Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/tag/charter-schools/page/2/)
Up to two dozen charter schools could shut down under budget cuts CPS recently released, sending up to 15,000 students in search of new schools. Charter advocates are working on proposals to reform state education funding.
As the political climate makes charter schools a tougher sell, the Walton Family Foundation decides that Chicago is no longer one of its “priority cities” slated to get millions to help open new charters.
The race between candidates State Rep. Christian Mitchell and Jay Travis may hinge on their positions on Chicago schools.
The Noble Network of Charter Schools has grown into a district within a district, with its own sports league, teacher-training program and a growing army of alumni spreading the brand. But its expansion comes with increased public scrutiny and internal questioning about whether its core tenets work for all students.
DeRonda Williams is taking the head of the four-year-old State Charter School Commission at an interesting time: It is about to consider the first-ever appeal from an existing charter school slated for closure by its district. First up: Three Chicago charters. In a Q&A with Catalyst Associate Editor Kalyn Belsha, Williams talks about a wide range of issues, including misconceptions, racial diversity and the Concept Schools investigation.
The Chicago International Charter Schools board voted narrowly this week to keep its ChicagoQuest campus open, but to eliminate its seventh and eighth grades and modify its curriculum. Instead of having a focus on “game-like learning,” which staff and administrators admit was never fully executed, the school will embrace a “college prep” theme.
CPS is recommending that the Board of Education approve proposals to open new Noble and KIPP campuses; also the district is placing 10 charter schools on an Academic Watch List, including two struggling CICS campuses.
Finances are a major motivator for making co-location a priority — this year the district is not offering any financial assistance to help cover start-up costs. However, teachers at some of the schools being sought for co-locations worry they will have a negative impact on enrollment at their and other neighborhood schools.
Community activists continued Monday to put pressure on Noble to withdraw a proposal to open a charter high school on the Southwest Side. At a meeting this weekend, the area’s Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) voted against the proposal.
Citing longstanding issues, outgoing interim CEO Jesse Ruiz says CPS will audit funding and programming for English language learners at all schools, including charters. UNO schools are already under scrutiny, though officials question the district’s motives.