Halfway to goal with few results
The mayor’s sweeping plan to replace low-performing schools by creating 100 new ones is nearing the halfway point and, come September, it will be surpassed. So far, 46 new schools have opened, 12 more are in the pipeline to open this fall and another seven have been approved for 2008.
Yet only 3 percent of the district’s 413,694 students attend Renaissance schools, raising concerns about access and the plan’s ability to truly transform the entire district. Teachers union leaders criticize the plan as a school privatization scheme.
Half of the new schools are charters (23 of 46), which have more autonomy than the two other types of Renaissance schools. Contract schools—a hybrid between charters and traditional district schools—are free to hire non-union teachers, but must meet annual performance targets set by the district. Performance schools—regular district schools with a twist—must hire union teachers but have more control over budgets and schedules and can opt out of area oversight. All three types use per-pupil budgeting and sign five-year performance agreements.
|
Charter
|
Performance
|
Contract
|
|
| 2005 |
9 elementary
1% white 67% black 28% Hispanic Enrollment: 2,659 ISAT: 55%* 1 high school 100% black Enrollment: 185 |
3 elementary
2% white 45% black 51% Hispanic Enrollment: 1,484 ISAT: 68%* 9 high schools 2% white 55% black 39% Hispanic Enrollment: 2,063 On track: 76%** |
None
|
| 2006 |
7 elementary
4% white 53% black 42% Hispanic Enrollment: 1,744 6 high schools 1% white 76% black 21% Hispanic Enrollment: 1,053 |
1 elementary school
98% black 1% Hispanic Enrollment: 617 |
1 high school
99% black Enrollment: 217 |
| 2007 |
2 elementary
3 high schools
|
2 elementary
4 high schools
|
1 alternative high school
|
|
*Some schools, which do not yet enroll test-taking students, were omitted. **Does not include on-track rates for Williams School of Medicine. Note: CPS considers 10 schools that opened before Renaissance 2010 was announced to be part of the initiative. One of them, KIPP Chicago Youth Village Academy, closed last year. Source: Chicago Public Schools; Consortium on Chicago School Research |
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WebExtra: Enrollment down, more choose CPS
Chicago Public Schools enrollment has dropped close to 6 percent during the Duncan years, despite a bump of 16,000 Hispanic and multiracial students. The decline impacted mostly predominantly black schools, with several of those schools closing in the wake of public housing demolition. District demographers also cite an overall decline in citywide population and lower birth rates.
|
CPS breakdown
|
2002
|
2007
|
| Enrollment |
437,618
|
413,694
|
| Poverty rate |
85%
|
85%
|
| Bilingual |
12%
|
12%
|
| Special Ed |
13%
|
14%
|
|
Student ethnicity
|
2002
|
2007
|
| Black |
52%
|
49%
|
| Latino |
35%
|
38%
|
| White |
10%
|
8%
|
| Other |
3%
|
6%
|
| Source: CPS, Consortium on Chicago School Research | ||
Stiff competition for selective schools
Families face a bevy of options when picking a school. Perennially popular are magnets and college preps, which require applicants to take an entrance exam and/or enter a lottery. Last year, more than 78,000 students applied for 9,400 available seats in magnet and selective enrollment schools, which tend to enroll more white and middle-class students. This year, military academies received some 7,800 applications for 750 seats available in the fall.
|
Elementary
|
High School
|
| 424 Regular
48 Magnet/selective 18 Charter 9 Special education
|
36 Regular
13 Magnet/selective 12 Vocational 8 Math and science 4 Military 21 Small schools 9 Charter 20 Special education |
WebExtra: Magnets, charters more likely to graduate students
(Weighted average school rates)
Four-year graduation rates held steady in 2006 for most types of schools. Military academies were the exception due to Phoenix Military Academy graduating only 44 percent of its first crop of seniors.
|
Type of high school
|
Grad rate (2005)
|
Grad rate (2006)
|
| Regular |
57%
|
56%
|
| Magnet/selective |
83%
|
85%
|
| Vocational |
52%
|
51%
|
| Math/science academy |
52%
|
53%
|
| Military |
69%
|
60%
|
| Charter |
68%
|
66%
|
| Source: Consortium on Chicago School Research | ||
WebExtra: Charters, magnets feel safest
For the first time last year, CPS surveyed students on a variety of school climate issues to collect data for high school scorecards. About one in four students who attend vocational and regular high schools say they don’t feel safe and supported.
|
Type of high school
|
Safe environment
|
Supportive environment
|
| Charter |
90%
|
84%
|
| Magnet/selective |
90%
|
80%
|
| Regular |
70%
|
76%
|
| Vocational |
69%
|
75%
|
| Special Education |
85%
|
82%
|
| Source:
CPS Scorecard; mean of school ratings |
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