"Storied Phillips High -- where Nat 'King' Cole once walked the halls -- and basketball powerhouse Marshall High School are among 14 Chicago public schools expected to face massive shakeups, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Fewer than 4 percent of students at both schools passed their state exams last year, putting both Phillips and Marshall on the radar for a 'turnaround'' in which schools are re-staffed but kids stay in place."
Both predominately black schools have faced major overhauls in the past, with little academic success.
A third high school is facing a total shutdown, sources say. Officials contend the South Side building housing Las Casas Occupational High doesn't meet the needs of the 82 special education students it serves. Officials want to send those students to Montefiore, a public school for truants and troubled students; Banner Linc Alternative School and various private schools.
The shakeup plan under discussion Monday called for the closure of Las Casas and three other schools, whose children would be sent elsewhere. Four others would consolidate with other schools; one would stop accepting new kids and phase out over time, and five would experience staffing "turnarounds." However, the plan was still being tweaked late Monday, when four small high schools in one building were spared from turnaround.
Fewer than 4 percent of students at both schools passed their state exams last year, putting both Phillips and Marshall on the radar for a 'turnaround'' in which schools are re-staffed but kids stay in place."
Both predominately black schools have faced major overhauls in the past, with little academic success.
A third high school is facing a total shutdown, sources say. Officials contend the South Side building housing Las Casas Occupational High doesn't meet the needs of the 82 special education students it serves. Officials want to send those students to Montefiore, a public school for truants and troubled students; Banner Linc Alternative School and various private schools.
The shakeup plan under discussion Monday called for the closure of Las Casas and three other schools, whose children would be sent elsewhere. Four others would consolidate with other schools; one would stop accepting new kids and phase out over time, and five would experience staffing "turnarounds." However, the plan was still being tweaked late Monday, when four small high schools in one building were spared from turnaround.
