Families and teachers press CPS for clear plan as Aspira charter faces funding crisis
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Summary
Teachers, students and parents from Aspira (Espira in transcript) told the board they face uncertainty about the charter’s ability to finish the school year; Interim Superintendent Dr. Macklin King said Aspira has not formally closed and emphasized contractual limits while promising priority support for seniors' graduation pathways.
Multiple speakers representing Aspira of Illinois testified at the March 4 agenda review meeting that they had received inconsistent communication from charter management, faced the prospect of midyear school closure, and feared losing familiar teachers, credit continuity and senior-year milestones.
"Our students deserve the truth about the future of their school," said Cindy Camacho, an Espira teacher who spoke about families living with fear and poor communications from Aspira’s management. Students and staff urged the board to require the charter operator to share updated parent contact information and to coordinate transitions so students can move in cohorts and retain credits and services.
Student speakers described the emotional toll. "It is not fair that we may not graduate together," said Angelina Mota, a senior. Jose Avila, another senior, asked for guarantees that earned AP credits would transfer and that athletics and extracurricular participation would continue.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Macklin King responded that Aspira had not formally closed and that CPS was constrained by contract law: "Aspira has not closed. They have to elect to self close or CPS will be in violation of their contract," King said, adding that the district is trying to balance humane support with contractual obligations. Chief district staff said they would meet with Aspira families to present transition plans and prioritized seniors: the district indicated 372 students were enrolled with 177 seniors and said it would "guarantee that those students will graduate this year." (District speakers used slightly different spellings of the charter name in public remarks; the transcript contains inconsistent variants.)
Board members asked district staff to continue listening to families and to bring concrete, actionable transition plans to subsequent meetings. No formal vote on a change of school governance occurred at the March 4 agenda-review meeting; district staff said they were exploring options including mutual agreement with the charter for an orderly transition that protects students’ credits and services.
Speakers and board members also pressed for a centralized district process to ensure that receiving schools can accept cohorts, preserve services for English learners and special education students, and minimize disruption during any transfer.