Chicago doesn't need more school choice
Chicago Public Schools now has 31 new charter school proposals on the table.
Thinkstock photoChicago closed a record number of neighborhood schools this year with the message that the district faced a billion-dollar deficit and had 511,000 seats for only 403,000 students. Over and over we heard Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Mayor Rahm Emanuel say we must redirect scarce resources to existing schools to benefit students.
The end of the 2013 school year resulted in 50 school closings and cut of roughly $100 million to traditional schools. For many students across the city, like my son, this led to the loss of all arts teachers funded by CPS, our reading specialist, recess staff and office help. It also resulted in 3,000 families pulling their children out of the CPS system. Sadly, enrollment at CPS dropped to 400,000 from 403,000 this year.
At the same time the district closed and cut neighborhood schools, it opened 15 new charter schools, because the administration says parents want more “choice.” The mayor repeatedly touts “school choice” as one of his educational reform goals.
Yet the reality is that CPS is rife with choice — there are 138 charter schools currently, 41 magnet schools and 35 gifted/selective schools, as well as STEM and IB programs popping up by the month. These programs all receive extra funding that neighborhood schools don't get.
What Chicago parents are lacking is the choice to send their child to a well-resourced neighborhood school with funding to provide a well-rounded education that their child can walk to without worrying about traveling unsafe distances. That choice is slipping away as the district aggressively disinvests in neighborhood schools.
Despite the fact that charter schools did not meet their enrollment goals by 1,000 students this year and the district faces another $900 million-plus deficit, CPS now has a shocking 31 new
