Rowe Elementary School is Northwestern Settlement’s college-prep charter school. Established in 2009, Rowe currently serves over 800 scholars in grades K-8. The school’s bold mission is to prepare all of its graduates for college acceptance and success. Rowe Elementary is a Level 1+ school, the highest possible rating from Chicago Public Schools.

Rowe is an open-enrollment public charter school. It does not charge tuition, and students do not need to take an admissions test. All Rowe scholars receive the integrated programming provided by Northwestern Settlement, with special support from Adventure Stage Chicago, AmeriCorps Project YES!, and House In The Wood.

Learn more at RoweElementarySchool.org

Northwestern Settlement offered private day care for decades before launching a public preschool in 1991. Our center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and ExceleRate Illinois, and can accommodate up to 78 children ages 3-5 in full-day, year-round programming. Our school emphasizes both socializing children and preparing them for kindergarten, as well as providing supportive parent services.

Learn more at SettlementEarlyChildhood.org

House In The Wood is Northwestern Settlement’s residential camp and outdoor education center in Delavan, WI. House In The Wood’s summer camp provides Chicago’s low-income youth with opportunities to learn and develop healthy lifestyles in an inspiring outdoor environment. In the spring and fall, we offer outdoor education residencies lasting from 1-5 nights to classroom groups in Illinois and Wisconsin. The facilities are also available for retreats and rental groups.

Learn more at HouseInTheWood.org

Adventure Stage Chicago (ASC) creates and tells heroic stories about young people; we do this to engage our community and inspire all of us to be heroes in our own lives.

ASC programming includes mainstage performances, drama and literacy residencies in Chicago Public Schools, teen mentorship, and community engagement.

Learn more at AdventureStage.org

In 2017, Northwestern Settlement partnered on the Family CARES Center with Children’s Home + Aid, an organization helping children recover their health, their hope, and their faith in the people around them. The Family CARES Center provides counseling to children and families in our community, removing a key barrier of access to critical mental health services.

Learn more about Family CARES Center

Learn more about Family CARES's Camp Mariposa Partnership

Northwestern Settlement operates the most accessible food pantry in West Town, providing 400,000 pounds of food and 10,000 pounds of clothing to 2,500 families annually. We serve zip codes 60622, 60642, and 60610, but we never turn away a neighbor in need. Other services provided include distributing toiletries and household furnishings, providing referrals, offering holiday assistance, and connecting community members to our full slate of integrated programs.

During the holidays, we distribute food, clothes, household essentials, and toys through our Basket Packing and Holiday Toy Room events, as well as our Adopt A Family program connecting generous individuals and companies with families in need. Watch the video below to see a few of this year's adopted families!

View the Food Pantry's Results

After School is a year-round program serving scholars and families of Rowe Elementary School. Programming is offered before and after school during the school year, and all day during the summer as Summer Adventure, for scholars ages 5-12.

Out-of-school-time programs include:

• After-school services for Rowe scholars ages 5-12
• Summer Adventure Camp, an urban day camp for Rowe scholars in the summer months
• Trailblazers, Adventure Stage Chicago’s mentorship group pairing young people with professional artists. For more information on Trailblazers, click here

Visit After School on Facebook

AmeriCorps is our nation’s domestic Peace Corps. Project YES! is an AmeriCorps program connecting caring adults with youth in and around West Town. Members serve the community through mentorship, educational, service, artistic, and recreational activities. The goal of the program is to support students’ academic achievements, provide alternatives to destructive behaviors, and foster an ethic of service in the entire community.

Learn more about AmeriCorps Project YES!