Gladstone makes way for UIC charter high school

By Susan S. Stevens 

In the 19th and 20th centuries, vast numbers of houses stood where the Illinois Medical District sits today. As the medical complex grew, the number of families in the area declined so much that today few children live within walking distance of the William Gladstone Elementary School.

            In fact, the number of pupils attending the neighborhood school dwindled to the point that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials decided to close Gladstone, located at 1231 S. Damen Ave. Now in its final year, the school educates 314 pupils in a building that can hold 960.

            Once the school year ends, Gladstone’s red brick building will escape being boarded up. Instead, workers will renovate it this summer in preparation for its new role as a charter high school in the fall. The University of Illinois at Chicago and the Noble Street Charter School will partner in UIC’s first pre-college school, a high school focusing on mathematics and science.

            Some parents are sad. Others are glad.

            “It is really going to be inconvenient because I am going to have to get on a bus and take them to school every day,” said Sandra Green about the two grandchildren she has walked to and from Gladstone School.

 

Gladstone good academically

A parent volunteer for five years, Green knows CPS includes good schools and bad ones. Gladstone, she said, is a good one academically. She is searching for a school with at least an equal scholastic reputation.

“Nobody likes it; nobody is in agreement,” said Anthony Harris, who has two children on the honor roll at Gladstone. His daughter is graduating, but his son will have to go to a new school for second grade. “We are looking into a couple of schools now,” Harris said.

            Luz Morales, however, is “happy it is closing. It is the worst school my kids have ever attended.” Morales has only one child left at Gladstone—she moved three others because she said they were picked on by both pupils and teachers. “My other kids go to Shields,” she noted. “They are doing great.”

A volunteer parent for several years at the elementary school she attended as a youth, Morales said she was turned down when she offered to help at Gladstone. The principal who started at Gladstone this year, Lori Campbell, began to make improvements and “has her feet on the ground,” Morales explained. “She wants to make the school better, but it is too late.”

            Kimberly and Dwayne White have lined up Tilton Elementary School for their son, who will start seventh grade in the fall. Dwayne White was philosophical about Gladstone’s closing. Its student population was too small, he said, noting it is only one of a number of schools that are closing.

            When families went to Gladstone on report card pickup day April 17, they received questionnaires asking whether they approved of the children’s treatment and teachers. They did not vote for Local School Council leaders on that election day, however, because Gladstone is closing.

 

Freshmen only at first

            About 200 students will join the freshman class at UIC College Prep in the fall, said Lon Kaufman, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Honors College. Kaufman led the project to organize the high school, which will grow by one grade level each year until it counts grades freshman through senior in 2011.

            The school received about 450 applications on time; another 300 to 400 came late. That response prompted officials to increase the original target freshman class enrollment from 150 to 200. Students were chosen by lottery.

            “That group of 200 is coming from all over the City of Chicago,” Kaufman said. “They represent every neighborhood in the city.”

            The faculty probably will number 18, he said, up from the original 15 planned. Most have been hired.

            “The [UIC] campus talked for many years about starting a high school,” Kaufman said. “The idea really took off. It is pretty amazing, actually.”

About the school’s site just south of the UIC West Campus, Kaufman said, “It is perfect. It is right here in the Medical District.” That placement will allow students easy access to UIC to conduct research and learn about more than 100 careers in health sciences—from nurses and doctors to laboratory technicians and clinical positions—and, Kaufman hopes, set career goals in health sciences.

           

UIC teams with Noble

UIC is teaming with Noble, which took its name from the first school it opened in 1999 at 1010 N. Noble St., because of its track record in operating charter schools.

“They are head and shoulders above the other charter schools and way above other public schools” in standardized test scores, including “tops in math,” Kaufman explained. UIC also appreciates Noble’s philosophy of student engagement.

            Noble posts high rates of average daily attendance, graduation, and college enrollment. Last year, 66% of Noble’s graduates enrolled in four-year colleges.

            With the addition of UIC College Prep and another new school opening this fall at 7200 S. Ingleside Ave., Noble will handle daily operations for seven schools. Faculty from UIC’s six health science colleges will participate at UIC College Prep, which will offer the usual range of high school classes to prepare students for college with an emphasis on health science classes independent of other science instruction.

            Among the charter school’s goals is having students take classes such as mathematics at UIC rather than advanced placement courses in high school. That approach will introduce high school students to the university environment and make it easier when they start college, where “the transition” can be “very difficult for many students,” Kaufman said.

            Noble will pay for converting Gladstone into a high school. As for the cost, “I do not have the foggiest idea,” said Ron Manderschied, Noble president and CEO. “We have not had the time to have the facility thoroughly looked at.”

            Manderschied knows the building needs new science labs, improved electrical wiring, and alterations to ensure access for the handicapped. Overall, the school is in good condition, Manderschied said, noting, “It is a grand old building.”

 

Variety of funding sources

            Funding will comes from various sources, including foundations, businesses, and private individuals. Noble also sometimes seeks tax-exempt bonds and, depending on the amount needed for Gladstone, may take out loans.

            CPS is responsible for maintaining the building and bringing it up to code. Basic operating expenses will be paid entirely from the money CPS provides per student, with an additional “small school” allowance, Kaufman said.

Under the Renaissance 2010 program, CPS will provide $425 per student next year in supplemental funding because the charter school is opening in what will be a former public school, a CPS spokesperson said.

Once renovations are finished, “The school should be paying for itself,” Kaufman said.

            The principal will be Oliver Sicat, who was named a teacher of the year in Boston and has experience organizing programs to get students financial aid for college. Martin Gartzman, with an extensive background at UIC and CPS, will be assistant principal.

            The CPS board of education approved Gladstone’s closure Feb. 27 and the UIC College Prep charter school March 26.

Gladstone’s pupils are being directed toward two other public schools in the area, Smyth Magnet and Plamondon Elementary. Graduating eighth graders are being offered opportunities to attend one of the Noble schools. Gladstone teachers will be eligible for other jobs in the system, a CPS spokesperson said.