WBEZ Tours 'Half-Empty' Schools

Touring 'Half-Empty' CPS Schools

Chicago Public School leaders say 137 of their schools are sitting half-empty—with way too few students. When they talk about closing schools to make the district more efficient, these are the schools they’re talking about. WBEZ went to see what it looks and feels like inside some of the district’s “underutilized” elementary schools.

On a sunny, cold Thursday morning, Principal Keshia Warner showed me around Drake Elementary School in Bronzeville.

At first impression, the three-story, 1960s-era building felt almost empty, with bare white walls and un-scuffed floors.

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