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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

Rescue grant of $250,000 released to help Chicago Public Schools students escape the system

Up to 250 CPS families offered seats and support at Distinctive Schools campuses

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

CHICAGO, IL — The Center for Education Reform (CER) today announced the recipient of the first STOP Award Rescue Grant in Chicago, which will help up to 250 Chicago Public Schools children escape the unrelenting battles between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union and enroll in a school with less educational disruption.

Distinctive Schools will receive a grant of $250,000 to support the inclusion of up to 250 CPS students at five of its campuses. The campuses where students will be welcomed with a sturdy support system in place are Art in Motion in South Shore, CICS Bucktown, CICS Irving Park, CICS Prairie and CICS West Belden.

Distinctive Schools is an educational practice leader committed to social justice and the elevation of access and achievement in historically marginalized communities. It supports each child in becoming an engaged and curious learner, a confident self-advocate, and a creative problem-solver by setting high expectations and nurturing a positive culture that honors diversity, collaboration, and optimism.

While charter schools are public schools under the umbrella of CPS, they have greater flexibility in schedules and instruction. During the ups and downs of multiple Chicago Teachers Union strikes, threatened walkouts, school closings and COVID interruptions, most charter schools in Chicago have been able to serve students’ needs and offer more meaningful hours of classroom instruction compared to their traditional school CPS counterparts.

“We know Distinctive is thrilled to receive this extra boost,” Center for Education Reform founder and CEO Jeanne Allen said. “The money will help them add more students from their waiting lists and provide a full array of before- and after-school help, wrap-around services, materials, staff and support during their transition to a new school environment.”

Allen said the most recent CPS school disruption, due to its ongoing battle with CTU, prompted many phone calls and messages from frustrated parents interested in transferring their kids out of CPS.

“These are parents who don’t necessarily have the resources to send their children to private schools but who are crying out for help,” Allen said. “With this additional help, non-traditional schools can enroll students immediately and begin to help them catch up from lost learning due to failures in Chicago’s chronically troubled system.”

The STOP Award Rescue Grants for Chicago school children will continue in the coming weeks. Donors are stepping up from around the country to help underprivileged students get the education they deserve.

“Across the country, but especially in Chicago, children are being cheated by the adults in the system,” Allen said. “Enough is enough. They need to be rescued now. Parents are begging for help, and we’re here to provide it.”

To learn more about The Stop Award, please visit: https://stopaward.com/

To learn more about the Center for Education Reform, please visit: https://staging.edreform.com/

$5 MILLION IN EMERGENCY GRANTS TO SAVE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN ANNOUNCED

No child deserves to have their educational opportunities denied.

• Learning pods that work with proven national or local providers, 
• Catholic and community private schools educating low-income families able to expand their enrollment,
• Charter schools willing to partner with local afterschool programs to provide full-time education to students normally served only a few hours a week,
• Parent organizations able to set up learning centers, 
• Other Innovators.