Lincoln Square Schools Prepare for Additional Students from Shuttered Trumbull

Local schools that are taking in students from shuttered ones are gearing up for the new influx of children. 

Both McPherson and Chappell Elementary Schools in Lincoln Square will receive students from Trumbull in the fall. About 390 students were displaced when Chicago Public Schools officials announced the would close the building along with 48 others.

The district designated the two Lincoln Square schools, along with Uptown's McCutcheon elementary as "welcoming schools" for the students. 

At McPherson, improvements include installing air conditioning in the older part of the building, roof repairs and painting in the halls. All repairs will be finished by the start of school Aug. 26, McPherson's Local School Council member Bob Farster said. 

The city of Chicago issued a building permit for the school June 25 for $1.4 million in renovations in alterations. Likewise, work at Chappell will total $697,260 and includes an updated library. 

While improvements are underway, administrators are trying to estimate how many students each school will receive.

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Chappell Principal Joe Peila is expecting about 100 more children through his doors. 

“We want to assure our current families that we are striving to make sure that this increase in school enrollment will not negatively impact your child’s education," he wrote in a letter to parents. "Next year, we will continue to have manageable class sizes, providing the individual attention to each child's social, emotional and academic needs that you have come to expect.”

At McPherson, Farster predicts about 50 to 75 additional students. With an exemplary special education program, most of Trumbull's 30 percent special ed population are predicted to transfer to McPherson.

Principal Carmen Mendoza will also be adding two primary level autism classes, one intermediate autism class and one upper grade autism class. And, she said, the school currently has enough teachers, staff and resources. 

"We're going to have the same space issues here 5 years from now that other schools are having," Farster said. "But as of right now, we don't have those."

The additional students will bring the school's enrollment up to about 800 for the fall. 

Registration is open until the day school starts, and parents can call the school's office at (773) 534-2625 to make an appointment. For the new and returning students, the school is hosting a picnic Aug. 24 from 12 to 3 p.m.