Charters to Close

Thee fact that four south side charter schools are most likely to be closed in June of 2016 shouldn't come as a surprise. The four charters are languishing in terms of making academic progress. And that should come as no surprise since a good number of charter and non-charter public schools are having difficulties where the poverty rate is high among along with a whole host of other problems.

As noted in the past, the performance, generally speaking, of the charter schools compared with traditional neighborhood school is not all that different. Some charters do well, some don't, just as is the case with neighborhood schools.

The low academic performance of the four charters should not obscure the more important issues facing educators, families and students in the various types of buildings. Academic performance and progress are difficult to address where the environment presents serious problems well beyond the four walls of the building or the manner of organizing the school.

My issue is this...the four schools will close and the children will again go elsewhere but will the issues of low wages, unemployment, crime in the area, blight, and more be addressed? I have seen no evidence over the past years. What I would hope is that the CPS brass would look at the conditions that exacerbate the likelihood that growth is not taking place.

Merely shutting down any type of school, with little or no other attendant action, will do absolutely nothing.

Dick