Chicago Public League Sports Blog

CPS To Close 61 Elementary School Buildings

Trumbull Elementary School located on Foster and Ashland Avenue is just one of 61 CPS elementary school buildings slated to close- most by the end of the year. A major reason why they are closing schools is pure economics. As you can see Trumbull is a huge school. But when it is utilized only about 53% of the capacity (capacity 720; enrollment 389) and  it is located in the high real estate prices Edgewater neighborhood - it is hard to justify spending the money to keep it open. It's like renting a 6 bedroom house and not even using 3 of the bedrooms. It will be hard to justify paying the rent for that house especially in tough economic times.

In a move that will forever change the landscape of the CPS, the CPS has decided that it will close 51 elementary schools by the end of this school year. This is an astonishing 13% of all CPS elementary schools and the biggest mass closings of schools in US history.  Most of the schools are in the west and south side. The northern most school is Trumbull school located on Foster and Ashland.

This is a sad and shocking day for those involved. Let alone the history and nostalgia. I personally grew up on the same block where Trumbull School is located. I spent a great part of my childhood playing in the playground at Trumbull.

However, the CPS, like any organization is not immune to the economic realities of the times. The CPS is massively in debt and is having a hard time paying its bills. Most of CPS expenses come in the form of salaries and benefits for its employees. The CPS did not decide to give its teachers a pay cut last fall. In fact, they gave the teachers a pay raise after the teachers decided to strike. Now, we all have to pay for that - and to be fair- other poor decisions that the CPS has made.

List of schools closing

Alexander von Humboldt Elementary School

Alfred David Kohn Elementary School

Ana Roque de Duprey Elementary School

Anthony Overton Elementary School

Arna Wendell Bontemps Elementary School

Betsy Ross Elementary School

Crispus Attucks Elementary School (Phased out over two years. Closed into Beethoven in 2015.)

Elihu Yale Elementary School

Elizabeth Peabody Elementary School

Enrico Fermi Elementary School

Francis Parkman Elementary School

Francis Scott Key Elementary School

Garfield Park Preparatory Academy ES

Garrett A Morgan Elementary School

George Manierre Elementary School

Graeme Stewart Elementary School

Granville T Woods Math & Science Academy ES

Guglielmo Marconi Elementary Community Academy

Ignance Paderewski Elementary Learning Academy

Jean D Lafayette Elementary School

Jesse Owens Elementary Community Academy

John Calhoun North Elementary School

Kate S Buckingham Special Education Center

Leif Ericson Elementary Scholastic Academy

Louis Armstrong Math & Science Elementary School

Lyman Trumbull Elementary School

Mahalia Jackson Elementary School

Marcus Moziah Garvey Elementary School

Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School

Matthew A Henson Elementary School

Miriam G Canter Middle School

Nathan R Goldblatt Elementary School

Nathaniel Pope Elementary School

Near North Elementary School

Robert Emmet Elementary School

Songhai Elementary Learning Institute

West Pullman Elementary School

William H King Elementary School

The CPS is figuring it out

The CPS has always been and is a basketball conference. No other conference in the nation but the CPS can boast the following individual basketball accolades:

• The NBA's MVP  Derrick Rose (Simeon)
• The NBA's #1 draft pick Anthony Davis (Perspectives Charter)
• The #1 high school senior basketball player (class of 2012) Jabari Parker (Simeon)
• The #1 (or #2 depending on publication) high school junior basketball player Jahil Okafor (Whitney Young).

This begs the question, what about other sports. Can the CPS have some success (as far as state level prominence) in other sports. I will say this in the 2011-12 school season, the CPS did have a taste of it in some other non-basketball sports and activities.

Chess (officially labled an activity)- 4 teams finished in the top 21 at state including Whitney Young(3rd), Northside Prep(5th), Kelly (17th), and Lincoln Park (21st). I'll take the top 2 teams from the CPS over any other conference in the state. Only the Central Suburban League can rival the CPS as far as the top 2 teams. Kelly and Lincoln Park ain't bad either.

Cross Country- Jones finished 7th and Mather finished 13th in class 2A. I don't know the last time the CPS had two teams finish that high. Jones is shooting for at least a state trophy this year. Lane Tech advanced to state out of the very difficult class 3A Niles West sectional beating distance powerhouses such as Niles North and Maine South. 

Soccer-Mather may have been the high school story of the year for the entire state of Illinois by winning state in class 2A soccer. They not only won, but they completely dominated.

Track- Dunbar led by Darvell Harris and Kelvyn Park led by Brian Carter and Jamal McNeely finished in the top 10 in the state in ther respective classes. It's been a long time (maybe over 25 years, though I could be wrong) that the the CPS has had two teams finish in the top 10 at state. Lane won a state championship in the 4x800- the first CPS school to do so. Dunbar took titles in the 200, 4x200, and 4x100.

It's still premature to say that the CPS is figuring out how to win in other sports at the state level, but the results above seem to give some hope. There is hope and potential in other sports. I feel that one of these years a CPS baseball team could emerge, a CPS individual tennis player could rise in prominence, a girls softball team could go deep in the playoffs, even sports like golf and swimming are not out of the realm of possiblity.

Track, soccer, chess, and cross country did the CPS proud last year.

What will this year hold?

 

 

 

Reader Asks: What Happens to Sports in a CPS Teachers Strike?

I got this email from a reader. Afterwords is my candid response:

Neil,

I have a few questions about the strike vote and a possible sports impact:

1) If the CPS teachers go out on strike - what happens to conference play?

2) what has happened in the past?

3) Can teams still meet? practice? compete?

4) What about at the IHSA level?

5) Should cps strike during regionals and sectionals can the CPS teams compete? Can indivs compete in sports that allow that like cross country and golf?

6) Has CPS sports addressed this with the AD's?

7) Is there a plan?

I think there might people interested in finding out the answers to some of these questions!?!?!?

Thanks again for all of your support and hard work on behalf of all the CPS athletes!

I have been through the pain of a CPS high school strike when I was a student in the 1980's- the last time the CPS teachers went on a strike.

What happened back then was during the teachers strike all formal athletic activities ceased to exists immediately. This includes formal practice, meets, games, playoff games, etc. As for playoffs, the IHSA has a minimum number of games or meets that a team must participate in before they are legally allowed to participate in the state series. Each sport has a different number. In football it may be 4 games, in cross country it may be 3 meets. There are IHSA rules for each sport. I do know in the 80's, the school season started as normal and teams were able to get some games/meets in. Then, the strike happened sometime in September. At that point, all of our games and practices were cancelled. That was the worse period of my life, because it was my senior year and I really looked forward to the the precious few cross country meets. I think we got in 1 or 2 early meets, then 1-2 late meets by the time the strike ended. By the time the city meet started, it was basically a skeleton city meet because some teams decided to cancel their whole season. Of course, Lane runners still ran unofficially during the strike so we were ready. But frankly, the city meet sucked because half the teams were not there. We would have won anyways, but that is a season that has to have an asterisk to it.

All teams from all CPS schools suffered. The Lane football team had it especially hard. I think going into the season, they went into the year ranked in the area. They had this super QB named Kevin Krebs. Krebs, was like 6-5, 230lbs, had a super arm and ended up accepting a scholarship for Northwestern University where he was on the NU Rose Bowl team. At the end they had to scramble to meet the minimum number of games. They barely got the minimum number of games to make the state playoffs but lost a good game to Mt. Carmel.

I'll say this. Nobody wins- except for the pocketbooks of teachers and their unions. The students lose, good teachers lose, tax payers lose, and especially student athletes lose who are entering their senior years.

I hope that helps answers some of your questions.

CPS Wants to Open More Selective Enrollment High Schools

When CPS Chief Jean Claude Brizard visited Jones College Prep, some students asked him if the CPS is going to open up more selective enrollment high schools, here is what he said. He said that neighborhood schools are still the "huge focus." However, “The city cannot only have selectives, but at the same time, when you look at 24,000, 25,000, 30,000 people applying for 5,000 seats across the city, clearly there is a need and there is a want and there is a demand for that kind of school,” Brizard said.

I'm not exactly sure how opening more Selective Enrollment High Schools will affect the city. I do know that out of the 9 varsity city championships last spring, 7 of them were won by selective enrollment high schools.

 

The Glory Days Are Now

Photo finish of the 100 meter dash won by Jamal McNeeley(jr) of Kelvyn Park with a time of 10.90. All 6 runners in this picture ran sub 11.18.

Whenever, I talk to CPS old timers they always talk about the glory days of CPS track. They then tell me stories of how good track in the CPS was in the 1980's or 1970's- and how it is better than today's CPS (I am sometimes guilty of this since I ran track in the 80's.)

I will say this, every year CPS track is getting better. It is now at the point where, I can say we are pretty darn good.

I challenge any old timer CPS runner to name me a CPS track season that had better results than this year's CPS track championship in the following:

• 5 runners ran sub 9:45 in the 3200 meter.
• 6 runners ran sub 2:00 in the 800 meter.
• 6 runners ran below 11:18 in the 100 meter - including 3 below 11:00.
• 6 runners ran sub 4:40 in the 1600 meter.

List of Public League Boys Basketball Champions

PUBLIC LEAGUE BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS
2012—Simeon 53, Curie 49

2011—Brooks 67, Young 54

2010—Morgan Park 61, Marshall 60

2009—North Lawndale 54, Hyde Park 51, OT

2008—Marshall 55, Farragut 51

2007—Simeon 89, Washington 57

2006—Simeon 55, Washington 40

2005—Westinghouse 67, Simeon 52

2004—Westinghouse 60, Simeon 48

2003—Crane 80, Julian 68

2002—Westinghouse 62, Farragut 58

2001—Morgan Park 67, Crane 60

2000—Westinghouse 82, Young 60

1999—King 59, Westinghouse 39

1998—Young 67, King 46

1997—Young 72, Manley 50

1996—Westinghouse 55, Farragut 46

1995—Farragut 71, Carver 62

1994—Westinghouse 59, King 58

1993—King 77, Westinghouse 52

1992—Westinghouse 76, King 68

1991—Marshall 58, Westinghouse 38

1990—King 83, Westinghouse 48

1989—King 67, Simeon 57

1988—Simeon 66, King 59

1987—King 93, Crane 66

1986—King 49, Simeon 46

1985—Simeon 65, Carver 54

1984—Simeon 44, Robeson 42

1983—Marshall 67, Collins 62, 2 OT

1982—Marshall 58, Crane 48

1981—Westinghouse 79, Marshall 66

1980—Manley 67, Collins 55

1979—Manley 88, Westinghouse 83, 2 OT

1978—Westinghouse 71, Manley 68

1977—Phillips 77, Westinghouse 65

1976—Morgan Park 75, Vocational 60

1975—Phillips 65, Morgan Park 60

1974—Morgan Park 84, Phillips 73

1973—Hirsch 55, Parker 53

1972—Crane 75, Marshall 63

1971—Harlan 44, Tilden 38

1970—Harlan 72, DuSable 63

1969—Hirsch 72, Bowen 66

1968—Crane 75, Marshall 65

1967—Harlan 60, DuSable 56

1966—Marshall 81, Dunbar 68

1965—Marshall 69, DuSable 55

1964—Crane 63, Dunbar 58

1963—Carver 57, Harlan 51

1962—Carver 47, Marshall 39

1961—Marshall 64, DuSable 61

1960—Marshall 79, Crane 38

1959—Marshall 61, Crane 58

1958—Marshall 68, Dunbar 59

1957—Crane 66, Marshall 61

1956—Dunbar 79, Hyde Park 68

1955—Marshall 67, Crane 57

1954—DuSable 82, Lake View 65

1953—DuSable 82, Wells 74

1952—Roosevelt 63, Tilden 62

1951—Parker 64, Von Steuben 58

1950—Tilden 45, Vocational 35

1949—Tilden 54, Marshall 49

1948—Marshall 57, Von Steuben 32

1947—South Shore 58, Lane 38

1946—Tilden 59, Amundsen 51

1945—Senn 32, Von Steuben 20

1944—South Shore 51, Harper 37

1943—Kelvyn Park 28, Lindblom 26, OT

1942—Lindblom 41, Kelly 25

1941—Manley 38, Marshall 34

1940—Crane 35, Hirsch 23

1939—Lane 30, Hirsch 25

1938—Von Steuben 27, Hyde Park 24

1937—Wells 23, Farragut 21

1936—Farragut 23, Kelvyn Park 21

1935—Tilden 33, Senn 24

1934—Lane 29, Tilden 16

1933—Lake View 25, Bowen 17

1932—Crane 25, Calumet 21

1931—Crane 30, Phillips 22

1930—Phillips 20, Morgan Park 19

1929—Crane 23, Lindblom 17

1928—Crane 20, Englewood 19

1927—Englewood 20, Lane 17

1926—Lane 31, Englewood 17

1925—Hyde Park 17, Lake View 11

1924—Lane 18, Phillips 4

1923—Tilden 30, Hyde Park 11

1922—Austin 27, Lane 9

1921—Crane 21, Hyde Park 8

1920—Lane 15, Hyde Park 15, tie

1919—Schurz 17, Englewood 12

1918—Englewood 21, McKinley 8

1917—Phillips 22, Lane 11

1916—Hyde Park 24, Marshall 20

1915—Lane 23, Calumet 7

1914—Parker 18, Lane 16

1913—Hyde Park 11, Englewood 9

1912—Hyde Park 19, Lyons 18

1911—Lane 34, Hyde Park 29

1910—Englewood 30, Calumet 18

1909—Lake View 40, Calumet 17

1908—Lake 25, Austin 21

1907—Lake View 24, Austin 21

1906—Oak Park 21, Austin 14

1905—Austin 62, Lake 22

1904—North Division 26, Austin 19

1903—North Division 41, Medill 14

1902—Medill 16, Lake 15

1901—Hyde Park 23, North Division 22, OT

CPS Boys Sports State of the Union

On top of the mountain
baketball
chess

On the up
cross country
track
soccer

CPS niche sport
16-inch softball

Country club sports that some schools try
swimming
golf
tennis
water polo
lacrosse

Somehow can't get over the hump
bowling
volleyball
baseball
football

Some progress in a few schools
wrestling
bass fishing

The CPS is building a house of cards

The already cash strapped CPS is going to get in even more mess, unless changes are made soon.

The CPS gets a lot of it's money from the state of Illinois. About 30-40% of the total CPS funding comes from state aid. Much of that state aid goes directly to the classroom. That is, it is used for things like current teacher salaries, lights, heating, sports facilities, janitors, desks, tables, etc. In other words much of the state aid goes to pay for direct things so students can learn and for athletes to participate in sports - TODAY!

However, some of the state aid goes to pay for something called "CPS teacher retirement expenditures". In the past, the system has worked relatively fine. I say relatively because despite the economy, debt, deficits, and all- the CPS has somehow managed to keep schools running and field some sports teams. However, there is some major trouble brewing up. The CPS teacher retirement expenditure portion of the budget is skyrocketing. Yet, the amount of money the CPS gets from the state is not. This year, the CPS expects to get a $40 million increase of cash from the state, yet the CPS retirement expenditure (pensions for short) will increase by $480 million.

What this means is that the cost in the CPS are rising so much more than the money it takes to operate. This sounds boring to many. But believe me the consequences of this are potentially calatamitic.

The CPS is already cash strapped and the forecast looks like it is going to get a whole lot worse. Whoever, created this system called the CPS is building a future built under a very shaky financial foundation. I feel they are building a house of cards that will eventually collapse. 

For more on this topic see:

Pensions vs Schools: Chicago Public Schools

 

5 New Charter High Schools Planned for the CPS

The CPS announced plans for 5 new charter high schools in the City of Chicago. According to the CPS:

• Noble Charter School Network would replicate its charter campuses, opening two new 9-12 campuses in 2012 and two new 9-12 campuses in 2013. This would add 3,600 high quality seats for students across the four campuses. Noble currently operates ten campuses throughout the city with students in the majority of those campuses outperforming the district.

• Catalyst Schools proposes to open a new K-12 charter school located in the Chicago Lawn community at 6727 S. California, the former Maria High School Building. Catalyst Schools provide high-quality, college preparatory education in high need areas with a focus on civic responsibility and college success.

This is part of an ungoing development for the CPS in growing their charter school program. Already, Charter schools serves 44,000 students or about 11% of the total CPS student population. These new schools will add even more students to the charter school umbrella. This also means that for every student that goes into a charter school there will be one less student in a regular CPS high school.

If this trend continues the implications will be felt city wide. For one it will make enrollment size average per school smaller. Charter schools are desgined to be small. Plus it takes enrollment away from neighborhood schools.

Secondly, more neighborhood schools may start disappearing. Westinghouse (the old one) and Englewood (the old one) are gone and now replaced by Westinghouse College Prep and TEAM Englewood. Dyett and Crane will be phased out in 4 years.

From a sports perspective, you will still have the big schools in the biggest classes. Lane and Curie will always be in the largest classes. What you will see is more CPS schools in the lower classes. Already in boys basketball, I would estimate there are about 30-40% more CPS schools in class 3A than there are in 4A the biggest class.

Also, with more charter schools, I think you will see some more changes in conferences. In football, there is already talk of a brand new separate charter school only football conference. If it can happen in football it could happen in other sports.

 

CPS Plans to Close Dyett and Crane

Crane - and it's rich basketball tradition- is set to close.(Crane Basketball photo)

Crane students and parents were visibly enraged after school. After all, earlier that they they were given official written notification that their school was going to be closed. The CPS anounnced that Crane on the west side and Dyett on the south side are going to be closed. All current students will be allowed to finish their high school until graduation (including freshman). But starting next fall students that would have gone to Crane will instead be rerouted to Wells high school and freshman that would have gone to Dyett will go to Phillips.

According to CPS chief Jean Claude-Brizard:

“We know how difficult this is for some folks,” Brizard said. “But we all have to agree that we have to do what’s right for kids and this is the best solution.”

Brizard cites chronic poor academic performance as one of the main contributing factors to decide to close the schools.

From a sports perspective this is devastating for both schools. Dyett, was just awarded a sports facilities makeover by ESPN and things were looking up despite the turbulent times. Crane, is a school with a rich basketball history. They are always a contender in the tough Red-West conference. Crane has won 11 Public League basketball titles, with the most recent one coming in 2003 (That's right they finished ahead of Simeon and Whitney Young that year). Crane also has two current NBA players - Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies and Will Bynum of the Detroit Pistons.

Detailed CPS Report