Faculty and parents at William H. Prescott Elementary are asking Chicago Public Schools to think twice before they go ahead with plans to shutter the school due to low enrollment.

Prescott, 1632 W. Wrightwood, is currently serving 197 students in a 600-student capacity building, qualifying the school for closure under the district’s “250 students or less” criteria. Enrollment at the school has declined at an annual average rate of 5 percent since 2001.

The school is also scoring below par in the district’s performance policy, a composite survey of state standardized test scores within the city’s public schools.

The pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school is one of four schools slated for closure under the most recent round of closings and consolidations of district schools.

Principal Erin Roche said that CPS needs to rethink its call to close the school.

“I understand the need to close schools for under-utilization from a fiscal perspective,” he said. “But a small school like Prescott is on the verge of great things, in terms of student achievements and enrollment.”

Roche, who has been at the school less than two years, said that Prescott is on an upward trajectory, noting improved reading levels among students in the upper grades and an influx of over 250 applications for the coming semester.

Supporters of the school noted its partnerships with DePaul University, the Erickson Institute and Family Focus, which provides in- and after-school programming as well as teacher coaching. The school also recently received a grant from the Alliant Credit Union Foundation to pay for school supplies.

Should the proposal to close Prescott be passed, students leaving the school would be guaranteed a spot at a higher-performing school, said CPS Chief Administrative Officer Robert Runcie.

“While we appreciate that change can be challenging, CPS is prepared to provide support to ensure the successful transition of all Prescott students,” he said.

Of the 168 non-graduating students at Prescott, 42 live within the school’s attendance boundaries. Runcie said that 40 of these students would be assigned to Agassiz Elementary, 2851 N. Seminary, and two would go to Burley Elementary, 1630 W. Barry, both of which are within a mile of Prescott. The remaining 126 students would return to a school in their neighborhood.

Despite the promise of enrollment at Agassiz and Burley, where students rank higher in state testing, the parent and faculty community at Prescott is pushing to keep the school open.

Jennifer Lister is head of the Prescott Parents, a volunteer group tasked with fundraising and marketing the school. She is also the parent of one kindergarten student at Prescott, and another she hopes to enroll at the school next year.

She said that Roche’s presence and renewed parent interest has given the school a shot in the arm.

“We’ve got partnerships, outstanding teachers and community support,” she said. “There’s no viable reason to shut the school down.”

She warned that Agassiz and Burley may not be able to absorb the stream of students redirected from Prescott, noting that overcrowding was a top concern among parents.

Lister was among hundreds of parents, residents and faculty who recently packed the school’s cafeteria for a hearing held by CPS on the proposed closing.

At the hearing, held last Saturday, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) went to bat for Prescott.

“It isn’t just about the numbers,” he said. “If it were, half the schools in city would have been shut down over the last few years.”

Waguespack pointed out nearby Hamilton Elementary, 1650 W. Cornelia, where faculty dodged a phase-out last year on account of what the district saw as promising test scores.

“What’s makes our kids less deserving?” the alderman asked.

Matthew Nielsen, a parent who lives two blocks for the school, said he hopes to eventually send his two-year old son to Prescott. He told CPS officials that closing the school would be done at the risk of driving prospective students away from the district.

“Give it a little more time, and the school’s going to be packed,” he said. “If you don’t, then you’re going to give young families like mine one more reason to look to the suburbs.”

The other schools slated for closure are: George W. Curtis Elementary School, 32 E. 115th St.; Simon Guggenheim Elementary School, 7141 S. Morgan; and Bartholome De Las Casas Occupational High School, 8401 S. Saginaw.

The Board of Education is scheduled to make a decision on the proposed school closings at their Feb. 24 meeting.