North Lawndale Schools Get a $41 Million Science and Art Makeover

A Community-Driven Effort to Enhance Education

Dressed in a white lab coat, Chicago high school senior Francheska Cancel carefully used clay to shape a triangular muscle and placed it on the shoulder of a plastic skeleton.

“I love science, and now everything we do here is about science,” she said.

Francheska, who wants to study nursing in college, lucked out. Collins Academy STEAM High School, where she goes, is one of three schools in the West Side North Lawndale neighborhood getting $41 million in investment to create state-of-the-art science and arts programming.

Renovations and Resources for Three Schools

In a tour of the two elementary and one high school, Chicago Public Schools officials watched preschoolers learning about trees, third graders using magnets to understand attraction and gravity, and high schoolers not only working with skeletons but also getting a hands-on physics lesson.

CPS CEO Delivers on Promises

This is all the result of community members dreaming and making it happen. Betty Green, a former principal of a neighborhood elementary school and one of the main drivers of the project, said it took seven long years.

“We have worked with three mayors, three [CPS] CEOs and three sets of members of the board of education, and there have been many days when I wanted to give up,” she said at a press conference earlier this week at Collins Academy. “But I thought about what I used to say to my students, and that’s that quitters never win, and winners never quit. So we are very excited today.”

Community Group’s Perseverance Pays Off

Green, next to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, was one of the main drivers behind the effort to create state-of-the-art science and arts programming in North Lawndale. A community group took on this work and was determined to make sure students in North Lawndale, a high-poverty community that has suffered from disinvestment, get access to a high-quality and rigorous education. Many of the area schools have seen enrollment and budgets dwindle over the past two decades.

From Concept to Reality

At first, the group wanted several elementary schools consolidated into one new school, noting the neighborhood had no modern school constructed for decades. But there was a lot of pushback from the targeted schools.

Instead, they came up with the idea of infusing Johnson and Chalmers elementary schools and Collins High School with resources. In last year’s budget, CPS set aside $31 million to renovate facilities, train teachers in new science curricula, buy equipment, and pay for extra staff. Renovations are set to begin next summer and finish by the end of 2026.

Funding Boost from City Council

The City Council last week approved another $10 million from special taxing districts called TIFs. At this week’s event, Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), noted the value of TIFs in funding projects like this “that help develop and enhance the quality of life in a community.”

CPS CEO’s Ambitions for the Future

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez thanked the council members for the TIF money at Collins, but on Wednesday he discussed at a City Council hearing his request for $426 million in TIF money to cover CPS operating expenses this year — not for specific projects. Ervin and other alderpersons have pushed back, saying they doubt that’s realistic, but Martinez insists enough TIF money exists.

At the event, Martinez said some might argue the district should stop investing in schools like Chalmers, Johnson, and Collins. They each have only about 200 students. But Martinez said he believes they will be able to draw more students once people understand there’s high-quality programming and resources. Collins High School’s freshman class is larger, Martinez said, because students have heard about this programming.

“So that’s what we’re talking about,” he said. “That’s what we mean about investing in our neighborhood schools. That is what’s possible when we start doing this across the city in underenrolled schools.”

Conclusion

This $41 million investment in North Lawndale’s schools marks a significant step towards providing high-quality education to the community. The perseverance of community members and educators has paid off, and we can expect to see positive changes in the coming years.

FAQs

* What is the total amount invested in North Lawndale’s schools?
+ $41 million
* What is the breakdown of the $41 million investment?
+ $31 million for renovations, teacher training, equipment, and staffing
+ $10 million from special taxing districts (TIFs)
* What is the timeline for the renovations and implementation of the new science and arts programming?
+ Renovations to begin next summer and finish by end of 2026
* What is the future vision for the schools in North Lawndale?
+ To provide high-quality education and programming to the community, with the potential to attract more students and enhance the quality of life in the area.