Building utilization and student performance were predictors of Chicago Public Schools closures, but so was the race of students in each school, according to a new article published in the journal Urban Affairs Reviews. Led by Rachel Weber, professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the researchers examined school closure decisions in Chicago from 2003 to 2013 under former Mayor Richard M. Daley and current Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Poor academic performance was cited by the Daley administration as the main reason for closures and “turnarounds,” which replace the majority of teachers and administrators from a school. Facility underutilization was the leading factor cited for closures under Emanuel. An analysis of the potential predictors of school closings validates the justifications stated by the two administrations, but schools with larger shares of black students that were located near both the Central Business District and charter schools also had a higher probability of closure.

Breaking the data into two separate waves (2003-2010 and 2011-2013), the researchers used statistical methods to estimate the probability that schools that were open as of 2003 and 2011 were subsequently closed or turned around as a function of physical, student, geographic, political and neighborhood demographic factors. Of the 470 schools in the study’s sample, 114, or 24 percent, could be considered closures and turnarounds occurring between 2003 and 2013. According to the researchers, Latino-serving schools were generally not closed, likely due to several factors, including those academic facilities were better utilized or Latino communities were targeted less by school reformers and charter school operators. Co-authors on the study are Stephanie Farmer of Roosevelt University and UIC alumna Mary Donoghue, who works in affordable housing development. For the full report, https://today.uic.edu/study-investigates-factors-behind-chicago-school-closure-decisions.