Chicago Explores Boarding Schools

This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!

Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 3/24/2008 2:05:00 PM

Chicago kids who are homeless or come from low-income or troubled families may have a new option when it comes to their education: public boarding schools.

Still in its early stages, the plan is to offer middle and high school students a worry-free “learning and residential” environment, says Malon Edwards, a spokesman for Chicago Public Schools. 

"We want our students to be safe 24 hours a day, seven days a week," says Arne Duncan, the chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. "Some of our students leave school and go home to situations that are not healthy for them. It's difficult for our children to learn when they are worried or concerned about going home."

Although Chicago isn’t the first city to pilot such a program—the SEED School in Washington, DC, is the nation’s oldest and most successful urban boarding school—it is a bold initiative considering the high price tag. Questions about the school locations and who would qualify are still up in the air, Edwards says, and since the district is strapped for cash it's also unclear where the money would come from once the school board gives the green light.

Initiated by Duncan, the program could see its first residential school open in fall 2009, and school officials say they could launch as many as six such schools in the following years, including one that would operate all year round, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Duncan began to pursue the idea of residential schools last year, when he hired Josh Edelman, who spent four years as principal of the SEED School.