Local Schools Safe from CPS Closure

Local parents and teachers can take a breath, but tough times are still ahead for Chicago Public Schools.

Schools in Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and North Center were spared from a preliminary 129-school closing list released Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be impacted by more students or co-location, CPS officials said.

Nearby Trumbull Elementary in Andersonville and three Uptown schools weren’t so lucky. Those schools have a March 31 deadline to change the minds of CPS decision-makers.

“We are going to take these 129 and continue to sift through these schools,” CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett told the Chicago Tribune. About 43,000 attend the schools slated for closure. 

Relocated students could likely go to McPherson and Chappell Elementary, which are on a list of “underutilized,” CPS schools. Underutilized schools are below 80 percent of their ideal population.

Out of the district’s 681 schools, 330 of them are below the 80 percent target. 

Parents and teachers weren't the only ones relieved. Ward 47 Ald. Ameya Pawar said he was nervous McPherson would be on the chopping block. Ultimately though, he credited the school's energy and community promotion as its savior. 

"Not only do we have amazing schools, we have amazing sets of parents that are organizing around these schools," he said. 

The majority areas targeted for closure are the South, West and Southwest sides of the city.

In December, Byrd-Bennett gathered a committee to create a method of choosing schools for closure. The Commission on School Utilization has been hosting meetings to gain feedback from parents and teachers. 

The community meetings didn't go so well.

The first hearing at Truman College brought parents shouting ‘Save Our Schools,’ preventing officials from showing a presentation. And in Local Square, Ward 1 Ald. Joe Moreno was booed offstage.

Chicago parents gathered on Tuesday to protest the way CPS chose the schools for closure, the Huffington Post reports. The parents—part of the activist group Parents 4 Teachers—filed a complaint with CPS Inspector General James M. Sullivan accusing the commission of having conflicts of interest.

The school closures stem from a $1 billion budget deficit expected in 2013-2014, according to CPS.

After this year, no more schools will close until 2020, Byrd-Bennett said. 

Join Lincoln Square and Northcenter-Roscoe Village Patch for more neighborhood news and follow us on Facebook!

See full list of proposed school closings below and an interactive map here.  

Austin-North Lawndale  

ARMSTRONG, L 

CHALMERS 

CROWN 

DE PRIEST 

EMMET 

HENSON 

HERZL 

HUGHES, C 

KEY 

LAWNDALE 

LEWIS 

MASON 

MAY 

MCNAIR 

PENN 

POPE 

Burnham Park 

ATTUCKS 

BURKE 

CANTER 

CARTER 

DRAKE 

DUMAS TECH ACAD 

FERMI 

FISKE 

FULLER 

KOZMINSKI 

MAYO 

MOLLISON 

OVERTON 

PERSHING MIDDLE 

REAVIS 

ROBINSON 

ROSS 

SEXTON 

TILL 

WADSWORTH 

WELLS, I 

WILIAMS MIDDLE 

WILLIAMS ES 

WOODSON 

Englewood-Gresham  

ALTGELD 

BANNEKER 

BONTEMPS 

COOK 

DAVIS, M 

EARLE 

GOODLOW 

GRESHAM 

HENDERSON 

HINTON 

HOLMES 

JACKSON, M 

LANGFORD 

MAYS 

MORGAN 

O'TOOLE 

RYDER 

STAGG 

WOODS 

Fullerton 

BRENTANO 

JENNER 

MANIERRE 

Fulton

BROWN, W 

DETT 

DUPREY 

HERBERT 

KING 

LAFAYETTE 

LOZANO 

MONTEFIORE 

NEAR NORTH 

PEABODY 

SMYTH 

VON HUMBOLDT 

Garfield-Humboldt 

BEIDLER 

BETHUNE 

CALHOUN 

DELANO 

ERICSON 

GARFIELD PARK 

GOLDBLATT 

MARCONI 

MELODY 

PICCOLO 

RYERSON 

TILTON 

WARD, L 

WEBSTER 

Lake Calumet 

ALDRIDGE 

CARVER , G 

GOMPERS 

LAWRENCE 

METCALFE 

OWENS 

PULLMAN 

SONGHAI 

WEST PULLMAN 

WHISTLER 

Midway 

CLAREMONT 

Pershing

DEWEY 

GRAHAM 

HENDRICKS 

LIBBY 

MCCLELLAN 

PARKMAN 

SHERMAN 

Pilsen-Little Village 

JUNGMAN 

PADEREWSKI 

PILSEN 

Ravenswood-Ridge 

BRENNEMANN 

STEWART 

STOCKTON 

TRUMBULL 

Rock Island 

FERNWOOD 

GARVEY 

GREEN 

HUGHES, L 

KOHN 

SHOOP 

Skyway 

ASHE 

BUCKINGHAM 

MADISON 

NEW SULLIVAN 

O'KEEFFE 

PARKSIDE 

POWELL 

REVERE 

WARREN 

YALE