Acero Schools proposes closing 7 charter schools; about 2,000 students to be impacted

CHICAGO — In a move met with anger and shock by families and educators, the Acero Schools Board of Directors voted to close nearly half the schools in its charter network at the end of the school year.

Richard Rodriguez, CEO and President of Acero Schools, called the proposal “sobering” as the plan was revealed at a board meeting Wednesday night (click HERE to view the proposal). Visible emotions filled the room as Rodriguez shared the names of impacted schools, with some shouting “cowards,” while others began to sob.

“Just heartbreak. We don’t know what we’re going to do. We don’t know where these families will go,” Tiffany Negron, CTU vice president of elementary schools, said. “We have teachers who have been with the network for over 20 years who found out (Wednesday) night that they are losing their position at the end of this year.”

Negron is a special education case manager at Fuentes and Clemente Elementary schools. Fuentes is one of the schools selected to close under the Acero Schools proposal. Negron said the news left educators feeling blindsided.

“We thought it might be up to two campuses closing in the next few years. Hearing seven was shocking,” she said.

According to the board, its plan states seven of the network’s 15 schools will not reopen for the 2025-26 school year, including Casas, Cisneros, Fuentes, Paz, Santiago and Tamayo Elementary schools, along with Cruz K-12 School.

The move would affect just under 2,000 students and 270 staff members. That number accounts for about one-third of the network’s more than 6,000 students it says are enrolled.

“There were a lot of other ways this could have gone done. Just issuing a vote (Wednesday) night that was clearly pre-planned to blindside everyone was not it,” Negron said. “Not one single child was thought about when that decision was made.

“Not one.”

As the board announced plans to work with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to advance the proposal, CTU members — including its president, Stacy Davis Gates — are calling on the Acero Schools network for answers and on CPS to answer for what CTU calls a lack of oversight.

The union released a statement in response to Acero’s proposal. It reads, in part:

“The CTU unequivocally condemns this move. If Acero is allowed to move forward with this reckless plan, it will destabilize countless school communities. After committing to communicate with the union and partner to avoid school closings during negotiations over the summer, the charter management company has turned its back on its students and the entire educational community.”

Click HERE to read the full statement from CTU.

The board blamed several factors in leading to the decision, including declining enrollment throughout Chicago that it says has affected Acero’s enrollment, with 1,700 students allegedly exiting the charter network since 2017.

The board also said the costs related to staff expenses have gone up, including salaries, payroll taxes, healthcare benefits and other compensation packages, and that this raises “significant concerns” about the ability to operate in the long run.

The proposal indicates the schools planned for closure are all leased properties, with some buildings being old and outdated. The network said maintaining the properties is no longer possible, and buying to rebuild is also not an option.

Parents of Fuentes students said they’re feeling anxious and are upset over the decision.

“That’s not right. They have so much money for other things, but not to keep the school open,” Christina Rodriguez said. “It’s not right to us, it’s not right for our children.”

Another parent, Juan Bailon, whose 8-year-old daughter goes to Fuentes, said he learned of the news when he saw WGN crews outside his daughter’s school on Thursday. He had no idea.

“We as parents, we should have found out before, that the plan was to close school down,” Bailon said. “We take two buses to get here. It’s totally worth it.”

Bailon said he’s disappointed and concerned for the students who may have to start over.

“It’s disappointing, it’s overwhelming,” he said. “I mean, where am I going to send her? It’s a new start for her, friends, family, faculty, staff.”

According to the network, it will work with families to transition about 310 impacted scholars to other Acero schools, and it will work with CPS to find the right charter and neighborhood school placement for other impacted students.

Educators with Acero Schools and CTU members held a protest against the school closing plan at the meeting Wednesday night.

Acero Schools, meanwhile, cited Illinois laws for non-profit organizations and K-12 schools and said Chicago charter schools get their approval and renewal from the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education. But with no changes, the network would be at risk for failing to maintain standards.

“Unlike CPS, Acero Schools cannot operate with a budget deficit. We must legally balance our budget,” the network wrote in a statement to families.

The proposal comes on the heels of a promise by CPS CEO Pedro Martinez that there will be no school closures in the district. Last month, a resolution placed a moratorium on closures, consolidations and phase-outs for district-run schools until July 1, 2026. Doing so would prohibit any school closures until the 21-member elected School Board is in place come January 2027.

Because Acero Schools are not run by the district, but instead get their approval and renewal from the CPS Board of Education, the moratorium on closures would not apply.

The CTU, Acero educators and families, meanwhile, said their fight is far from over.

“We have until June with these kids, and we’re going to do our very best every single day to support them,” Negron said.

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