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Lincoln's Gifted Program Being Replaced by New Program: School Council

By Mina Bloom | January 12, 2016 3:47pm
 Students on the first day of the 2015 - 2016 school year at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, 615 W. Kemper Pl., in Lincoln Park.
Students on the first day of the 2015 - 2016 school year at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, 615 W. Kemper Pl., in Lincoln Park.
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DNAinfo/Mina Bloom

LINCOLN PARK — Beginning the 2017 - 2018 school year, the international gifted program at Lincoln Elementary will start to phase out — and a new, lottery-based program will take its place, according to Local School Council members.

Chicago Public Schools says a decision has not been made, but Local School Council members and other members of the school community say they were informed Monday that the change was moving forward.

Principal Mark Armendariz announced the news at a Monday evening Local School Council meeting held at the Lincoln Park school, 615 W. Kemper Pl., according to council members. It came after Armendariz warned the council of the possible change at a meeting in November.

The international gifted program enrolls about 90 gifted sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, most of them from outside of the Lincoln attendance area. Under the program, students are provided bus transportation. 

Beginning next year, that program will be replaced with a middle years international baccalaureate program, which council members said will offer a similar curriculum. The main differences will be no bus transportation and admission will be lottery-based.

Armendariz told the council that he would like to admit as many students from out of the Lincoln attendance area as needed to maintain the 6th grade enrollment so as to not lose any funds through student-based budgeting.

Ogden International Elementary, 24 W. Walton St., was the only other school to offer the program, but the district cut it this summer. According to Ogden officials, affected students are still able to continue their advanced studies, and are encouraged to enroll in the school's K-12 international baccalaureate curriculum. 

Lincoln has made headlines for building a $19 million annex — a controversial solution to its overcrowding problem.

Last week, the district flagged Lincoln for being "underutilized," which had some critics of the annex wondering if the overcrowding issue was exaggerated. Members of the Local School Council told DNAinfo Chicago that the designation was unsurprising given the addition of 19 classrooms, saying the school expects to see long-term enrollment growth.

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