Chicago Public Schools is taking another shot at tackling student over-enrollment issues at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, and so far the school is listening.

On Tuesday night, CPS representative Adam Anderson met with parents and faculty at Lincoln, 615 W. Kemper Place, to outline options for solving the mounting issue of overcrowding at the school that are currently being considered by the agency.

Located in the heart of Lincoln Park, Lincoln Elementary’s neighborhood program is known for its involved parent community and high-performing pupils, with 96 percent of the student body currently meeting or exceeding the state’s testing standards in the past year.

Due in part to its successes, the school’s population has spiked in recent years, with 810 students currently being served in a facility with a 630-student capacity.

Leadership at the school has pressed CPS to come up with a both short and long term strategies for thinning out the student-to-desk ratio at the school while maintaining Lincoln’s tightly-knit neighborhood base.

At the meeting, held as part of Lincoln’s monthly local school council gathering, Anderson, who serves as the district’s officer of portfolio planning and strategy, told the audience that his administration is currently looking at three short-term options for decreasing Lincoln’s swelling student body.

The first option, Anderson said, was moving one or two of the school’s grades to a leased facility in the area. The district is currently looking at three possible locations for this scheme: St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, located around the corner from the school at 2335 N. Orchard St.; Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, at 600 W. Fullerton Parkway; and the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, at 2045 N. Lincoln Park West.

Anderson noted that the district’s communications with the owners of these sites were still in the preliminary phases.

“None of these [conversations] have gotten to the subject of contracts,” he said.

The second solution involved “co-locating” a few of Lincoln’s grades, meaning that students, teachers and resources from certain classes would be moved to satellite spaces at a nearby school.

Anderson said that he was currently unable to reveal the potential partnering schools for this option, due to changes being enacted to the district’s state-mandated planning policies.

The last option presented by CPS that evening was a proposal to set up temporary “modular” classrooms to house Lincoln students, presumably on or near the school property and possibly involving structures akin to long trailers.

Anderson said that this alternative was currently a “lower priority” for the district.

Reactions to the proposals from Lincoln parents and teachers at the meeting ranged from grateful to wary.

Lois Morrison, a parent and local school council member at the school, thanked Anderson for presenting the school with a set of “very responsive” solutions.

“I think that, in listening tonight to the reality of actual proposals being put on the table, it really hits home that we’re going to face some significant changes in our school community,” said Morrison.

Others were hoping for more of an end-game pitch from CPS.

“If you’re going to ask us to make a short-term solution, I need to know the long-term gain,” said Trish Juarez. “I’m not negotiating until I know what that is.”

Despite some cynicism from parents and council members, the dialogue seemed like a considerable step forward after deliberations between CPS and the school got off on the wrong foot.

In mid-December, the district told parents that it was considering a proposal to adjust Lincoln’s enrollment policy on a staggered basis so that families south of Armitage Avenue in the school’s current boundaries would be redirected to the LaSalle Language Academy, a much-sought-after magnet school at 1734 N. Orleans St.

Stakeholders at both schools railed against the plan, and CPS suspended the proposal a few days later.

Some Lincoln parents have since organized a grassroots group to advocate for the school’s cohesion, and the LSC approved a sub-committee to address the overcrowding issue on Tuesday night.

With a new set of options on the table, teacher Gregory Thompson asked if the proposal for redrawing the school’s boundaries was off.

Anderson said that the plan was not currently being looked at, but hinted that it could once again find its way back into the district’s “solution set.”

“The community will be much more aware of it, it will be something that they really have input into, but it’s nothing that’s under current consideration,” said Anderson.

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By Lincoln Supporter from LP
Posted: 02/12/2012 9:35 PM

I hope Michele Smith is paying attention. I hope all of Lincoln Park and the Old Town Triangle is paying attention. Lincoln's survival is integral to our community. Lincoln Elementary is one of the biggest reasons families come and STAY in the area from North Avenue to Fullerton and West to Halsted. This affects you, whether or not you have school age children. Call our alderman. Call CPS. Call your neighborhood organizations. Give Lincoln your support. Our entire community is at stake!