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Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2004

100 new schools to be created; charter, small sites envisioned

By Ana Beatriz Cholo and Tracy Dell'Angela, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Gary Washburn contributed to this report

After a decade of experimenting with charter schools, contract schools and small schools-within-a-school, the Chicago Public Schools system is set to unveil a plan that will combine all those elements in an unprecedented effort to create more than 100 new schools by 2010.

This new wave of reform has less to do with buildings than with the programs offered in those buildings, sources say. The emphasis will be on breaking up large schools, especially poorly performing high schools, into smaller specialized units that offer families alternatives.

If implemented, the plan will also hand over day-to-day control of a significant number of the city's schools to independent operators.

Mayor Richard Daley acknowledged Tuesday that a major plan is in the offing, saying that although $3 billion had been poured into the physical plants of the city's schools, the essential work of improving education still remained.

"It's not the new building itself that changes the educational system around," Daley said. "One program doesn't fit all. ... You should have vocational training, college-bound [curriculum], technical training, ROTC, arts programs."

Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th), who was briefed Tuesday by schools chief Arne Duncan, endorsed the new approach.

"I think smaller schools are very good," Burnett said. "It is worth trying something new, especially for those schools on probation. I am concerned about the money but I think [it would be beneficial] having the schools smaller and having more attention given to the kids."

Daley and top school officials declined to offer details of the plan, which he and Duncan are scheduled to present Thursday.

But a summary of the strategy, dubbed "Renaissance 2010," calls for up to 30 new schools opening up on the South Side, 20 to 30 on the West Side and others being added to heavily populated neighborhoods.

The new schools on the West and South Sides, most of which are to be housed in existing buildings, will be opened in connection with the Chicago Housing Authority's plan to transform those neighborhoods.

Up to 20 high schools will become 40 to 60 small schools.

Much like Dodge and Williams, two elementary schools that were shut down in 2002 and reopened last year as "Renaissance schools," the strategy intends to bring new life to old schoolhouses by freeing them from traditional methods.

The new schools will be roughly one-third charter schools, one-third contract schools--in which the school district contracts with an outside entity to operate a school--and one-third run by the school district.

The campaign for reform will tap private funds to help create the new schools. More than $25 million has already been committed by foundations and other donors, a figure the city hopes will be doubled.

An unknown amount of capital funding is also expected to come from the school system, according to the summary, providing for basic repairs, equipment and other one-time costs.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity for any urban system," said Janet Knupp, president of the Chicago Public Education Fund, a group of civic and corporate leaders whose partnership with the district will involve training leaders for these new schools.

"The consensus from the corporations is, let's put a lot of time and dollars behind this," Knupp said. "Let's focus and go deep."

Each school will have a new principal, new staff and new focus, according to the Renaissance 2010 synopsis.

The district is expected to ask for requests for proposals from educators interested in opening schools. Some have already been asked to submit plans.

Kim Day, co-director of Perspectives Charter School, said she was approached by Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins earlier this year and asked if she would be interested in creating eight more schools using the same model over the next five years.

Day, who will be present during the mayor's announcement, said it was an honor.

"We have a school that works academically," Day said. "Kids leave Perspectives and go to a place other than a street corner. I think it's a model that works with our population--black and Latino students.

Michael Milkie, principal of Noble Street Charter School, says he has already told Duncan he would like to extend his model to as many as 15 other schools around the city.

With 1,000 children on the waiting list for Noble Street Charter, "The demand is there. We are just waiting on the supply," he said.

The school district, by state law, can only approve charters for 30 schools. Currently there are 17 with three more set to open in the fall, so opening more than 10 other charters would require legislative action.

At one school targeted for transformation, the reaction to the reform was also hopeful.

Principal Tony Scott said that Austin Community High School may house four new schools of 500 students, including an International Baccalaureate program, a military academy and vocational programs focused on interior design and the hospitality industry.

"If small schools are what the board sees as the future for Austin, then the teachers will be on board," Scott said. "There are some real benefits to having the small schools."

But not all educators are sold on the mayor's idea.

"Keep in mind our priority is first and foremost to protect our members," said Marilyn Stewart, the Chicago Teachers Union president-elect, in a statement Tuesday. Stewart would not speculate on how the plan would affect the union.

Charter schools and many contract schools employ non-union teachers.

Dion Miller-Perez of the Cross City School Campaign for Urban School Reform, a non-profit advocacy group, says the biggest problem with contract schools is that they are less responsible to parents and the community. Charters and contract schools are typically reviewed by the district every five years for performance, but otherwise operate independently.

"At least with small schools, you can go to Arne Duncan or the principal. With the contracts, you're going to have to wait until they lose their contract to enforce any kind of accountability."

He also wonders how effective small schools are.

"If they are going to do something on this scale, they need an external analysis, not one done by their buddies, that shows them what are the functioning and non-functioning elements," Miller-Perez said.

Access this story at Chicago Tribune online:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/north/chi-0406230196jun23,1,941566.story

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