Judge Halts Plans to Convert National Teachers Academy into South Loop High School

Yesterday we posted about the impending ruling from a judge and here is the update (via SunTimes):

Hours after a Cook County judge on Monday granted a preliminary order to block Chicago Public Schools’ contentious conversion of the National Teachers Academy to a high school, schools officials backed down, saying they won’t appeal the ruling.

That means NTA will remain an elementary school and will not be converted into a new high school serving the rapidly growing South Loop — a school that was supposed to open this fall. NTA will keep its regional gifted center, and high school boundaries that changed to make room for the new high school that would also serve Chinatown and Bridgeport will change back to what they had been in the past.

Congrats to all the families, teachers and students who fought hard for this decision.

What remains up in the air is what the solution is for a South Loop neighborhood high school:

It’s not clear how CPS now will make sure those neighborhoods have “a high quality neighborhood high school,” which Passman said remained a “top priority,” or what will happen with the millions that had been allocated for the conversion championed by Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) and outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

We'll see.