Summary of research studies on Renaissance 2010 (Chicago)
Research findings: A growing body of research indicates Chicago’s Renaissance 2010 plan to close, phase out, consolidate, or turn around schools and turn them over to private charter school operators or selective enrollment schools does not benefit low-income students of color.
· Students have been transferred from one low-scoring school to another; overall the moves did not significantly affect student achievement.
· R2010 leads to exclusion of vulnerable students, increased school violence, disruption of teaching and learning, disruption and demoralization of receiving schools, destabilization of students and communities, and displacement of teachers.
· CPS charter high schools are not performing significantly better than CPS neighborhood high schools, while enrolling less special-need, ELL, and low-income students.
· Students and communities disproportionately affected are low-income African American and Latino.
· School closings are concentrated in gentrified and gentrifying areas.
· Case studies of schools proposed to close for under-enrollment indicate that CPS uses flawed enrollment data.
· There has been little genuine participation of parents, teachers, students, or communities in decisions affecting them.
· R2010 schools’ governing bodies are not open to public scrutiny.
http://pureparents.org/data/files/summary%20of%20ren2010%20studies%202.pdf
The fact that school closings are concentrated in gentrifying areas tells me it's about moving poorer/darker people out.
