By: Alma Campos
San Miguel School Chicago organization announced on March 1 it will close its Gary Comer Campus by the end of this school year in July. According to a news release from the organization, the school will be closed due lack of funding needed to support the school. Its sister school, San Miguel’s Back of the Yards Campus will remain open.
San Miguel Schools Chicago organization is part of a nationwide network, the Nativity Miguel Schools of 64 middle and elementary schools. Unlike most private schools, these are not tuition-driven so they rely on foundations, corporations, organizations, and individuals. Only five percent is obtained from tuition from each school. Currently, the co-ed, parochial private school serves 106 students in grades 5-8. The San Miguel Schools Chicago Board of Directors approved the closing early March.
Mike Anderer-McClelland, San Miguel School Chicago president and executive director said, “In the past two years, our leadership worked diligently to prevent the loss of this community asset, [but] a projected $750,000 is needed to keep the school open…”this was a painful and difficult decision. Without San Miguel Chicago, the families we serve could not afford the kind of education their children receive, he said.
San Miguel is working with students’ families and the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools to find the best educational alternatives for 35 students affected by the closure. San Miguel students come from inner-city Chicago neighborhoods; have small class sizes, an extended school day and year, a low student to teacher ratio, educational and counseling services for families, and a graduate support program for students.
According to the news release, “by the end of this school year, 151 students will have graduated from the Comer Campus since its opening in 2002. To date, 85 percent of Comer Campus graduates have completed high school or are still enrolled in high school, well above Chicago Public Schools’ and even the national averages of 56 percent and 78 percent respectively.”
