Map: Where Chicago has charter schools as of this fall

Chicago’s charter schools traditionally set up shop on the South and West sides where, they and CPS said, there were few high quality school options.

CPS’ new preferences for charters — released this week in an annual call for new charter schools — are looking to alleviate not so much educational options but overcrowding issues. Some of the district’s most crowded schools are on the Northwest and Southwest sides of the city. This map shows where Chicago’s charters already exist and where they don’t.

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Searchable map by Max Rust. Charter info provided by the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

I’m curious to see how parents in the targeted Northwest and Southwest side communities will receive this idea. CPS says each new charter operators will have to hold a community meeting in each neighborhood to see what local folks want. Way too early now for any of that, though.