CPS recommends closing 2 charter schools

Chicago Public Schools is recommending the closure of two underperforming charter schools, the district announced Monday.

“As part of our commitment to ensure that students have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success, we have established clear accountability metrics, standards and expectations that must be met in order to operate in the district,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement.

“Based on our comprehensive review of charter school performance, our recommendation to close two charter schools is necessary to ensure students have access to the high-quality education they deserve.”

The schools recommended for closure are Frazier Preparatory Academy Charter School and Chicago Virtual Charter School. Schools officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

Frazier, in the Lawndale neighborhood, serves kindergarten through eighth grade. Chicago Virtual Charter, on the Near West Side, serves kindergarten through 12th grade.

Among other things, Frazier’s problems stem from failing to improve enough to be removed from the “Academic Warning List,” the district said.

Chicago Virtual had the “lowest [School Quality Rating Policy] score of any charter high school,” according to the district.

The Chicago Teachers Union criticized the recommendations.

“The proposed closure of Chicago Virtual and Frazier Preparatory Academy charter schools is an admission of failure by the district, and a continued attack on the lives of the city’s black and brown children,” the union said in a statement.

”Our students need fully resourced and staffed schools that provide stability and are great places to work and learn. Closing a school is yet another blow for the children living in these low-income neighborhoods.”

If the Chicago School Board approves the closings, the district would work with students to find a “new higher-performing school that best meets their educational needs and priorities,” the district said.

The district considered closing Chicago Collegiate Charter School on the Far South Side after the school’s placement on the warning list for two consecutive years, CPS said. Poor performance in the lower grades led to the listing, officials said.

“Because the school is meeting the district’s academic standards in the higher grades and serves a need in the community, the district is requiring the school make changes to the grades it offers rather than a closure,” according to a CPS statement.