Parents and teachers urge CPS to save Shy Arts and other charter communities as closures loom

At the Oct. 23 Chicago Board of Education meeting, a steady stream of parents, teachers, students and union leaders urged the district to intervene as charter operators move to close or scale back schools.

Chicago Teachers Union recording secretary Vicky Kurzidlow framed the moment around newly available city resources and called for immediate impact bargaining and partnership to protect staff and students: "This surplus can help... It can help fund safe passage programs, expand social and emotional supports, and strengthen the network of community schools." Kurzidlow asked the board to engage now so school communities are not left to collapse midyear.

Speakers raised specific, recurring claims about several networks. Jen Ponant (CTU charter division) said small charters such as EPIC and Shy Arts face imminent closure unless CPS provides management, oversight or other interventions. Acero teachers and parents asked that any transition to district management preserve current staff; teacher Caroline Rutherford cautioned: "Saving a school but not retaining the staff is not saving the school." Multiple speakers cited WARN notices and planned layoffs that would cut teachers, counselors and social workers, and stressed the risk to legally required special education and ESL services.

Representatives from Shy Arts' community made sustained appeals to preserve the school's conservatory model, arguing it offers preprofessional arts training and citywide access that many students cannot secure elsewhere. Students and parents described high college-going rates and specialized instruction and asked that, if CPS assumes management, it preserve teaching artists, class structure and the conservatory staffing mix.

Chief Alfonso Carmona responded to the public pleas, saying CPS had created advisory councils for the five schools touched by the Acero transition and was working to hire principals quickly. Carmona acknowledged legal and contractual constraints — certification, residency rules and staff members' willingness to work in the district — that may limit how fully current staff can be retained, but he said the district is "making every possible effort" to keep schools "as close as possible to what they look like today." Carmona also said the district is exploring ways to preserve the conservatory elements of Shy Arts where funding and contractual commitments allow.

Union leaders and school advocates urged the board to adopt timelines and staff reports that would clarify how CPS intends to retain staff and maintain student services through transitions. Board members asked for written updates, and the district said additional memos and a forthcoming update would be provided to board members before key votes scheduled in the coming week.