District 299: The Inside Scoop on CPS

The letter does seem the reasonable expression of a frustrated parent defending the interests of her child. Why can't we have a dedicated space for children who are artistically inclined? Surely in a city this large and rich in resources we ought to have exactly that kind of school.

What I wonder is, given that both the mayor and Brizzard have a lot on their plates, including the welfare of much larger groups of students, could former mayor Daley take on the creation of the Maggie Daley High School for the Performing Arts? I suspect he has the clout and the resources to pull it off. And what a perfect legacy for his dear wife. Delegating this project makes a lot of sense, and Chicago would wind up with a stellar performing arts high school for the thousands of students who have the talent and desire to make their living in the performing arts. I think Brizard and Emanuel should ask him to do it.

I love the idea of The Maggie Daley School of The Performing Arts.

The Maggie Daley School of the Performing Arts would be a fantastic idea. I saw an amazing stretch of land near Bridgeport, directly across the street from IIT on 35th. It is right by Corporate Police Headquarters, the Red Line, 35th Metra Station, Green Line, State Street bus, 35th Street bus, King Drive, Michigan Bus, Delasalle, Starbucks...and last but not least it is in the region of two Bronzeville TIF's that have millions of dollars. Chiarts is already in Bronzeville so they should request some of these dollars to build a new school. Afterall, there are also children in Chiarts who live in Bronzeville, honor students as well and their parents are homeowners who paid into these TIF's. Maybe Chiarts should talk to Pat Dowell, the 3rd Ward Alderman. This piece of land is in her ward.

from a reader: "Maggie Daley, may she rest in peace, had nothing to do with the genesis of ChiArts. And therein lies the tale."

What seems to be missing from the comment thread on the ChiArts topis is the outrage that CPS once again promised to deliver something and failed. This school, these kids and the entire CPS population have been given excuses and promises for years and that's why the public school system in Chicago is in such a horrific state.

The comments are more about Maggie Daley's legacy and keeping the school in Bronzeville than they are about anything else. That is a bit disturbing to me.

What about the fact that this co-share solution seems to be all that the BOE can come up with for this school? I can assure everyone that when these students go on to university studies or follow their dreams of being professional performers, the city and the members of the BOE will want some credit. They need to earn it - just like the students do.

The pain and frustration expressed by the parent is genuine. I remember reading about this high school opening a few years ago with great interest. What a fantastic symbol of Chicago’s stature as a vibrant, world-class cultural city: to have our very own talent pipeline developing the next generation of artists.

Instead we have a symbol of Chicago’s failed attempts at education reform, rife with broken promises, short-sighted thinking and politically expedient band-aid fixes. Sadly typical.

I’d like to see Mayor Emanuel flex some political muscle and rally the big corporate and foundation money behind our city’s cultural institutions to create a permanent home for this high school worthy of a world-class city. If this effort dovetails with honoring Maggie Daley (and softens the hearts and loosens the checkbooks of corporate donors) I can think of no finer tribute to a beautiful soul who loved Chicago’s children and understood the transformative power of the arts.

The creation and support of a public performing arts high school in Maggie Daley's name rings true to me, as I am certain it must to countless others. Look at the support and success achieved by Walter Payton College Prep High School--an example of coalescing Chicagoans around a beloved civic/public figure.

That is aside from the fact that 'ChiArts' (Chicago High School for the Performing Arts) has been left on the vine to wither, after having a prominent lobby of arts supporters on its board. One would hope that lobby is already working towards a Maggie Daley Performing Arts High School to 'service' the needs of Chicago teens and fill the void the has existed for too long. Our world-class arts organizations-the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, and the Goodman Theater are natural symbiotic partners for the Maggie Daley arts high school---but only if in more than name only.

A dedicated performing arts high school facility, as originally promised, would not only impact the lives of students, but also enrich the community at large. If Mayor Emanuel wants to support the arts and education simultaneously, can we hear his views on this subject?

Things that make you go hmmmm.

That PreK building that the frustrated mother mentioned housed the entire Early Childhood citywide staff. The building was remodeled etc. with prek monies. That entire staff was displaced at the last minute to I believe Coleman.

Now they have to spend this money all over again. And that building is rumored to have asbestos in it. Hmmmm

There have been occasions where prek students were in the same building as high school students but special precautions etc. were in place.

Farragut and Phillips come to mind. Phillips used to be the only school in the city that had prek thru 12 under one roof.

The Board and the City own enough property that no one should have been displaced. But they would rather spend big money of wasted salaries, lost furniture and the like.

Hi, I am currently a Junior at Chicago High School for the Arts and I am completely discontent with how CPS and the city of Chicago are working at this moment. I have heard enough in the Radio and the T.V that the people that get millions of dollars each year complain that maybe some of their money could be taken away to help the city, schools in specific. If money isn't given then the school which are the first target, they will be the first to be shut down, but isn't this suppose to be about helping the community and making a better life for the kids? Where is the help? I see that society is distracted by all the things that don't matter, all of the materialistic things are shoved in everyone's face and not many are aware with what is truly going on in the life that the kids have in the schools.

The Junior Class, the first graduating class of this school was promised from the beginning that we would have our own building a mile away from downtown Chicago. If it couldn't have done because of time constrain, it could have been addressed differently. Moving the school around from one place to the other makes it even more difficult and the school spends a lot of money renovating Doolittle and Pershing West. Speaking for myself, I am so grateful that these two schools have let us co-share buildings with them, but in my point of view CPS isn't aware of how much we are being affected by all of this change.

Sadly, I believe that nothing will be done, a lot of promises have been made and broken not only to this school but also other schools in CPS. But does the city know how much it is affecting our education, having in mind school for 8 am until 5 pm and then after school programs, rehearsals, working on projects, homework, shows/ exhibitions to prepare, competitions that we work through all year long, trying to keep the grades up, piling on top of that, the location? That was the last that I needed on my mind, I think a lot of my time, "well how am I going to get to school?" "What's going to happen?" There are so many unanswered questions that are important and have been brought up but have they been answered? No, they have been ignored or they have been answered but they have been empty words up to this date.

I am not saying, "Give us a school right this second" but I'm trying to show my point across that, honestly our school is a little in danger with how we are planning to move together and move forward without all of the letting down. I am really frustrated that I have to worry about this situation after three years. I don't want to come off as selfish and greedy but we need a home, a place that we can really, really, really call ChiArts' home.
That's all I have to say for now, thank you.

What an interesting discussion regarding Chiarts. Clearly a city like Chicago with a strong arts sector should have a quality performing arts program high school. Moreover, the city’s elementary schools should have serious arts developmental programs too. But the Chicago Public Schools are effectively broke and are spending huge amounts of money attempting to turn around schools for low income children to simply get these students to the point academically where college is an option. Unfortunately, public colleges are being thrown into fiscal crisis too in Illinois and the combined impact of ever rising student loan costs and tuition increases is putting this option out of reach for poor students.

On top of this CPS is faced with a fiscal obligation to Chicago’s teachers pension fund that it will not be able to meet and within 10 years the existing fund will be thrown into default. CPS charter schools in the next few years, as more and more schools reach full capacity, will also be faced with fiscal difficulties and various foundations may decide that their start up support for these schools should end. What is left of the CPS magnet school elementary program is likely to be shut down, LaSalle is just the start with others to follow I suspect. The reason being with busing costs these programs are too expensive for a fiscally broken school district.

CPS is like the proverbial drunken sailor and totally lacks fiscal discipline. Given the fiscal projections for CPS and the fiscal collapse of our state government CPS should not be spending money on turnarounds and new programs. Capital spending should be very controlled and based on very pessimistic long run projections for the credit ratings of all state supported entities. CPS does not need ever more schools, and ever more options for its students. It needs to survive the long-term decline in public funding for education that we have entered.

The uprising we saw yesterday at the Board of Education meeting was based on a perception of complete unfairness in how CPS is implementing aspects of a turn around process and a charter expansion process that it simply cannot afford. Both of these projects will effectively collapse in the coming years due to the fiscal deterioration of the school district, unless an economic up turn of massive proportions happens. I am not counting on that.

By the way I agree with the CPS Board that there is a demand for charter schools, that demand is driven not so much by the quality of charters as a fear for the very safety of low-income children in existing schools in poor communities. More and more families are being thrown into poverty as all statistics are showing. These families cannot escape the fear of violence by going to private schools because they are too broke to even consider that option. But charter schools unfortunately do not cost less than traditional public schools even with lower average teacher salaries.

The next solution will be the one Indiana has selected and that will be vouchers. Eventually the dollar amounts for vouchers will have to be reduced because a state like Indiana, which has such a low tax base, will not be able to keep up the payments.

So CPS needs to look at Chiarts, turnaround spending, and many other things through a lens of survival. During the Great Depression CPS classrooms had 45 to 50 students in a room, huge numbers of students dropped out at the end of 5th grade. Going to high school was like going to college. CPS needs to avoid the horrors of that time in the past by containing its program expansions and trying to keep as much of what exists functioning.

Rod Estvan

I am the frustrated parent that wrote the letter that is attached as a PDF file.

Perhaps I did not make it clear in my letter that the only thing Chiarts is asking for from CPS is a building and campus dedicated to the students.

The costs of running the school are broken out into several pieces. The first piece is the conservatory costs, next academic costs and the third is building expenses

- The conservatory classes and student needs for those creative art classes are taken care of by generous donations from the ChiArts Board and its supporters, along with the parent donations. The board works year round passionately supporting the conservatory by fundraising and donations, much like how athletic departments in some high schools fund their sports programs.

- The academic costs per student are covered exactly like any other CPS high school student. The cost per pupil does not change just because they are artists.

- If you look thru the CPS space utilization report, there are buildings owned by CPS that are currently being used at 30% capacity or less. No amount of remediation will change them into full capacity schools. The demographics of the city have shifted and the needs of the community have changed, more and more parents are opting for either charter, contract or private schools, as a result those buildings, some of which can hold up to 900 students, have less than 300 students in them – some with as little as 150. There are areas in the city where more than a few schools are underutilized within walking distance from each other. Those schools have janitorial staff, pay for utilities and accessories as if they were fully utilized. It seems reasonable, logical and cost efficient to offer one of those buildings to ChiArts. No extra costs are involved in doing that.

It's not about money; I don't think it ever really was.

And to Mr. Estvan - your statement about the demand for charter schools in Chicago being "driven not so much by the quality of charters as a fear for the very safety of low-income children in existing schools in poor communities" makes my point that the Doolittle East campus is a very poor solution for the students of Chiarts. Less than two months ago there was a shooting in the parking lot between the two buildings (Doolittle East and West), during school hours. Fortunately, no students were injured. That is the very parking lot the CPS board is asking my daughter, along with all the other ChiArts students, to use to walk back and forth between the two buildings during the day between classes. Doolittle East is an underutilized building. So much for using a charter school to remove students from violent areas in the city. Additionally, there is research written that states that the amount of money is not the only factor affecting a schools performance, and in fact there is no correlation between increasing dollars spent and success of students. This present environment is not about money, it is about feeling powerless and it is about broken promises.

This brings me to Sabina Valencia.

Sabina - You are correct in all that you wrote, I hear your frustration and I understand you completely. You, along with your fellow class of 2013 classmates have been asked to tolerate far more than most students inside of the "New Schools" division of CPS.
I stand with you in your plea to have CPS deliver what was promised, and my concern for the future of Chiarts is the same as yours.

Reading these comments, I am saddened that there is not more outrage about the way CPS and the Chicago BOE have handled their long-term vision for this school. The students of Chiarts deserve better. They are working hard, with grades and attendance in the top tier relative to other CPS schools, and their day is longer than any other CPS high school – from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. They have six classes that make up their GPA along with an additional four classes for which their work is graded and they are held accountable. They are required to pursue independent lessons after school hours to further their art study. Some of them arrive at school by walking a few blocks and some commute for over an hour each way to get there. These students are committed to their work, art and school and I am in awe of them daily.

I wish CPS would look at Chiarts thru a lens of survival. Maybe then they would see the students of Chiarts as the scholar artists that they are and give them a home.

Lynn E. Burmeister

Dear ChiArts Parents and Guardians, 

In the interest of safety for all affiliated with our school community, especially our students, I want you to be aware that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) is investigating a robbery that took place this morning, Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at approximately 7:50 AM at the bus stop on the corner of Rhodes Avenue and East 35th Street (across the street from the parking lot entrance).  The victim was one of our scholar artists and thankfully he was not physically harmed in the incident.  Throughout the course of the day, ChiArts administration has worked tirelessly with the student, parents, CPD and CPS Office of Safety and Security to ensure the documentation of the incident and to establish a security plan for the remainder of the week, as well as, ChiArts’ school year. We have requested an increased police presence.

We are ChiArts and we must come together to ensure that our students have safe passage at arrival and dismissal. Please be assured that we are taking every measure appropriate and within our realm to do what is best for our scholar artists, but we need the help of everyone vested in our students. It is imperative that we increase the number of parents/guardians/supporters in our POPS volunteer group. The next two days necessitate our call for parents to come out and stand in front and around our school. This support is essential upon our return from break and through the end of the school year. We would appreciate your assistance with an increased presence from all facets not just over the next 48 hours, but until June. In addition, we encourage you to impress upon your children the need to be duly vigilant while in the community at all times.

Striving for Excellence,

Ms. Milsap, Principal and Chief Academic Officer

Ms. Orr, Assistant Principal

The Petition

CHIARTS PARENTS- CALL TO ACTION! The parents of students attending the Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) are petitioning Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Chicago 4th Ward Alderman Will Burns and the Chicago Police Department to take immediate action to provide a safe and secure school environment for our children. Our security concerns have been voiced several times and put on hold and ultimately have not been addressed. Since being placed at the Doolittle campus in September 2011, our safety and security has been compromised by the following incidents:

• A shooting in the ChiArts parking lot, 10/31

• Teacher's car stolen from the parking lot, 12/19

• Teachers being harassed on their way to and from school

• Aggressive and drunken strangers entering the school (3 times)

• A lack of security in the evening (6:30-8:00) to escort staff to their cars or monitor students in the later evening after rehearsals, private lessons, and performances.

The most egregious incident occurred a few days prior to the 2011 winter break when one of our students was robbed at gunpoint and forced to walk with the offender a few blocks from the school. Fortunately the student was able to break away before any further harm was done.

We as parents have been more than patient with CPS and ChiArts involving the location of this school. Our children have persevered despite the setbacks they have experienced as a result of not having a permanent location for the school. ChiArts students have been able to rise above these distractions due to their raw passion and yearning for an arts education. However we as parents must protect the best interest of our children and we will not compromise their safety. Our children must have a sense of safety and security at the Doolittle Campus.

ChiArts was part of the Ren2010 initiative and has become a premier arts high school in the city of Chicago with its students becoming recognized across the country. ChiArts attracts students from all 50 wards of the Chicago and receives over 1,000 applications each year. ChiArts has partnered with stakeholders in Chicago’s arts community to support its vision and mission and they are concerned and want answers. We all have so much invested in this school, and we won’t allow our children’s futures to be put in jeopardy. We are in immediate need of the following safety precautions to make our school safe and secure for our children.

1. Fully functional external and internal security cameras, with a minimum of 2 cameras per side (front, right parking lot area, Rhodes Street side and back parking lot area)

2. Fully functional lights in backside and right-side parking lots with motion detection technology. Our Scholars are sometimes in the building until 8 or 9pm. Some drive and use the back exit door to go their cars, which are parked in those lots.

3. Closure of the back fence that allows the public to use the Doolittle campus as a shortcut and pass through to 35th street. Measures should be put in place to restrict accessibility to ChiArts campus.

4. Two additional Security Guards and 1 full time Police Officer. – There is no intercom entry system and the school is at a security risk when unwanted visitors approach the entrance or come in with another person.

In light of the proposed CPS board action for the co-location of Chiarts and Doolittle, it is imperative to secure the Doolittle campus for a successful co-share arrangement. The safety of all students from both campuses should be a priority. By signing this letter of petition, I am asking for immediate action from CPS, CPD and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to secure the ChiArts/Doolittle Campus! We cannot afford to leave our children at risk!

Sign petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/chiarts-parents-call-to-action/

Another shooting at Chicago High School for the Arts. Students are expressing their fear and concern. The week of finals. So, now we have three shootings, two involving victims, windows being shot out, cars stolen from the parking lot, cars broken into that are parked in the parking lot, people randomly walking on the campus, lockers getting broken into. CPS says that they will install lights in the parking lot. I ask again "What good will the lights do to stop a bullet zinging thru the parking lot from hitting my daughter? Today a bullet hit someone's daughter. Saddest part of all is that now the students are talking about what the definition of a ghetto school is and why some of the students tolerate this kind of violence. This is shameful and the City of Chicago, the mayor and his Board of Education, along with the Board from ChiArts should be ashamed of themselves.

three shootings, windows shot out, stolen cars, vandalism, vagrants! roaming the halls...Rahm has a solution!

Fire all the teachers, fire the lunch room staff, raise expectation, add 90 minutes to the school day and replace old chairs with quality seats!

I am just absolutely saddened to read of all the issues that have occurred with ChiArts. My hope was for my child to attend ChiArts, but I was not willing to put her safety in jeopardy, so I declined their offer. Now, I am glad I decided not to send her there. On the other side of the coin, I am angry at CPS and the ChiArts Board for putting these children and their teachers lives in danger. I watched the youtube videos of these children who have talent but lacked the financial means to pursue their dream of dance, art, music, singing and acting. ChiArts was created to give these kids the opportunity to pursue an education and give them that opportunity to excel in their art. There are so many safe locations, and schools lacking enrollment to put these children so that they can feel safe. My spouse offered a location, but he never received a call back. The attitude is let's wait for the CPS board to tell us what to do. Really? Raise the money and do what you want to do period. ChiArts needs some serious leadership starting with the board president and a principal who says she is not going to tolerate her students being preyed upon. It is one thing to write a letter on here, but actions speak louder than words. Take your message to the papers and media and let them get your message and mission out there so that you can get the support that those students deserve. It is afterall about them. I will be sending an email to Brizzard everyday if I have to. I suggest the parents to do the same. The plan was to have this school at a central location to serve the city of Chiicago, so perhaps they will pursue this plan and get this school in a safe area as was it's plan in the first place.

Dear Josie -
Lucky you! I wish we would have been able to see the future when we picked ChiArts four years ago, but sadly we didn't. I agree that writing blogs isn't going to get us out of the area or provide us with a permanent home. What it does is offer a for of communication for the parents and community to begin the process of assembly and coordinate a plan. My plan is now to do exactly what you suggest - go to the press and get the word out. Protest if necessary - it worked for LaSalle Academy.

If you have any contacts that may want to help champion this cause, please contact me thru this blog and I will send you my contact information.
Thanks.

http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/Policies_and_guidelines/documents/TransitionPlan/ChiArts_Doolittle_Publ

"Over time, promises unkept become lies"

Honorable Charles R. Winkler, CPS Hearing Officer
on CPS and it's mismanagement of Chicago High School for the Arts campus

"I find that ChiArts must accomodate 150 more students within seven months and that although not the best solution, the proposal to co-locate will have to do for the present time.

I further find that CPS has not fulfilled the promise to find a suitable free standing building in a a central location within a reasonable time frame to house ChiArts.

In this respect, I recommend that CPS for a committee to ask the following parents to serve: Lynn Burmeister, Gwynda Jones, DK Edwards. I also suggest teacher Kevin Korschgen be included. The purpose is obvious.

Meetings should be held at least every four months to move this issue of a permanent home for ChiArts to resolution."

Last paragraphs of Judge Winkler's findings

STILL WAITING TO HEAR FROM CPS..........................