CPS Proposes Two School Actions For 2019-20 School Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, November 30, 2018

CHICAGO - Chicago Public Schools announced two school action proposals today for the 2019-20 school year. The proposals, which must be published by December 1 in accordance with state law, include a community-supported proposal to adjust the boundaries and grade structures at Orozco Community Academy and Cooper Dual Language Academy, and the closure of TEAM Englewood, which currently has zero enrolled students.

The two proposals introduced today could be voted on by the Chicago Board of Education as early as February 2019, following a series of community meetings and hearings. Overviews of each proposal are below, and additional details – including detailed draft transition plans – can be found at cps.edu/Transitions.

Community Request to Change the Boundary for Orozco Community Academy and Grade Structure at Cooper Dual Language Academy

Following requests from the Local School Councils of Orozco Community Academy and Cooper Dual Language Academy, community members and groups, and the community’s alderman, county commissioner, and state representative, CPS is proposing an adjustment to Orozco’s boundary and Cooper’s grade structure to create a continuum of education at each school and allow Orozco to expand its Regional Gifted Center for English Learners.

Orozco is a PreK-8 school that is open enrollment for grades 6-8 and hosts students in grades K-8 who are enrolled in either a Magnet Cluster Fine Arts Program or a Regional Gifted Center Program for English Learners. Cooper, which shares the same boundary as Orozco, is a PreK-5 neighborhood open enrollment school.

Under the widely supported proposal, Orozco’s boundary would be reassigned to allow Cooper to phase in grades 6-8 by the 2021-22 school year, making Cooper a PreK to 8 neighborhood school and allowing Orozco to expand its K-8 Regional Gifted Center Program to serve more students.

Closure of TEAM Englewood Due to Zero Enrollment

TEAM Englewood, a city-wide school without neighborhood boundaries, does not have any students enrolled this school year. As such, the district is proposing to close TEAM effective July 1, 2019.

Last year as part of the district’s nearly $100 million investment in a new state-of-the art STEM high school in Englewood, the district created a transition plan to allow Englewood high school students at Harper, Hope and TEAM High Schools to graduate from their schools.

At the end of last school year (SY17-18), TEAM Englewood Community Academy High School (TEAM) had 76 enrolled students. A third of these students have now graduated from CPS and the 47 remaining students voluntarily chose to transfer to CPS schools of their choice for the current school year. Students who chose to transfer were supported by a variety of transition resources including transportation and individual safety plans. Each high school receiving transfer students also received $6,100 per student in supplemental funding to provide academic, social and emotional, and other supports to these students this school year based on their specific needs. CPS continues to support former TEAM students with this transition, and will provide CTA cards and transition support funding to receiving schools for these students until they graduate.

Upcoming Community Meetings

Before the Board’s vote, the following community meetings and public hearings will be held to allow members of the public to provide additional feedback for consideration:

Chicago Public Schools serves 361,000 students in 644 schools. It is the nation’s third-largest school district.

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