Not So Fast!

For those of you who follow our blog and the happenings in the Chicago Public School system the article below renders a thoughtful judgement against closing schools and making others turnarounds unless CPS garners more information. Spearheaded by Rep. Cynthia Soto, there is a movement afoot, on different fronts, to better examine the closures and turnarounds.

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune

A state legislative task force created to address community concerns over Chicago's efforts to shut down or completely overhaul underperforming schools is calling for a moratorium on school closings and "turnarounds."

"This is a new (CPS) administration," said state Rep. Cynthia Soto, D-Chicago, who plans to introduce a bill calling for the ban when the General Assembly returns later this month. "They really have to get to know these communities before they start to take school actions. Some of the schools they've proposed are performing and should not be targeted."

Soto, the task force co-chairwoman, called for a moratorium three years ago and the legislature established the task force, which last year crafted the state law that now holds CPS subject to more rigorous guidelines concerning how officials decide actions like school closings and staff replacement.

The task force will be reporting back to state officials on CPS' compliance with the new law this year. In a resolution passed this week, task force members said CPS' guidelines for determining school closings and turnarounds remain unclear.

In November CPS announced its plans to close seven schools this year and picked another 10 for turnaround, a process by which all staff are fired, new people are hired and millions of dollars worth of programs are poured into the new school in a bid to raise test scores.

But since those announcements, community groups have pointed to the fact that Casals Elementary, a Humboldt Park school in Soto's district, is slated for turnaround even though other schools have lower test scores. More than 61 percent of Casals' students met state standards, which is almost 12 percentage points below the district average but still higher than other schools that are not being closed.

The Kenwood Oakland Community Organization said the greater Bronzeville region has seen 15 schools closed and one high school turnaround in 12 years, but still another two schools in the area were proposed for closing and two more for turnaround this year.

CPS objects to a ban on closings and turnarounds.