Chicago · Licensed center
The Trails School Inc
A Reggio Emilia–inspired center in Chicago, licensed for 82 children. Jessica Pope Horak (Founder and Director) has been there since 2018. Care for an infant is $2,965 a month, more than 16 of 18 Chicago-area full-time prices. The state cited something at 1 of 5 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
Reggio Emilia–inspired, emergent curriculum and play-based
“Using an emergent curriculum, students engage in long-term projects, scientific inquiry, and collaborative problem-solving.”In their words. trailsschool.com, August 2026
“Discover our play-based, emergent curriculum for ages 6 weeks–6 years.”In their words. trailsschool.com, August 2026
“Our program is deeply inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, emphasizing respect and responsibility within the classroom and the broader school community.”In their words. trailsschool.com, August 2026
One of 11 Chicago-area providers that describe a Reggio Emilia approach, out of 129 that describe any approach at all.
Who cares for your child
Ratio not published
Jessica Pope Horak (Founder and Director) since 2018.
Of 5,346 Chicago-area providers, 27 publish how long a named staff member has been there; the longest tenure at each of those has a median of sixteen years.
What it costs
$2,965 a month for an infant
Higher than 16 of 18 Chicago-area providers that publish a full-time infant price.
Higher than 21 of 22 Chicago-area providers that publish a full-time toddler price.
Higher than 17 of 19 Chicago-area providers that publish a full-time preschool price.
The Trails School IncMost Chicago-area prices (middle 80%)
Scale $1,000 to $4,000 a month. Chicago-area prices as of September 29, 2026. Part-time $1,320 to $2,105 a month. Application fee $75. Deposit $150, not refundable. Prices from their website, August 2026.
Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: sick and biting policies.
What the state has found
Routine visits: 1 of 5 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
- August 26, 2025
- On file
- 5 visits since June 2018 — 4 cited nothing
- Fixed?
- Correction was due July 5, 2018. 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 2018 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · June 26, 2018
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(c)(7) · Violation corrected
Outdoor Play Area
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.390(i)(1) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 564257 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
A day here
- Meals
- Lunch and snacks provided, including organic produce and milk from Healthy Organic Kids; nut-free facility
- Outdoors
- Private nature-based playground with daily outdoor exploration time
- Diapers
- Diapers and wipes provided, included in tuition
- Hours
- 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM, 5 days a week
- Schedule
- Full-day and half-day programs, with 5-day, 3-day (M/W/F), and 2-day (T/Th) schedules
Details
- Phone
- 3128787970
- Website
- trailsschool.com
- Address
- 1207 N Cleveland Ave
- License
- license issued (il)
- Established
- 2018
Do you run The Trails School Inc? 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 · trailsschool.com
How they teach
- Approach — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.com
How they teach
- Approach — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.com
Who cares for your child
- Staff — trailsschool.com
What it costs
- Infant, Toddler, Preschool, Second price, Application fee, Deposit — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.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
- Meals, Outdoors, Hours, Schedule — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.com
- Diapers — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.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 "THE TRAILS SCHOOL INC" under Provider Name and 60610 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 564257).
- Website — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.com
- Established — Checked August 2026 · trailsschool.com