Board of Ed to consider charter school changes to names, locations, managers

Chicago’s Board of Education will consider on Wednesday a list of changes charter schools are seeking, including a change of management for one of its biggest chains, a phaseout of a middle school and postponing of several planned moves.

The privately-run but publicly funded schools must get school board approval to make changes regarding location, grades offered, expansions and names. All the items appeared Monday on the public agenda. CPS did not provide more details.

Chicago International Charter Schools plans to replace the Florida-based company Charter Schools USA, which has managed several of its campuses with Chicago Rise at its Lloyd Bond campus, 13300 S. Langley, for kindergartners through 6th graders. CICS has chosen Ignite Learning Collaborative at Loomis Primary for its K-2 students at 9535 S. Loomis, and at Longwood, 1309 W. 95th St. for 3rd through 12th graders.

LEARN Charter School seeks to add 6th grade in the fall to two K-5 campuses — Excel, 3021 W. Carroll, and Campbell, 212 S. Francisco. LEARN is asking CPS to shrink its Middle School capacity by 50 students.

University of Chicago Charter Schools want to wind down its Woodson campus, 4444 S. Evans, and consolidate its 7th graders in the fall with those at its Woodlawn campus, 6300 S. University, serving grades 6 to 12. The Woodson campus will close in June 2019.

Plato Learning Academy, 5545 W. Harrison, will move 5th through 8th grade students in with its K through 4th students at 5545 W. Harrison.

The Academy for Global Citizenship Charter School, 4647 W. 47th St., wants to delay its planned move to its own new building to be constructed at 44th and Laporte until fall 2020. Also seeking a delay is Perspectives Charter School, which wanted to move its Leadership Academy and its High School of Technology currently at 8131 S. May St., to its own building at 8522 S. Lafayette, but won’t now until 2020 at the earliest.

The city’s lone virtual school serving K-12 students, Chicago Virtual Charter Schools, wants to manage itself as of July 1, ending outside management by K12 Classroom LLC, according to its board president, Angela Bryant.

Finally, Youth Connection Charter Schools, whose campuses serve students at risk of dropping out, wants to delay the opening of its own virtual school, originally planned for 2015, for another year until 2019, and change the name of its Westside Holistic Leadership Campus, 4909 W. Division St., to West Campus.