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Chicago academy receives $250,000 to help low-income kids

Grant from national nonprofit targets families who want to escape Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Teachers Union gridlock

CONTACT
Kristen McQueary, Res Publica Group
312-718-5666

CHICAGO, IL— Altus Academy, located in East Garfield Park/North Lawndale, today announced it received a $250,000 grant from the Center for Education Reform to enroll additional students to its tuition-free school. 

The money is part of the STOP Awards Chicago Rescue Grant. The STOP Award was created to honor education providers who have continued to serve underprivileged families during COVID. It was created by education advocate Janine Yass in partnership with the Center for Education Reform. The center has been rolling out grants all week to schools and academies that have demonstrated a commitment to educating students in-person as much as possible during the COVID crisis.

Altus Academy has been open throughout the nearly two-year pandemic, abiding all health department guidelines. While CPS students have lost out on hundreds of hours of instruction due to systemic strife in the system, students and staff at Altus have been at school providing in-person instruction. 

The school relies on donors and volunteers to assist with just about everything, from books and tuition to painting and plumbing. 

“We don’t want economics to be a barrier or even a stress to our families to come to Altus. And when you’re looking at the barriers these kids face, low-income kids from these very challenging neighborhoods, that’s a major barrier,” said John Heybach, president and founder of the academy. “’Never worry about money,’ I tell them. ‘Just focus on grades and growing your character and let us worry about the money.’”

Altus is a private, independent, nonprofit, elementary school that provides a high-quality college preparatory education tuition-free. It aims to serve students from historical minority groups, low-income households, first-generation college graduate households, and those in some of the most challenging neighborhoods and communities in the Chicago area.

It currently serves 55 students in grades 1-8. The student body makeup is 63% Hispanic and 37% African American. The help from CER will allow it to serve up to 25 more children. Many children at Altus carry with them the struggles of living in poverty and with Chicago violence. They receive intense on-one-one attention from teachers and staff.

“Many of them come from schools where they never felt safe,” Heybach said. “They were afraid to go to lunch, afraid to go the bathroom, afraid to go to recess because of bullying issues or violence issues. Some of our kids, it takes them about six to eight weeks to realize that what we say is really true, that this is a safe, comfortable, caring environment.”

To learn more about Altus Academy, please visit: AltusAcademy.org.

To learn more about the STOP Awards and to apply, please visit stopaward.com.