Combatants in the great charter school debate went toe-to-toe a couple of weeks ago in a bout that should have been broadcast live on TV.
Not that there’s any doubt about what the board is going to decide, regardless of the feedback it gets.
But the creation of the advisory council was overseen by New Schools for Chicago—a nonprofit consortium featuring some of the city’s wealthiest charter school backers. And the facilitator of the council itself was Juan Jose Gonzalez, the Chicago director of Stand for Children, another consortium of wealthy charter school backers.
Part of me thinks that the real goal is to replicate what’s happened on the west and south sides, where newly created charters drew enough students from the schools to help justify closing 50 of them.
And so on December 11 the council held a meeting at the Northwest Community Church, at 5318 W. Diversey. More than 200 people showed up—not a bad turnout on a bitterly cold Wednesday night—including local public school parents and teachers and union activists.
Intrinsic CEO Melissa Zaikos was also unflappable, though she stumbled when asked how her schools were different from those operated by the United Neighborhood Organization, which has also expanded into the northwest side, and which has been embroiled in a contracting scandal.
