CPS To Recommend Closing 2 Charter Schools, Including Chicago Virtual Charter School
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two charter schools could soon see their doors closing for good – including one at which CBS 2 has been investigating questionable spending.
Parents and students first learned last Monday about the plans to close the Chicago Virtual Charter School.
We began investigating the unique school 10 months ago. The Chicago Public Schools had put the charter school on academic probation and gave the school an opportunity to right the ship.
But the ship started sinking more.
Staff members left in droves after they said administrators forced academic changes on them too quickly – including a curriculum shift that left students without their textbooks for weeks.
Then there were the peculiar spending decisions. Chief executive officer Dr. Cheryl Pruitt received a $26,000 pay bump to $176,000 – even though the taxpayer-funded school was on financial probation.
Pruitt was placed on administrative leave after our story.
Meanwhile, several parents said sAngela Richardson-Bryant, CVCS' director of strategy, has been MIA.
We discovered the school was on the hook when Richardson-Bryant flew to and from work from her home in Atlanta.
The Chicago Public Schools now says it will recommend the virtual school be shut down because of poor performance.
CPS also wants to close Frazier Preparatory Academy in the Lawndale neighborhood for failing to meet academic standards.
If the school board approves the closings, CPS says it will help students and families transition to new schools.
