Nov. 19--The Chicago Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to close three privately run charter schools at the end of the academic year despite objections from some teachers and community members.
The schools being closed for academic underperformance are:
--Amandla Charter High School, 6800 S. Stewart Ave.
--Shabazz-Sizemore Academy Elementary School, 6936 S. Hermitage Ave.
--Bronzeville Lighthouse Charter Elementary School, 8 W. Root St.
Six board members voted to revoke the charters of the Amandla and Shabazz-Sizemore campuses and opted not to renew an expiring agreement with the Bronzeville Lighthouse campus. Board member Mahalia Hines was absent from Wednesday's school board meeting.
Chicago Public Schools officials said the board will vote in December on the charter of CICS-Hawkins High School at 801 E. 133rd Place.
Wednesday's vote followed emotional testimony from supporters of the schools slated to be closed, with some residents arguing their schools had made considerable academic progress.
"This is not just a job to me," said Essie Porch, who identified herself as a Lighthouse teacher and parent, as she burst into tears during her comments to the board. "This is my passion, this is something that I take seriously."
"It hurts, it hurts," Porch said. "All we are asking you all for is a chance. Give us that chance, and if we do not live up to it, and you close us, then there's nothing we can do about that."
CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said the district would work to get displaced students into higher-quality schools -- an effort similar to one CPS made when it closed dozens of district-operated schools in 2013.
The charter closings will affect about 1,200 students and come after the district approved a new method for putting underperforming charters on an academic warning list that can lead to them being shut down.
