UPTOWN AND ANDERSONVILLE — CPS students return to classes Tuesday and some Uptown and Andersonville schools will have changes to get acquainted with.
Here is a quick look at the neighborhood schools:
1. New Faces At McCutcheon:
Jenn Farrell announced she was leaving her post at McCutcheon Elementary School, 4865 N. Sheridan Rd. back in June for a new gig as principal of Edison Park Elementary School. Gwyn Kram was hired as interim principal at McCutcheon over the summer. The school also lost one support staff position and one teaching position due to CPS cuts.
2. Staff Cuts At Courtenay:
In August, CPS officials announced Courtenay Language Arts Center, 4420 N. Beacon St., will lose 10 staff positions including eight support staffers and two teaching positions. Across the district, nearly 1,000 teachers and support staff positions will be eliminated. Those cuts affect 494 teachers, including 302 at high schools and 192 at elementary schools, which is about 3 percent of the entire teaching staff. Only eight schools in the district were forced to cut more staff than Courtenay.
3. A Smaller Loss For Brenneman:
While the school wasn't hit as hard as Courtenay, CPS also cut two teaching positions at Brenneman Elementary School, 4251 N. Clarendon Ave.
4. A New Chief On The North Side:
In August, CPS announced Eduardo Cesario would become the North Side Network Chief (Network 2). Cesario was previously principal at Clinton Elementary School in West Ridge for eight years. He replaced Phil Salemi, who will now serve as Deputy Chief of Strategy and Planning. Network 2 includes: Brenneman, Courtenay, Goudy, McCutcheon, Peirce and Uplift High School.
5. Lead Updates:
At the end of last school year, Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies, 1423 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., along with a dozen other schools, announced water faucets and fountains were turned off after CPS found elevated levels of lead. Over the summer, the issues were addressed and reconciled, according to Peirce's website. "The retest results show all fixtures are below the action level, meaning that they are safe for use by students and staff," the note said.
Goudy Elementary School, 5120 N. Winthrop Ave., also had a third floor (near room 305) water fountain that was above the action level. The retest results are available here.
5. LSC Schedules:
Want to stay in the loop about your child's school? Here's a list of the first LSC meetings for the year.
Peirce: at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22
Goudy: at 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 15 in the school auditorium.
Courtenay: at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 in room 108
McCutcheon: at 4 p.m. on Sept. 28
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