Chicago · Licensed center
Guidepost Montessori Wicker Park
At a glance
- Medium center, licensed for 112 children.
What to know
The license is the range the state allows. It does not say which ages have openings.
What the state has found
The state cited rules at both of its licensing inspections since October 2019.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
Jun 21, 202211 citations
Organization and Administration
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b)
Organization and Administration
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e)
Staffing Structure
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5)
Background Checks for Personnel
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(6)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(e)(4)
Oct 15, 201911 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(b)
Health Requirements for Children
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3)
Health Requirements for Children
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5)
Health Requirements for Children
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.
The state cited rules at both of this center's 2 inspections. Most Chicago-area centers inspected twice had the same: 60% of 83.
How all 83 Chicago-area centers inspected twice compare
Of the 83 Chicago-area centers the state inspected twice, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- None13%
- 1 of 227%
- Both60%This center
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- June 21, 2022
- On file
- 2 visits since October 2019 — both cited findings
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was July 21, 2022. 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.
Jun 2022 Monitoring visit 11 findings
Monitoring visit · June 21, 2022
Personnel Records
7 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) through (e)(4) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(a)(6) · 407.120(e)(4)
Organization and Administration
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b) through (e) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b) · 407.70(e)
Staffing Structure
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5) · Violation substantiated
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 562730 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Oct 2019 Monitoring visit 11 findings
Monitoring visit · October 15, 2019
Personnel Records
4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (b) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(b)
Health Requirements for Children
3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3) through (6) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3) · 407.310(a)(5) · 407.310(a)(6)
General Requirements for Personnel
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) through (f) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(f)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 562730 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Details
- Phone
- (773) 663-4732
- Address
- 1530 N Damen Ave, Chicago, 60622
- Chain
- Guidepost Montessori
- Run by
- Guidepost Global Education — as of October 2025, may have changed since
We couldn’t find some information that may matter to your decision: openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies. We can ask the program for you and copy you in.
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.
State record
From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked November 8, 2026.
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "GUIDEPOST MONTESSORI WICKER PARK" under Provider Name and 60622 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 562730).
- Website, Chain — Checked October 2026 guidepostmontessori.com
- Ages on the license — Checked November 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "GUIDEPOST MONTESSORI WICKER PARK" under Provider Name and 60622 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 562730).
- Run by — Checked October 2026 guidepostmontessori.com
Guidepost says its schools are run by Guidepost Global Education, a new, independent company formed in spring 2025, before the former operator, Higher Ground Education, filed for bankruptcy, and that none of its schools were part of that Chapter 11 case. On October 28, 2025, Guidepost said 83 schools remained open. It says the company has its own owners but does not name them. guidepostmontessori.com
Medium means the middle half of Chicago-area’s 1,948 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 49 to 118 children. Small is 8 to 48; large is 119 to 487.
The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.