OLD TOWN — Manierre Elementary is hosting its first annual walk-a-thon this weekend.
The woefully underenrolled Old Town school, 1420 N. Hudson Ave., needs help buying school supplies, retaining positions and more. Manierre enrolled just 285 students as of the 2016 10th day enrollment figure, according to CPS data.
"With the budget deficit CPS is facing, we can’t leave it up to the district to make sure our students are successful," the event flier reads. "Please join us in making a difference in the lives of the students we serve."
The walk-a-thon is set for Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., beginning at Balbo Avenue and Lakeshore Drive and ending at North Avenue and Lakeshore Drive. A bus will shuttle Manierre students.
Participants are encouraged to sponsor a total of 10 members of the Manierre community at $10 each. T-shirts will also be sold for $10 each.
All proceeds will go toward school expenses, including supplies, travel costs and teacher positions.
In March of 2012, Manierre was one of 300 schools targeted for closing by Chicago Public Schools. DNAinfo Chicago documented the fight by parents to save the underperforming elementary school in the heart of a gang territory called “Sedville.”
That fight helped save it in 2013 at the last minute, with officials noting the passion of the parents.
Since then, Principal Derrick Orr has been working to turn around much of the school's culture. Test scores are improving, but the severely underpopulated school still struggles to attract students to its small pocket of Old Town. The school draws mostly black, low-income students from the Marshall Field Garden Apartment complex.
Earlier this year, Manierre got some financial help from Blaine Elementary in Lakeview.
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