ENGLEWOOD — When Englewood’s new open-enrollment high school opens next year, it will be the neighborhood’s first high school focusing on early college science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Chicago Public Schools announced the curriculum focus on Tuesday, along with the selection of Conrad Timbers-Ausar as school principal.
The estimated $85 million school, which does not yet have a name, is scheduled to open in fall 2019 with a freshman-only class. The school intends to add a new class of students every year until grades 9 through 12 are serviced beginning in school year 2022-23.
The school will be built where the now-shuttered Paul Robeson High School currently stands at 6835 S. Normal Blvd. Three other high schools, TEAM Englewood Community Academy High School, Harper High School and John Hope Academy are being “phased out” over the next three years due to low enrollment and poor student performance, the district previously announced.
The district said it would partner with Kennedy-King College and an unnamed “industry leader” to develop a curriculum for students interested in pursuing careers in science and technology.
The incoming three-story school will include a school-based medical center where both students and community members will have access, an outdoor sports facility and multipurpose educational spaces.
“The new high school in Englewood will provide our students with the 21st century STEM education they deserve,” Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) said in a statement.
The steering committee that worked to drum up community support and get student and parent feedback for the new high school also selected Timbers-Ausar as principal, CPS said in a news release.
Timbers-Ausar served as principal for Urban Prep Bronzeville for two years. Prior to that, he was the founding principal of Ombudsman West and Ombudsman South schools, option schools that worked with students who had previously dropped out or needed extra support.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to serve as the founding instructional leader of Englewood’s new STEM high school,” Timbers-Ausar said in a statement. “It is an opportunity to really impact lives and prepare our students for success in college and careers of the future.”
CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement the district is “thrilled” to bring Englewood students a school that will “rival the city’s best.”
“CPS is committed to providing high quality academic programs to every neighborhood, and we can’t wait to welcome Englewood families to their brand new, 21st Century high school next fall,” Jackson said.