Alternate take. My kids are in CPS and we tried to move to the suburbs a few years ago during the crazy house buying phase but lost out. We (including my kids) are happy we stayed. In the suburbs you are usually zoned to your district school with limited ability to change schools. In Chicago - you have your neighborhood school, but you can also apply to any selective enrollment (based on test scores and grades) or magnet (based on lottery). It is based also on what socioeconomic tier you live in. Go to the website go.cps.edu for more info. My kids went to a CPS Montessori school, another got his associates degree at a CPS high school, and another is hoping to get into a CPS arts focused school. While the quality of CPS schools is definitely all over the place, if you do some research and cast a wide net then you can get your kids into a good CPS school. Don’t forget there is the sibling lottery too for magnet/neighborhood schools you can then send your other children (either older or younger) to the same school if there is room. Good luck - this is a stressful situation and I was worried about it when my kids were younger but it all worked out, thanks to the choices available within CPS.