Cics - Irving Park Campus, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Cics - Irving Park Campus

CICS - Irving Park Campus is a charter school serving about grades kindergarten through eighth across a school population of about five hundred students. The school is located at 3820 N Spaulding Avenue in Chicago's Irving Park neighborhood, part of Chicago Public Schools District 299.

The school's student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Asian, white, Black, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students as well, reflecting Chicago's ethnic diversity. Enrollment is fairly evenly distributed across grades, with slightly smaller cohorts in kindergarten and fifth grade. Data on free and reduced-price lunch participation and special populations including English learners and students with IEPs were not reported.

Recent state assessment results show mixed performance with significant variation by grade and subject. In English language arts, students in third grade and eighth grade show relatively stronger proficiency rates, while grades four through six are below that range. In math, proficiency is lower overall and drops sharply in grades five and six before recovering somewhat in seventh and eighth grades. In science, where testing occurs in grades five and eight, results are substantially lower, particularly in grade five. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint when compared against other schools in Cook County. The data note that assessment cut scores changed from the prior year in multiple subjects, so direct year-to-year trend comparisons are not available.

The Chicago neighborhood where the school sits is part of a large, dense city with extensive public transit, lakefront access, and substantial park resources. The Irving Park area itself is a residential neighborhood with local commercial corridors, part of Chicago's broader patchwork of neighborhoods. Housing values in the 60618 zip code are moderate, and rents have remained relatively stable with year-over-year growth in line with broader metro trends. Cook County's housing market has more inventory available than it did a year prior, and median listing prices have been stable to slightly rising.

Chicago Public Schools is in the midst of significant governance and curricular change. The district adopted an elected school board, which will become fully elected by November 2026, giving parents a direct voice in district policy. The district's five-year strategic plan emphasizes strengthening neighborhood schools, a shift away from decades of school-choice emphasis. The district rolled out Skyline, its first comprehensive PreK-12 curriculum, beginning in 2021-2022, providing standardized instructional materials to all schools at no school-level cost. The district also replaced its longtime numeric school ratings with holistic accountability dashboards launched in December 2024, changing how families evaluate schools.

As a charter school, CICS operates within the CPS system but with distinct governance; it is a regular school designation rather than a magnet or selective-enrollment school. A parent may want to look into the school's specific instructional approach, its use of the district Skyline curriculum, attendance and discipline climate, and how its particular classroom composition and peer environment align with their child's learning style and social needs.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 38% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 29% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 27% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 23% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 36% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 39% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 43% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 48% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 29% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 31% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolChicago Public Schools Dist 299, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.