For more information contact:
Malon Edwards
CPS Office of Communications
773.553.1620 —office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CPS Completes Phase-Outs of Three High Schools
Public hearings scheduled to address questions from the community
Three Chicago Public Schools high schools will complete their phase-outs by the end of this summer under already-announced plans to dramatically improve education options in underserved neighborhoods. They are Austin High School, 231 N. Pine, Calumet Career Academy, 8131 S. May, and Westinghouse Career Academy, 3301 W. Franklin Blvd.
Public hearings on the phase-outs will be held Friday, July 6.
The last graduating class at each of the three schools school graduated this spring, ending a phase-out process that began in 2004, when each school stopped enrolling incoming freshman as a way to either change the academic focus of the school, or to address the physical condition of the building. The incoming freshmen who would have attended the three schools were allowed to enroll at nearby high schools or attend new schools opened in Austin and Calumet as part of the Renaissance 2010 Initiative.
Currently, the Austin building houses one small high school, the Austin Business and Entrepreneurship Academy, which opened there last fall. A second small high school, Austin Polytechnical Academy, will open in the building in September. A third and final small high school is slated to be added to the campus in the fall of 2008.
The Calumet building also houses a small high school that opened last fall, Perspectives Charter Calumet. The building will be the site of two more schools in the fall-- Perspectives Charter Technology High School and Perspectives Charter Middle School.
A new facility is being constructed for Westinghouse and will house both a college prep school and a career prep school. Construction for the new school began this spring and will be completed by fall of 2009. Parents with questions can contact the School Reassignment Hotline at (773) 553-5020.
The Chicago Public Schools is the nation’s third-largest school system. It includes more than 600 schools and serves about 415,000 students.