Daywatch: Another charter school plans to close

Good morning, Chicago.

While students scanned their IDs and chatted with staff as they entered the hallways of EPIC Academy, in a nearby classroom, the charter school’s board of directors sat stoically, faces drawn.

Minutes later, the board voted unanimously to close EPIC at the end of the academic year, citing low enrollment as a driver of their troubled finances.

While the vote was unanimous, it was not made lightly, board of directors Chair Andrew Annacone said at the meeting Wednesday morning.

EPIC is the latest in a series of charter schools overseen by Chicago Public Schools to announce plans to close, including multiple schools in the Acero Charter Network and a middle school in the Aspira Inc. of Illinois Network at the end of the 2024-25 school year. CPS oversees more than 100 charter schools, including EPIC, which receives public funding from the district based on enrollment alongside outside funding such as grants. Though charters are authorized by the district, they operate as separate and private nonprofit organizations that manage their own day-to-day operations with individual boards.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Kate Perez.

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