Chicago Tribune, in its infinite wisdom, described the school as a place "where being on the math team ... can actually enhance one's social status." It’s a world where intellectual prowess is apparently a social currency.

The Finance Club, established in 2015 with over $100,000 in donated funds, is where students presumably learn to invest their future fortunes.

Notable Alumni and People

There's a whole separate article for that. List of University of Chicago Laboratory Schools people. I'm not going to rehash it all here.

Athletics

The 2019 boys soccer team clinched the IHSA 1A state championship. The girls tennis team also won the IHSA 1A state championship in 2019, marking their first state title. They repeated this feat in 2021 and again in 2023. The boys tennis team snagged the 1A state championship in 2018 and again in 2024. Apparently, the 2023-24 academic year was the first time both the boys' and girls' tennis teams achieved state championships simultaneously. It seems tennis is their sport.

The image here shows Judd Hall, viewed from the adjacent Charles M. Harper Center. It's a rather stark juxtaposition, the old versus the new, the academic versus the commercial.

Notable Teachers

  • Eight Lab teachers have been recognized with Chicago's Golden Apple Award, more than any other school in the city. This includes Christina Hayward (2009), David Derbes (2007), Rosa McCullagh (2004), Michael (Spike) Wilson (1994), Jan Yourist (1992), Catharine Bell (1989), Hanna Goldschmidt (1987), and Randy Fowler (1986). Others have received the Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Award. They're clearly doing something right, or at least, they're getting recognized for it.

  • Mima Maxey (1885–1965) and Marjorie Fay (1893–1977) taught Latin at Lab in the 1930s. Evan Dutmer, a scholar, argues that their teaching method, which focused on reading without formal grammar instruction, was revolutionary. It anticipated the theory of comprehensible input used in language education today. It's fascinating how old ideas resurface, like ghosts in the machine.

  • Vivian Paley, an author and teacher who spent most of her career at Lab, received a MacArthur “genius” award and the Erikson Institute Award for Service to Children. She's proof that nurturing young minds can lead to significant recognition.

  • The annual Sutherland Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, created in honor of Zena Sutherland, a prominent scholar of young people's literature, is one of the few book awards selected by students in the United States. It’s a nice gesture, acknowledging the taste of the young readers themselves.

  • Lab teachers were instrumental in the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, a massive undertaking in math curriculum development. Their work resulted in the acclaimed Everyday Mathematics texts for elementary students and Transition Mathematics, a pre-algebra text for middle schoolers. They're shaping how children learn math, one equation at a time.

  • Blue Balliett, author of Chasing Vermeer, The Wright Three, and The Calder Game, drew inspiration for her children's mysteries from her experiences teaching at Lab. It seems the school is a breeding ground for creativity, even in its fiction.