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North River Elementary principal requests expanded space to meet rising English‑learner and enrollment demand
Summary
North River Elementary principal Jaime Sanchez asked the Chicago Board of Education to approve expansion into a third floor to provide bilingual and general education classrooms as English‑learner enrollment rose from 33% in 2022 to 74% in 2025 and the school reached capacity.
Jaime Sanchez, principal of North River Elementary, urged the Chicago Board of Education on May 7 to begin the process of expanding the school onto a third floor of its building to address capacity and growing English‑learner enrollment.
Sanchez said North River has been in a small leased building for years and in 2022 colocated with a middle school. "Expansion will allow us to offer both a bilingual and a general education classroom per grade level, ensuring all the students get the services they need," he said, citing three reasons for the request: a rise in English‑learner enrollment (from 33 percent in 2022 to 74 percent in 2025), full capacity with waiting lists for multiple grades, and the school’s role as a neighborhood hub.
Sanchez said existing Memoranda of Understanding limit classroom arrangements to one classroom per grade K–8 and that expansion would permit separate bilingual and general education sections. He appeared at the meeting with school staff and the local school council president and asked the board to consider this "important next step for the North River community."
Ending: Sanchez asked the board to consider the MOU change and physical expansion to meet demonstrated student needs; no formal board action was taken during the May 7 meeting.
