Families and teachers were left reeling Wednesday night after Acero charter school leaders voted during a board meeting to close seven of their 15 schools next year.
The schools are: Casas, Cisneros, Fuentes, Paz, Santiago and Tamayo elementary schools and Cruz K-12 schools, leaders announced at the meeting held at Acero Clemente Elementary School in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.
The closures are scheduled to begin in June 2025 and will affect approximately 2,000 students.
The school network operates primarily in Latino neighborhoods. The seven schools are located in Brighton Park, West Ridge, Pilsen, Avondale, South Lawndale, Westtown and Gage Park.
About a third of Acero's 6,318 students were enrolled in the seven schools last year.
Luvia Estrada, parent of an Acero student, after an Acero Charter Schools board meeting, at Acero Clemente Elementary School, 2050 N. Natchez Ave. On Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
Luvia Estrada, who has two children enrolled at Cisneros in Brighton Park, was moved to tears as she explained the impact of the lockdown on her children, who are in second and seventh grade.
“It is very difficult for me because I have been teaching in that school for 10 years,” Estrada said in Spanish after the meeting. “It's hard for me to explain to my kids that they're closing the school, and that they won't have the teachers they had.”
Estrada, like many of the more than 60 attendees, including dozens of Acero teachers represented by the Chicago Teachers Union, was bracing for bad news. CTU members said they had heard rumblings about possible shutdowns, but they did not expect it would reach nearly half the network.
Shouts of “cowards!” This can be heard when Richard Rodriguez, CEO of Acero, revealed the names of the schools that will be closed. Many attendees were left in tears.
Acero community members scream disapproval at an Acero Charter School Board meeting, at Acero Clemente Elementary School, 2050 N. Natchez Ave. On Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
Rodriguez tried to explain what he called the “realistic proposal.” He cited a decline in enrollment of 1,400 students over eight years, increases in staffing and facility maintenance costs, and Chicago's dwindling population as major factors in the decision.
Rodriguez also said the network needs to be “nimble” in the face of the change toward charter schools compared to 10 years ago.
“Our city looks very different now. Chicago's population has declined dramatically, and attitudes toward charter schools have become increasingly polarized and political,” he said. “Recent changes at the CPS Board of Education, with more on the horizon, require us to be nimble. The current landscape requires us to think and act differently…”
Advocates for publicly funded and privately run charters fear their schools will face greater scrutiny after the Chicago Board of Education announced in December its intention to prioritize traditional neighborhood schools.
The board renewed the contracts of dozens of charter airlines in January, but most for shorter terms than they sought.
Acero leaders said they weighed multiple factors in deciding which schools to close, including the cost of rent or mortgage, and the stability of staff and attendance.
The remaining schools will enroll affected students, and city council meetings will be held every month starting in October to update community members, the network said. It also said it would begin discussions with CTU about affected employees.
Richard L. Rodriguez, CEO of Acero Charter Schools, at an Acero Charter Schools board meeting, at Acero Clemente Elementary, 2050 N. Natchez Ave. On Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
But Carolyn Rutherford, chair of Acero's CTU member council and art teacher at Acero Marquez in Brighton Park, said it's too little, too late. Acero did not communicate the plan with families or teachers before meeting to vote on it, she said.
“They did not have any conversations with any of the members or any of the union leaders,” she said. “They did not inform us, come together to negotiate with us about any of this. “They are making this decision unilaterally.”
Rutherford also protested the closures, pointing to a CPS decision last month that imposed a moratorium on school closures through the 2026-27 school year. But this decision only applies to schools run by the district.
After the meeting, Rutherford gathered with other CTU teachers and pledged to fight for their students.
Carolyn Rutherford addresses Acero community members after the Acero Charter Schools board meeting, at Acero Clemente Elementary School, 2050 N. Natchez Ave. On Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
“We will go to school tomorrow and we will be there for our students,” she told them.
Meanwhile, Estrada says she has to start looking for a new school for her children.
Cisneros accused board members of thinking only about themselves and not their families when making their decision.
“They are wrong because they do not consider the pain of the parents or the pain of our children,” she said.
Contributors: Nader Issa, Sarah Karp
