by BRIAN NADIG A public hearing on the proposed Weber Spur Trail in the Mayfair-Sauganash area will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the Student read story
Taft enrollment increases
[adrotate group=”2″]
by BRIAN NADIG
Taft High School is estimated to have 117 more students this fall than its current total of about 3,700, but that projection could go higher as families deal with the economy’s downturn.
The possibility of school buildings being closed in the fall due to the pandemic could lead to some private school parents rethinking their child’s plans, according to Taft principal Mark Grishaber.
"Why are you going to pay … $10,000 to go online for learning, when you could go to Taft for free," Grishaber said at the May 14 special meeting of the Taft High School Local School Council.
At the meeting the council approved the school’s $23 million budget for next year, which is about $1 million higher than its 2019-20 budget. Taft has about 300 staff members, and most of the budget goes toward salaries.
"I feel comfortable with the new budget. … We are healthy (and) we are not losing any teachers," Grishaber said. "They gave us a little more (due to the) 117 more students."
The school is in the process of hiring new staff members for the fall, and the "resumes are rock stars" because Taft can offer them job security given its increasing enrollment, Grishaber said. "We are the number one growth school in CPS and maybe in Illinois," he said.
The council also approved the school’s Continuous Improvement Work Plan, which outlines a 2-year path to improved student achievement. It calls for civic engagement opportunities in all courses so that students will be better positioned to bring about change in the "wider community and beyond."
Assistant principal Jenny Greenblatt said that the council would receive regular updates on the plan’s progress.
Also at the meeting, a teacher inquired about the possibility of providing each Taft student with a Chromebook. When e-learning began in March, Taft loaned Chromebooks to students who did not have a computer at home.
Grishaber said that it would cost about $500,000 to purchase Chromebooks for all students and that student privacy and a multitude of other issues would need to be addressed. He said that Taft might want to wait and see how it works out for another school in the city that plans to give a tablet to each student this fall.
No Pop-Ups
Weekly Digital Edition
Read every story. Skip every pop-up.
Get the full weekly edition delivered to your inbox — no interruptions, no waiting. Just local news the way it was meant to be read.
Only $19.50/year — less than 38¢ a week
Subscribe Now
This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.
The Latest From Our Community
by BRIAN NADIG A beacon crosswalk near Tonty Avenue is in the works to help pedestrians safely cross Caldwell Avenue from the Edgebrook and Wildwood neighborhoods to the Bunker Hill read story
by BRIAN NADIG The next “resources on the rails” community health fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, read story
by BRIAN NADIG Marian (Kosel) Anderson, an avid dancer and swimmer with a passion for helping children, grew up in Jefferson Park and graduated from Beaubien Elementary School, Taft High read story
by BRIAN NADIG A 34-year-old man was fatally shot inside the AbuHashish Smoke Shop, 5612 W. Irving Park Road, at about 9:35 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in the Portage Park read story
A man has been charged with attempted kidnapping/enticement in connection with a Sept. 10 incident in which a 15-year-old girl reported that a driver several times asked her to get read story
Browse by Category
No Pop-Ups
Weekly Digital Edition
Read every story.
Skip every pop-up.
No pop-up ads — ever. Just stories, the way they were meant to be read
Full weekly edition delivered to your inbox every week — no waiting, no missing issues
Support local journalism and help keep our community connected
Only $19.50/year
That's less than 38¢ a week
Purchase Digital Subscription
Paypal
$19.50
/year
You can submit your payment via Paypal with a Credit Card. You DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT.. Just click the “Paypal Subscribe” button below to iniate your secure payment! You will be directed to a Secure Paypal page in which you can pay with a Paypal account if you have one, or you can select "Pay with Debit or Credit Cardt" option below and process your payment via credit card.
Venmo
$19.50
/year
You can submit payment of $19.50 for a 1 year subscription to Nadig Newspapers' Venmo account using this link. Please include the email address in the comment/note section that you would like the digital subscription sent to.