A Chicago charter school that was tangled in administrative tape well into the 11th hour has won state approval and was able to open Tuesday as planned.
Frustrated Chicago Public Schools officials had given up hope last week that the Illinois State Board of Education would sign off on Global Village, a school with two campuses run by the Chicago Children’s Choir and Asian Human Services.
Instead, they planned to open the campuses as contract schools, public institutions that are independently operated, but without the freedom granted to charters.
But on Tuesday–the first day of school–the state board finally gave its blessing to the charter, satisfied that it would operate as one entity and not two.
Global Village was originally proposed as two charter schools. But the city did not have enough slots available for both, so the organizers decided to merge.
Charter or contract, the sponsors were relieved to see the end of a process that took on the characteristics of a ping-pong match in the days before the start of school.
“We’re just very pleased to have the school opening–that’s the bottom line,” said Ronald Giles, managing director for the choir academy.
Although the charter’s two campuses share one stated mission and a single governing board, the organizers acknowledge that each is maintaining its initial focus.
The choir academy, located on the Southwest Side and calling itself the city’s first arts-based charter school, is emphasizing music in its curriculum. And Asian Human Services is catering to immigrant and refugee learners in Uptown with a full-service English immersion program and a staff that speaks 22 languages.
Under the plan, pupils will have the option of transferring from one campus to the other.
“It was kind of a forced marriage,” said John Ayers, president of the Global Village Charter School Foundation. “But we’re going to do a lot of work and spend a lot of money merging these schools in a more genuine way and try to make them one operation.”
Chicago school officials had argued that the Chicago Children’s Choir and Asian Human Services both have a long-standing belief in multiculturalism, which is at the center of the charter’s mission.
“The choir itself is in a very diverse neighborhood,” said Greg Richmond, who oversees charters for the Chicago Public Schools. “They, too, are going to have a lot of new families and immigrants. The similarities between the two campuses are very strong.”
