The Cost of School Closures In Chatham

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By Shanita Bigelow

The Chicago Board of Educations decision to close, consolidate or turnaround eight of Chicagos public schools (CPS) comes at a time of dire budget constraints and heightened expecatations from the Obama administration.

[W]e know that about 12 percent of Americas schools produce 50 percent of Americas dropouts, were going to focus on helping states and school districts turn around their 5,000 lowest-performing schools in the next five years, Obama said at the Americas Promise Alliance Education Event.

The decision to turnaround Charles S. Deneen and Myra Bradwell elementary schools due to low performance came amid protests from school faculty and staff, students, parents and other community members.

CPSs Performance Policy scores schools based on a variety of factors. Schools that score less than 33.3 percentage points based on the policy for two consecutive years are considered for reconstitution or turnaround.

Deneen and Bradwells consistently low standardized test scores and attendance when compared to comparable students district-wide slated them for reconstitution, according to CPS.

Deneens reading and math scores improved by 5.3 and 2 percentage points between the 2005-06 and 2008-09 school years while CPS averages increased by 8.7 and 9.6 percentage points, Ryan Crosby, CPS Director of Performance Policy, testified.

Bradwell has been on probation for the past three years and five out of the last six years, Crosby stated at the Feb 10 hearing.

Im asking for one yearin AugustI presented them [staff] with a challenge we knew our backs were against the wall and the status quo was unacceptableIn July, I established a partnership with the Black United Fund and the Safe Passage Program. Every day we have up to 14 volunteers who are securing safe passage routes for our students. Wehad zero fights on our school grounds upuntil we got that letterOnce the students got the letter, they felt abandoned again. Then we had to start putting out a million fires, Bradwell Principal Justin Moore testified. The turnaround of Bradwell and Deneen will likely be managed by the Academy of Urban School Leadership (AUSL), which has managed eight CPS turnaround schools since 2006 and seen much success.

Donald Feinstein, AUSL Executive Director, acknowledges the challenges inherent in the turnaround process and is dedicated to improved student achievement and more community involvement.

I think it takes longer than the current time frame [of CPS policy] in order for others to have a voice, he said. Schools should also receive information regarding the health of their school a lot sooner, he continued. But, when all else fails through a transparent processthere may be times when [reconstitution] is justified.

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