RYH Research Reveals Reality behind "Demand" for seats at Noble Schools | 10.20.15
Once again, Raise Your Hand is shedding light on the reality behind the rhetoric. This time, RYH has uncovered the real numbers behind Noble’s “demand” for seats at it’s schools. Please see info below. Feel free to contact RYH with any questions. Amy Smolensky, 312-485-0053
Five of Noble’s campuses can’t fill seats, yet still accepting students this school year — Where’s the waitlist?
In light of the recent news that Noble has received over $8M from the Feds to expand their schools to “meet demand” in Chicago, Raise Your Hand decided to investigate this narrative on their own.
On Monday, parents from RYH called Noble campuses and found that five of the schools are still accepting students for this school year. Other schools said to call back in January when students would be leaving Noble. Here’s the info on schools that have openings now:
Baker College Prep -2710 E. 89th street – open seats now for 9th and 10th grades confirmed
Called 10/19 at 12:40pm . Gentleman on phone told us to come to school with transcripts and two forms of ID. Noble will send verification paperwork to former school.
Butler College Prep- 821 E. 103rd Street - 9th grade open seats confirmed for the second week of November
Called 10/19 at 3:20pm. Ms. Harris told us they are full right now but to call back in the second week of November because they are expecting students to transfer out that week.
Noble Academy- 1443 N. Ogden- open seats now for 9th and 10th grades confirmed
Called on 10/19 at 1pm. Woman on phone told us they are accepting students right now in 9th and 10th grade.
Hansberry – 8748 S. Aberdeen St- enrolling 9th and 10th graders now per website
Couldn’t reach anyone by phone but website says they still have openings.
Gary Comer- 7131 S. Chicago- open seats now for 9th graders confirmed
Called 10/19 at 3:10pm. Ms. Hassell said they are accepting 9th graders. Two forms of ID are required for enrollment and bring child’s 8th grade transcript.
Johnson College – 6350 S. Stewart- open seats now for 9th and 10th grade confirmed
Called 10/19 at 1pm. Still enrolling students. Didn’t know what to do with a child who is currently home-schooled, but was very friendly and said he’d find out.
The $8M in federal start-up grant money won’t extend to operational dollars for new Noble schools when they open, and Noble receives dollars from the same pot as existing schools. How does the broke CPS plan to pay for these schools?
Why is the charter community rallying for more schools when there are plenty of openings in existing charter schools across Chicago, including Noble, and CPS’ enrollment has been declining for years, down roughly 14,000 students just since 2012? RYH found last year that there are over 12,000 open seats in charters across Chicago. LINK How and why are taxpayers expected to fund eight new schools when there are plenty of open seats in Noble schools right now?
For media inquiries contact:
Amy Smolensky