Why We Oppose CPS' Policy of Closing Neighborhood Schools to Open New Charters
After closing 50 neighborhood schools due to “underutilization” this summer, CPS is attempting to open 21 new charter schools, often in the very communities where schools were recently closed. The role originally envisioned for charter schools was to give public educators an opportunity to supplement and advance the work of traditional public schools in an innovative setting. In Chicago, however, the board has been using them to replace neighborhood schools entirely, and at great expense.
Coverage by Catalyst Chicago: Charter schools propose big expansion
“Starting new schools from scratch is foolish,” said ChiACTS President Brian Harris, a special education teacher at CICS Northtown Academy. “Especially when there are 600 already existing schools—in buildings, with students and teachers and everything—lacking sufficient resources.”
The process for community input in the approval process, the Neighborhood Advisory Councils, has been hollow. CPS placed representatives of charter advocacy groups, including Stand for Children and New Schools for Chicago in the role of "facilitator" on these committees. When the Northwest side NAC attempted to meet at Prosser High School to encourage parent and community participation, CPS rejected the request as "biased."
"Children are not pawns on a chessboard," said ChiACTS Vice President Chris Baehrend, an English teacher at Latino Youth High School. "We know that charter proliferation will lead to more school closings and budget cuts. That means more children will be left behind."
“There are probably some very well-intentioned people who want to open charters,” said Harris. “When the board tries to replace existing schools with them, though, we oppose it. It’s bad for public education to surrender our schools to private operators.