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Resource Center > Students First Illinois
In the cramped main office of the Choir Academy of Chicago Charter School a photo shows off beaming choir students singing in the grassy infield of U.S. Cellular Field as fans crowd the stands behind them. Another picture depicts Mayor Richard Daley, surrounded by equally happy students, with the message "Good Luck" written in thick black ink. The snapshots will stand as highlights for the 7-year-old school, whose leaders Thursday told more than 30 parents and their children that a $500,000 budget deficit is forcing them to close the doors at the end of the school year."We are a family. I'm very grateful for everything you contributed," said Principal Krystal Muldrow, breaking down in tears. "I want us to close out strong." Jamila Lawrence, whose daughter Endia is a 6th grader at the school, said the family moved from the South Shore community to Bronzeville two years ago to be closer to the school. She and other parents were concerned that the closing would uproot their children and hurt them academically. "The Choir Academy has done wonders for my daughter. It's a huge disappointment," Lawrence said. The coed school, modeled after New York's Boys Choir of Harlem Academy, had been struggling for at least a year. Last May, it had to enlist school leaders, teachers, and parents to raise funds to pay for teacher health benefits and salaries. The financial problems stem partly from a move made last year from a nearby Catholic school to its current location at 3630 S. Wells St., where it shares space with Abbott Elementary School. After the move, enrollment dropped from 200 students and now stands at 140 students, Muldrow said. The enrollment drop meant the school lost some state funding. As a charter school, it receives a per-pupil amount from the school district. But academy officials have said that their approach costs an additional $1,000 per student-roughly $200,000 more per year-than the typical charter school because the music program operates on an eight-hour day and recruits additional choral, piano and percussion teachers. The 2nd-through-8th-graders at the school spend about a third of the day studying and performing music. About five years after it first opened, the school broke ties with the Children's Choir, a private music education organization that initially oversaw the school. With a new board in place, the school agreed to become a charter school. csadovi@tribune.com |
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Students First Illinois | Ronald J. Gidwitz | 200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 4000 | Chicago, IL 60606 | email | (312) 943-1955 p (312) 943-8397 f © 2006 Students First. All Rights Reserved |
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