MOUNT GREENWOOD — Special education advocates cheered a decision that will allow students at George F. Cassell Fine Arts School and Mount Greenwood Elementary School to start the upcoming year at their neighborhood schools.
A plan to consolidate the two programs has been called off, according to Mount Greenwood Elementary Principal Kate Reidy.
Mary Hughes, chairwoman of 19th Ward Parents for Special Education, applauded the move on Tuesday: "It's a nice, small win for special ed, because there are a lot of losses this year," Hughes said.
Hughes' son, Aidan, graduated from the special education program at Cassell last year. Aidan, 14, will start classes in the fall at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Mount Greenwood.
In what Hughes believes was a budgetary move, a plan to consolidate special education programs at the schools on the Southwest Side was floated last month.
The plan would have set up something like a junior high school program at Cassell. Special education students who began their education at Mount Greenwood would finish elementary school at nearby Cassell.
Instead, both schools will maintain their own independent "cluster" special-education programs. Hughes thanked Reidy and Markay Winston, head of the Office of Diverse Learner Support and Services for Chicago Public Schools, in a letter dated Aug. 3.
"It impacts the whole school when kids leave," Hughes said. "It sends a terrible message that the kids are not part of the whole school community."
Mount Greenwood Elementary had been operating at 122 percent capacity last year, according to Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th). As a result, six modular classrooms were added this summer at a cost of approximately $3 million.
But even with the addition, it was hard to find space for the special-education students, said Reidy, who expects continued increases in enrollment at her school at 10841 S. Homan Ave.
CPS also recently announced $200 million in budget cuts, including leaving 300-350 positions vacant. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey immediately charged that those were special-education positions CPS had been struggling to fill.
Hence, Reidy voiced concern that staffing levels — both in special-education and traditional classrooms — could be impacted in the coming year. She also worried about potential state funding cuts.
That said, Hughes was happy both Mount Greenwood and Cassell would maintain their independent special-education programs. She said Mount Greenwood parents and their children benefit by having more options when it comes to finding schools for these unique learners.
"It was really up to Mrs. Reidy to find space, and she did," Hughes said.
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