Chicago · Licensed center
City Garden Waldorf School
A play-based center in Chicago, licensed for 73 children. Care for a toddler is $1,526 a month, less than 16 of 22 Chicago-area full-time prices. The state cited something at 6 of 6 routine visits (Chicago-area centers: about 5 in 6).
Medium center. Medium means the middle half of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 49 to 118 children. Small is 8 to 48; large is 119 to 487.
How they teach
Play-based
“Play is the young child's greatest learning tool. Each child learns to use this tool in different ways at different times.”In their words. citygardenschool.com, August 2026
One of 70 Chicago-area providers that describe a play-based approach, out of 129 that describe any approach at all.
What it costs
$1,526 a month for a toddler
Lower than 16 of 22 Chicago-area providers that publish a full-time toddler price.
Lower than 14 of 19 Chicago-area providers that publish a full-time preschool price.
City Garden Waldorf SchoolMost Chicago-area prices (middle 80%)
Scale $1,000 to $4,000 a month. Chicago-area prices as of September 29, 2026. Part-time $435 to $895 a month. Deposit $1,000, not refundable. Sibling discount: 10% sibling discount for siblings at City Garden. Prices from their website, August 2026.
Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: ratios and staff, sick and biting policies.
What the state has found
Routine visits: 6 of 6 cited something
Across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).
From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- April 16, 2026
- On file
- 6 visits since March 2019 — all of them cited findings
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was May 16, 2026. Illinois DCFS does not publish whether it was made.
- Most serious
- Illinois DCFS does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.
Illinois DCFS cites each subsection of a rule separately, so one audit of a filing cabinet can produce ten citations. It publishes the rule’s title and a correction deadline, but no description of what was observed.
Apr 2026 Monitoring visit 9 findings
Monitoring visit · April 16, 2026
Personnel Records
5 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (e)(4) · Violation substantiated · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(a)(5) · 407.120(e)(4)
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · Violation corrected
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation substantiated
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564188 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jan 2025 Monitoring visit 12 findings
Monitoring visit · January 15, 2025
Organization and Administration
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i) through (k) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i) · 407.70(k)
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) through (e)(2) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(e)(2)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(a) through (1) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(a) · 407.370(a)(1)
Application for License
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.50(b)(3) · Violation substantiated
Provisions Pertaining to the License
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.60(g) · Violation substantiated
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(8) · Violation substantiated
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation substantiated
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(k) · Violation substantiated
Nutrition and Meal Service
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(a) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564188 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jan 2023 Monitoring visit 3 findings
Monitoring visit · January 23, 2023
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · Violation corrected
Daily Arrival and Departure of Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(f) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564188 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jan 2021 Monitoring visit 7 findings
Monitoring visit · January 20, 2021
Personnel Records
5 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) through (e)(1) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(e)(1)
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected
Substitutes
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.170(a) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564188 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Apr 2019 Monitoring visit 1 finding
Monitoring visit · April 1, 2019
Provisions Pertaining to Permits
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.65(g) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564188 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Mar 2019 Monitoring visit 4 findings
Monitoring visit · March 4, 2019
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(d) · Violation corrected
Daily Arrival and Departure of Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(f) · Violation corrected
Guidance and Discipline
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation corrected
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564188 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
A day here
- Sleep
- 2-year-old program has earlier nap times built into its shorter schedule
- Updates for parents
- Uses the Brightwheel platform
- Hours
- 8:15 AM to 6:00 PM, 5 days a week
- Schedule
- 5, 3, or 2 days per week
Details
- Phone
- 3124213050
- Website
- citygardenschool.com
- Address
- 920 W 19th St
- License
- pending renewal application (rn)
- Ages
- ages 2-6
Do you run City Garden Waldorf School? Shortlist has no ratios or policies for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.
Sources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
How they teach
- Approach — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com
What it costs
- Toddler, Preschool, Second price, Deposit, Sibling discount — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com
State record
Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.
A day here
- Sleep — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com
- Updates for parents, Hours — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com
- Schedule — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 · sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "CITY GARDEN WALDORF SCHOOL" under Provider Name and 60608 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 564188).
- Website — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com
- Ages — Checked August 2026 · citygardenschool.com