Chicago school reform threatens to close Prescott Elementary

According to a post in the ChicagoNow District 299 blog, Prescott is on the chopping block because enrollment is "far below operational efficiency," and if you examine the charts in the above photo gallery, it is hard to disagree. In 2008, Prescott students' scores on the ISAT exams from grades 3-8 almost consistently fall behind both CPS average scores and scores for the state overall.

A feature on the school in Skyline identifies enrollment at 197 students, even though its capacity allows for 600. And according to the article, of the 168 non-graduating Prescott students, only 42 hail from the West Lincoln Park neighborhood. The article even says "enrollment at the school has declined at an annual average rate of 5% since 2001," which doesn't bode well for Prescott.

Yet on the Prescott Parents website, founder and organizer Jennifer Lister insists that community involvement in the past 18 months has set the school on a path toward flourishing reform. In an open plea on the site's homepage, Lister says:

 "We have worked diligently over the past few years to bring families to Prescott and clearly we have succeeded as this year alone we have received close to 250 applications. Our efforts have resulted in a first-rate educational facility supported by an endearing and compassionate teaching staff, a knowledgeable and forward-thinking administration and scores of students who simply want the opportunity to learn about the power of knowledge."

In an interview with the Chicago News Cooperative, Lister said, "CPS can't give the school the go-ahead to make changes, and then only give an 18-month window to make them 100% successful."

In the "About Prescott Parents" section of the website, Lister explains the history of the organization, its dedication to promoting the school within the community, and its high hopes for improvement after electing Erin Roche as the new school principal in 2008.

She and other parents within the community are asking for more time before the Board of Education eliminates Prescott, which they believe is a valuable asset to the West Lincoln Park neighborhood.

In the Skyline article Matthew Nielsen, who lives two blocks from Prescott Elementary and wants to send his 2-year-old there when the time comes, suggested that closing the school would only encourage more young families like his to move to the suburbs and out of District 299.

Late last week, CPS announced that four schools originally on the chopping block were removed from the list. The District 299 blog takes a closer look at the reasons these schools escaped the CPS "hit list"--the top two reasons being city council pressure and community organizing.

So although parents like Lister and Nielsen are clearly passionate about saving Prescott, a lack of greater interest from the West Lincoln Park community seems to have left the fate of the school in the hands of the Board of Education's vote on Wednesday.


What do you think, Lincoln Park Now readers? Are you a Prescott parent who rallied behind saving the school and you think that the community support should have put Prescott in the ranks of schools that escaped the list? Are you a Lincoln Park parent who thinks Prescott students will be better off when they transfer to nearby Agassiz and Burley schools?

If Prescott closes its doors for good, what will become of the abandoned building?

Share your thoughts with us below or contact us via e-mail.

By Jenn Kloc and Molly Horan