catalyst-chicago.org

Chicago Public Schools will expand its community schools effort over the next year with an infusion of $7.5 million from CPS and between $700,000 and $800,000 from Chase Bank.

Funding for the schools became a question mark this year, when three-year grants from the Campaign for Community Schools ran out. The Campaign primarily raised funds from private sources to seed the community schools, which also receive money from the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.

Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools officials say they spent a significant amount of time negotiating over charter schools and Renaissance 2010 during talks in August.

Yet only one provision—the formation of a new committee to look into new models for performance schools—directly addresses the controversial program.

Behind the scenes, however, the union's opposition to charters appears to be changing.

In a new, state-of-the-art community center near 69th and Sangamon in Englewood, slots for early childhood programs are going begging.

By mid-August, only four of 34 slots in the half-day Head Start were spoken for, and only six of 20 slots in the full-day program. The center has applied for two Preschool for All classes, and needs to fill those as well.

"We are shocked that we are having trouble filling our slots," says Leon Denton, who oversees the child care programs and is waging a door-to-door campaign in the African-American community to find eligible children.