Students at two ASPIRA charter high schools in Chicago are being relocated mid-year after ongoing financial problems at the school operator. Nearly 700 students from ASPIRA Business and Finance and ASPIRA Early College campuses will be moved to nearby district-run high schools, according to an announcement from Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials last week.
The move comes after months of scrutiny regarding ASPIRA’s financial management. While ASPIRA administrators stated they had sufficient funds to keep both schools open through the end of the academic year, CPS officials said the organization did not provide enough evidence to support this claim or show it could secure outside funding. CPS had already advanced $2.5 million to help keep the schools operating, but ASPIRA’s CEO has argued that the district is underfunding its schools.
Many students have expressed concern about the disruption, especially graduating seniors who worry about losing college credits earned through advanced classes. The closures are part of a larger pattern affecting several charter networks in Chicago.
Last year, the Chicago Board of Education approved new oversight measures for charter operators following Acero Charter School Network’s plan to close seven out of its 14 campuses—a decision impacting 2,000 students and 500 employees. Five of those campuses were later kept open after a board vote.
Other recent changes include the closure of EPIC Academy due to financial issues and CPS’s decision to fully absorb ChiArts, an arts-focused high school in West Town. The ChiArts board decided not to renew its contract with CPS last October because of similar financial challenges.
Urban Prep Charter Academy also faced instability when CPS revoked its charter and planned a takeover; however, Urban Prep was allowed last year to continue operations through at least 2026-27.
These closures have disproportionately affected Black and Latine student populations. One Acero parent commented in 2024: “This isn’t the normal academic failure story, but the repetitive cycle of the occurrence in Black and Brown communities. This will never happen in a school filled with white or wealthy children. Why isn’t the education of our children treated with the same urgency?”
Dr. Diane Castro, financial secretary for the Chicago Teachers Union, criticized how these decisions impact families: “This also continues the story of playing with the lives of black and brown students and families as though stability is a luxury that these families do not deserve.”
ChiArts, which opened in 2009 as Chicago’s first public arts high school using a conservatory model with three hours daily dedicated to arts education, will see curriculum changes reducing conservatory time while allowing after-school arts participation. Academic costs will be covered by CPS; however, additional funding for arts programs must come from private donors. Teaching artists will now need to work alongside licensed teachers for graduation requirements.
