[Corrections appended]
The University’s Urban Education Initiative announced the opening of a new charter middle school campus in the Bronzeville neighborhood.[see correction below] The Carter G. Woodson campus of the University of Chicago Charter School commemorates its namesake, the founder of Black History Month and one of the first black graduates of the University of Chicago.[see correction below] The school is slated to open in the fall of this year and will serve approximately 250 students in grades six through eight.
The school will accommodate students from the growing North Kenwood/Oakland campus, as well as students from the nearby Donoghue Elementary, a charter school operated by the University of Chicago’s Center for Urban School Improvement (USI).
“The [Carter G. Woodson] school will build on the strong foundation of the North Kenwood/Oakland Middle School’s experience these past few years, where the strong academic program is coupled with a deep understanding of the developmental needs of young teenagers,” said Marv Hoffman, founding director of the North Kenwood/Oakland campus and an associate director of the University’s Urban Teacher Education Program. [see correction below]
USI executive director Timothy Knowles said Carter G. Woodson furthers the process of improving Chicago’s urban schools.
“We expect all University of Chicago Charter School students to attend four-year colleges,” he said. “This new Carter G. Woodson Middle School will be instrumental in achieving that goal.”
USI was established in 1988 and currently operates three charter schools on Chicago’s South Side. [see correction below] The schools prepare disadvantaged students for college while strengthening relationships between the University and the surrounding communities.
The charter schools have enabled students to excel academically throughout their ten-year history. In 2004, students in each grade from North Kenwood/Oakland outscored Chicago Public School students in reading, math, and writing sections of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. [see correction below]
Correction:
The January 18, 2008 news article “U of C opens new charter middle school” incorrectly identified Marv Hoffman as the director of the North Kenwood Oakland Campus of the University of Chicago Charter School. Hoffman was the founding director. Stacy Beardsley and Jared Washington are the current directors. The article also mistakingly referred to the Bronzeville neighborhood as southwest of Hyde Park, and inaccurately identified the formal name of the school. Finally, The Center for Urban School Improvement was not established by the Urban Education Initiative, and the charter schools have existed for ten, not six, years.