Five rules keep this useful.
SchoolNav’s community exists so Chicago parents can help each other through admissions. These rules protect the two things that make that possible: your privacy and each other’s trust.
1. Use your pseudonym, protect everyone else’s name.
You post under a pseudonym, never your real name. Extend the same cover to others: no real names of parents, students, or individual staff members. Talk about schools and programs, not people.
2. Share what you saw, and say when you saw it.
Your own tours, your own conversations, your own experience. "The office told me in October" helps the next family; "I heard somewhere" does not. If you are not sure, say so - honest uncertainty is welcome here.
3. Disagree with information, not with parents.
Another parent’s experience can differ from yours and both can be true. Correct facts kindly, vote instead of arguing, and let the Report button handle anything worse.
4. Nothing for sale.
No advertising, no recruiting, no links to paid services, no self-promotion. This includes direct messages: a sales pitch in a private message is still a sales pitch.
5. Source labels are self-described.
When an answer says it came from "a current Pritzker parent" or "a former staff member", that connection is what the person told us about themselves. SchoolNav does not verify it. Weigh answers the way you would weigh advice from another parent at pickup.
6. Moderation is quiet and human-reviewed.
Reports go to SchoolNav moderators, never to the person reported. Posts with several reports pause automatically until a person reviews them. Moderation acts on conduct - harassment, spam, impersonation, naming individuals - never on opinions about schools.
Community content is written by parents and shown as written - it is experience and opinion, not verified fact. The data surfaces above every discussion carry the sources. Every moderation action is recorded with who took it and why, and a person can review the full record if you believe a decision was wrong.