MORGAN PARK — Parents, teachers and students at Esmond Elementary School were among the first to openly applaud a massive public school restructuring plan for the 19th Ward.
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) introduced a plan Sept. 6 to merge Kellogg and Sutherland elementary schools in Beverly. The Keller Regional Gifted Center in Mount Greenwood would then move into Kellogg's building at 9241 S. Leavitt St.
This would allow Mount Greenwood Elementary School to elevate its overcrowding by taking over Keller's facilities at 3020 W. 108th St. — just 3½ blocks away. Administrators at Mount Greenwood Elementary would oversee both campuses, O'Shea said.
The money saved by moving schools around would be used to invest heavily at Esmond, O'Shea said. He added the often-overlooked school at 1865 W. Montvale Ave. has 321 students and hasn't seen significant investment since 1971.
"I love when I come to Esmond, because I can feel the energy," O'Shea told the crowd gathered for Esmond's open house Wednesday night.
Many neighborhood residents have been buzzing since the shakeup was announced. The points of contention vary, but many Kellogg parents argue the plan would close their high-performing, majority black school. Indeed, Kellogg's population is 83 percent black, according to Chicago Public Schools' website.
Parents at Sutherland — which is 61 percent black — say the plan would overcrowd their school, essentially shifting the problem from Mount Greenwood to Beverly. And Keller parents fear their magnet school might be asked to move again if trends shift and the combined Sutherland-Kellogg school becomes a more popular option for neighborhood families.
Esmond's Principal Angela Rene Tucker told the crowd she's heard plenty of promises since becoming principal in 2005 but remains hopeful that the latest proposal comes to fruition.
"If you don't ask for anything, you won't get it," said Tucker, who's school is 97 percent black and 86 percent low-income.
Tucker as well as other parents and staff Wednesday were somewhat sympathetic to the concerns of others involved in the plan. But the bottom line for them is that Esmond needs a major renovation — and most likely a new building.
Whatever it takes to get it is worth the price, said Mary Adams, the soft-spoken chairwoman of Esmond's Local School Council. She has lived one block away from the school for 22 years and her daughter, Eunice, is a student.
"It's a good plan because the school needs work. We need a new school," Adams said.
Prior to the reshuffling plan, O'Shea considered a $20 million annex to the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Mount Greenwood. This proposal would have given seventh- and eighth-grade students an opportunity to enroll in a new feeder program and was designed to ease overcrowding at both Mount Greenwood and Cassell schools.
But O'Shea opted against the plan, saying he'd already invested a combined $16.5 million in both elementary schools by adding new annexes and additions. Instead, he wants to use the money that had been slated for the Ag School elsewhere.
Some of the money would be used for improvements related to the shift, but O'Shea has pledged that the bulk of the funds would be spent at Esmond. And Laurie Smith said such upgrades need to go beyond Band-Aid repairs.
Smith works in Esmond's after-school program and has lived across the street for 40 years. The Esmond alum said the building at the south end of campus was built cheaply. In fact, she remembers watching the pre-fabricated walls going put up in the early 1970s.
Those same walls have begun pulling away from the building. If you look down along the walls from the upper floors, you can see the classrooms below, she said. Leaks are also a consistent problem throughout the school, with water-soaked ceiling tiles as proof of the problem, Smith said.
Other teachers said their only option in the winter months is to turn on the heaters and work in a sauna or leave the heat off to deal with the cold. The water pressure is also weak and there's an array of other issues related to the aging facilities.
And while the plan is a hot topic elsewhere in the neighborhood, many at Esmond didn't know anything about it until Wednesday night. One teacher said this speaks to the overall disconnect between Esmond and other parts of the 19th Ward.
Adair Anderson has been teaching special education at Esmond for the past five years. She admitted the school is rarely top of mind, saying she didn't even know where Esmond was until she applied for a job.
Nevertheless, Anderson agreed that a major overhaul is needed. Though she was also somewhat disappointed that investment at Esmond — which has yet to be laid out in detail — was tied to major changes elsewhere.
"One shouldn't hinge on the other," she said while also vouching for in her principal's ability to push the plan forward.
O'Shea has said in previous meetings that he would prefer to invest millions throughout his ward on the Far Southwest Side. But unfortunately, funds are limited, and he believes his plan addresses the greatest need.
Still, Smith and others were skeptical that any improvements would actually come their way. Esmond is often left behind despite the school's vital role as a safe-haven in the community, Smith said.
"We were promised a new school when Paul Vallas was here," she said.
She added that many students arrive at Esmond at 7:45 a.m. and stay until 5:45 p.m. Smith said these children live nearby and feel their school is a second home.
"We survive here," she said.
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