This letter is written in support of the Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC). Specifically this letter serves as our collective request that Chicago Public Schools, its Board of Directors and any other concerned parties, grant AGC the use of the Hearst Annex Building (located at 4640 South Lamon Avenue) as its satellite campus beginning in July of 2011. In less than three years of operation, the Academy for Global Citizenship has become an integral member of our southwest side community with a notable track record of academic success. In addition to being a safe and welcoming community for all students and their families, AGC’s students have exemplified strong academic performance. With the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program as our curricular foundation, 84% of AGC’s students are meeting or exceeding literacy standards. In addition, 20% of AGC’s Third Grade students are reading a full year above their grade level. Comparatively, the average number of students meeting or exceeding literacy standards in five surrounding neighborhood schools is 63%. AGC is slated to grow from 200 to 250 students in 2011-2012 and will continue to enroll 50 incoming students annually until Eighth Grade is reached in 2015. With 50 additional students slated to enter our doors next fall as AGC expands to 4th Grade, additional space is needed. Our current 12,000 square foot facility is located at 4647 West 47th Street, five blocks to the east of Hearst Elementary School, and is at its full capacity of 200 students with the following realities: • Every classroom is in use. There is no room for our 50 incoming students in 2011-2012. • Our facility has very small classrooms; one holds 23 Third Graders in 456 square feet. • Five teachers work in an unheated storage/maintenance room. • Three administrators work in a utility closet. • Our ELL Teacher does not have a room to provide services to the 33% of our students who qualify. • Our Special Education Teacher works with 26 students in a 150 square foot space, formerly a computer server room. A second Special Education Teacher is now required; there is not adequate physical space to serve students. • AGC faces a desperate situation with equally drastic consequences (such as termination of enrollment) should space at Hearst not be made available to accommodate our growth. Hearst has two school buildings with a total capacity of approximately 1400 students. Currently, 390 students are enrolled at Hearst’s main building, while the other building (“the annex”) encompassing 13 classrooms is currently empty. Therefore, as single occupants of the vacant annex, no Chicago Public School students would require displacement. AGC has been in communication with CPS for six months regarding the utilization of the Hearst annex as a satellite campus for the next 3-4 years as AGC’s permanent facility is designed, funded and constructed; we are urgently awaiting a response. We (AGC families, staff and community members) believe that AGC is an extraordinary environment for our neighborhood children to receive a high quality and enriching education. In addition to an ardent focus on academic excellence, AGC’s mission focused on collaboration has been exemplified in a comprehensive array of community and family engagement initiatives, including an after school program with parent-child classes, ongoing parent education workshops, community nutrition programming and an active Parent Teacher Association. AGC is a not only a school where our neighborhood sends its children for a safe, rigorous and global education; it’s a cornerstone in our community. AGC has had a tremendously positive impact on our community and we are committed to its continued growth within our underserved community. We, as a community, are proud that AGC is a Chicago Public School and proud to be their partners in our community. My signature attached affirms my support for the Academy for Global Citizenship and is a request that you allow AGC to use the Hearst Annex building for their satellite campus so that our children will continue to have a strong educational opportunity within our community. Sincerely, Parents, Families, Staff & Community Members The Academy for Global Citizenship