CHICAGO — A Logan Square elementary school needs to enroll at least eight students by Monday night, or risk losing tens of thousands of dollars in funding.
Goethe Elementary School, 2236 N. Rockwell St., has openings in kindergarten, first, third, fourth and seventh grades. Goethe, an Options for Knowledge school, accepts students from outside the neighborhood boundaries.
Principals at CPS schools learned late last week whether their schools were on track to meet 10th-day enrollment projections. Schools that are under enrolled must add students by the end of day Monday.
Parents took to online message boards this weekend to spread the word.
"I can only hope there are people say, 'there’s space there? That’s great,'" said parent Gin Kilgore, a member of the Local School Council. "I’m just hoping there are people out there who wanted to attend our school and didn’t realize it was a possibility."
Goethe Principal Barbara Kargas said this year is the first time she's had to grapple with budget fluctuations due to enrollment.
"We're trying to get the word out to people who thought the school was full," she said. "We have openings and can accommodate children."
If Goethe does not add at least eight students, it will forfeit upwards of $36,000. Meeting enrollment projections would mean a lot, Kargas said.
"It’s huge for me," she said. "I’m someone who’s frugal, so I have money in other funds I will use, but $40,000 for us, at this point, is a large sum of money in terms of operating."
Goethe has 803 students, and parents tout its playground, music and arts programs and its new after-school care program.
It has nine openings in kindergarten, two in first grade, four in third grade (for bi-lingual students), four in fourth grade and two in seventh grade.
Parents interested in enrolling their children at Goethe can call the school at 773-534-4135.
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