Chicago Talent Development

Charter High School

a c o l l e g e p r e p a r a t o r y a c a d e m y Bernina L. Norton, Principal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2013

Contact: Kirby G. Callam 847-693-0787 773-345-8768 ext. 237 kgcallam@ctdhs.net

Chicago Talent, facing successive years of decreased funding, to phase-out during 2013-14 school year
A unique charter high school that opened four years ago and graduated its first class of seniors just two weeks ago will not be accepting new students this fall and will operate just one more year through the end of next school year. While we are deeply saddened and frustrated to be forced to make this decision, said Marv Hoffman, board member of Chicago Talent Development Charter High School, we realize its the responsible thing to do. With the support of CPS, the school will use the coming year to phase out and work to place students in the best possible high schools available to finish out their secondary education. School leaders will work immediately with incoming 9th grade students and their families to find alternative quality high school placements for this fall, and then organize the school for the coming year to serve the remaining 10th-12th grade students. The phase-out year allows the seniors to graduate and secure college placement while affording sophomores and juniors the time to strengthen their academic and personal resumes and seek out a future school placement that best suits them. The 56 seniors who just graduated on June 8th weathered an unusual string of challenges during their four years, including two school relocations. The graduates are 100% African American youth from low-income families with a graduation rate exceeding 90% and a 72% acceptance rate into four-year colleges. Were so proud of their resiliency and success, declared Bernina Norton, principal, and grateful to the dedicated teachers and staff who supported them to excel. We are committed to each remaining student and will work with them and their families over the course of the next year to ensure a successful transfer for the 2014-15 school year. The schools decision to phase out at the end of the coming year, made at their board meeting on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, stems from two main factors: another year of funding cuts, and the schools current and projected low enrollment. "Since we opened in 2009, our net per pupil funding has decreased by 4 percent, 0 percent, 6 percent and 8 percent each respective year. The future looks just as bleak with the ongoing pension and state budget crisis. That, in combination with low enrollment, has made it impossible to financially operate the school beyond next year," explained Kirby Girolami Callam, school founder and CEO.

2245 West Jackson, Chicago, IL 60612 P: 773.345.8768 F: 312.666.6887 www.ctdhs.net Union Park High Schools

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We are a small school and we know our students well, Callam said. Putting this kind of stress on them and their families among the many other daily stresses they face is unfortunatethey certainly didnt sign up for this when they enrolled in high school. Chicago Talent is organized around two key themes: 1) serving students performing below grade level to get them college-ready by graduation through the Talent Development/Diplomas Now school model developed by Johns Hopkins University and 2) partnering with the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to create a new model of a teacher's union contractone that seeks to protect the profession of teaching without constraining the school from making decisions that benefit student learning. Contrary to the perception that charter schools serve smaller proportions of special education and chronically low-performing students, Chicago Talent focused squarely on those students. Youd be hard pressed to find any high school in the city serving 98% of students qualifying as lowincome and greater than 25% of students listed as special education, said Callam. Chicago Talent is both student-centered and teacher-centered, said John Ayers, a principal architect of the schools design prior to its opening. They refused to be defined by either traditional school or charter school structural limitations; not fitting into either camp put them at odds with some of the popular school reform tenets of the day. For example, the current accountability plan penalizes charter high schools that enroll lowperforming 8th grade students. The school was rated by the CPS as Failing to Make or Meet Reasonable Progress this year based on the failure to reach absolute test score thresholds despite solid attendance rates (92-95 percent), low drop-out rates (3-6 percent), and gains in reading and math above the system's average. In addition, the prominent funders of Chicagos charter schools denied Chicago Talent $650,000 in start-up funding primarily because of its association with a union. Weve had some turnover and have seen a number of students come and go through all of the transitions, said Callam. In the face of these challenges, key partners at Talent DevelopmentJohns Hopkins, the IFT, and SEIU all contributed to the schools start-up needs and have been active with the schools development ever since. Facility Uncertainty and Constant Transition Chicago Talent is a study in what can happen to a new school approved by a charter authorizer without a long-term facility plan. Selected to serve in West Garfield Park on the city's West Side back in 2008, efforts to secure a permanent space in a school building failed for three successive years and the school was forced to co-share with Tilton Elementary for its first year and later moved into the old St. Mel's Elementary School three blocks away. This was again a temporary solution, as the building could only house 250 students and had no gymnasium, assembly space, nor school groundsnot even a parking lot. "It was a hard sell from the beginning to get 8th graders and their parents to come to a new high school in an ill-equipped elementary school with no concrete home for the future," Callam said. The market is tough: we are one of 25 high schools serving the Austin, North Lawndale, and Garfield Park communitiesup from 12 high schools just 20 years agoat a time when the

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West Side lost 10 percent of its population. We could have directed more funds towards marketing, but we prioritized our small class size and wrap-around student supports instead. Finally, after its third year, CPS offered Chicago Talent a co-share with Crane Technical Preparatory High School, 25 blocks to the east. The transition has been a smooth one as both schools worked closely together to create a cohesive school environment and combined student bodies for athletics and some after-school programs. Chicago Talent students showed their commitment to both the school and their education with 94 percent of them staying enrolled and travelling across numerous gang lines to get to the new location. Shrinking Available Funds Last year, Chicago Talent suffered a 6 percent net per-pupil funding decrease. For the coming year, the school will be particularly hit hard by a new funding formula announced last week. Funding will decrease by 7 percentthe highest in the citywith a net 15 percent decrease since the school opened its first set of doors four years ago. The formula shifts funds away from high schools by weighting elementary schools higher than previous years, assigns to charter schools an added 10.6 percent pension expense for certified staff to address the state fiscal crisis, and reduces funds provided for special education populations. Next Steps Chicago Talent has called and talked to all of its returning families about the situation and will be holding an information Q&A session at the school on Thursday, June 27 at 5:30 PM for its parents and students.