MORGAN PARK — A meeting to discuss a sweeping elementary school restructuring plan for the 19th Ward will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Beverly Arts Center.
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) announced the meeting at 2407 W. 111th St. via email late Thursday. O'Shea authored the plan with state Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) and promised via email to host several more forums to gauge interest in it.
"If you are unavailable on Monday, there will be additional meetings in the future. I am also happy to meet with parents and residents on a one-on-one basis," O'Shea said.
Perhaps the biggest shift is the proposed merger of Sutherland Elementary School and Kate S. Kellogg Elementary School — located just one mile apart in Beverly. O'Shea and Cunningham have said both schools have suffered from declining enrollment by students living within their neighborhood boundaries.
The Local School Council at Sutherland will host its own forum to discuss the plan at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the school at 10015 S. Leavitt St. O'Shea said he won't be able to attend that meeting due to a family obligation.
Parents, teachers and students at Kellogg hosted a similar meeting Tuesday evening after the plan was announced. This contentious meeting at at 9241 S. Leavitt St. saw parents objecting to several aspects of the plan, including the suspension of the Options for Knowledge program.
The program allows students living outside the neighborhood to apply to attend Sutherland or Kellogg. O'Shea said program was put on hiatus while an audit was conducted by Chicago Public Schools.
This audit was meant to help identify where students who attend these schools live as well as help root out any students living in the suburbs who might be illegally enrolled, O'Shea said. But parents argued strongly against shutting down the program.
They said without these students Kellogg and Sutherland funding will be cut as CPS determines investment based — in part — on enrollment. Others said halting the program sends a message that the proposed merger has already been approved and any public discussion is merely symbolic.
Still others said the Options for Knowledge program contributes to the overall vitality and diversity at the school. Merging Kellogg with Sutherland shows a lack of respect and appreciation for the contributions of such students, several in the crowd argued.
Michael Passman, a spokesman for CPS, said Thursday evening the Options for Knowledge program is now open for both Sutherland and Kellogg. He also said CPS is paying close attention to what is said in the community forums and that nothing will be determined anytime soon.
“Under Ald. O’Shea’s leadership, the community is exploring a proposal that considers changing the composition of these schools. CPS is listening closely to the community,” Passman said.
The 19th Ward school proposal would concentrate students living with in the boundaries of the two Beverly schools on Sutherland's campus. Kellogg's building would become the new home to the Keller Regional Gifted Center.
The magnet school at 3020 W 108th St. in Mount Greenwood would benefit by having more room for its students in the larger building, O'Shea said.
The Keller building would then be handed over to Mount Greenwood Elementary School, which is just 3½ blocks away at 10841 S. Homan Ave. This school continues to experience overcrowding and adding the nearby school would allow administrators to operate from two campuses, he said
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
