ACERO Schools
The 21-member board at its monthly meeting Thursday voted to amend language in a revised resolution that would now aim to save five Acero schools: Cisneros, Casas, Fuentes, Tamayo and Santiago.
In a letter to families Wednesday, officials with the Acero charter school network said the individual was taken into custody by ICE agents, though the agency itself did not respond to a request for comment.
The Acero charter network announced last year plans to shutter Cruz K-12 as well as Casas, Cisneros, Fuentes, Paz, Santiago and Tamayo elementary schools due to declining enrollment, increasing personnel and facilities maintenance costs.
“What we’ve heard from the families is that we should not close these schools,” CPS Chief Portfolio Officer Alfonso Carmona told the Chicago Board of Education during its Thursday meeting.
The six-member board on Thursday unanimously approved a measure demanding Acero return any unspent public funding if it moves ahead with the closures at the end of the current school year.
The board is set to meet outside of its typical monthly schedule Thursday in a special meeting where it will take up only a small handful of matters, including a resolution to maintain the seven charter schools Acero plans to close.
Last week, the Acero charter network announced it would close seven campuses by the end of the school year — impacting more than 2,000 students and 270 teachers. The charter school network cites declining enrollment, rising personnel and facility costs, and a $40 million deficit. But parents and teachers are fighting back, calling for Chicago Public Schools to absorb the closing schools.
“This announcement is not made lightly,” Acero said in a statement. “It is made with compassion and an unrelenting commitment to the individuals we serve. We hope to welcome as many transitioning scholars as possible to our other network schools and manage this difficult transition with integrity, mindfulness and clarity of mission.”
About 500 Chicago charter school teachers and 8,000 students were back in the classroom after a historic, nearly weeklong strike came to an end Sunday.
The Chicago Teachers Union said more than 500 teachers will return to classes Monday at Acero’s 15 schools with 7,500 predominantly Latino students.
Classes were canceled for Acero’s 7,500 predominantly Latino students, and Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said the strike would last “until they come back with an offer that respects our students and the people who educate them.”
Several hundred Chicago charter school teachers say they’re willing to walk off the job if they can’t reach a contract agreement with their charter operator, Acero.
One of Chicago’s largest charter school networks is rebranding itself for the coming school year and rolling out new names for five of its campuses as it awaits approval for the changes from Chicago Public Schools.