How successful have Renaissance 2010 schools been at adding to the quality of schools in Chicago’s neighborhoods? See our interactive graphic.

Nearly seven years ago, Chicago launched a plan to create 100 new schools. On Thursday, WBEZ released a school-by-school update on how well those “Renaissance 2010” schools are performing on state tests. We compared them to neighborhood schools to ask: has the school district been successful in creating better options for families in those neighborhoods.  

In our first story, we talked about elementary schools. Today we turn to the city’s new Renaissance high schools, which are more likely than elementaries to be an improvement over current neighborhood schools. In 65 percent of comparisons we did—the Renaissance high schools performed better.

We report from two new high schools—one that has quickly become the best option in the neighborhood, one that is not beating out even low-performing nearby schools. We start there.

The promise of what a new school can be for a community is felt deeply at Little Village High School, where residents went on a hunger strike to get the school built.

WEIDEN: This is a mural—it was created by students, staff and really represents the values of our school. The mural is called HOPE.  

Chad Weiden is principal of Social Justice High School, one of four small schools inside the soaring, sunlit new building. Weiden says the neighborhood wanted a school that would get kids to college—and instill in them a commitment to come back to build up their community.

WEIDEN: They want an institution that just beams from the highway, that this is academic excellence.

Linda Sarate was one of the hunger strikers.

SARATE: What I really wanted was a school that was gonna pay attention to what was going on with the child and not let the children fall through the cracks.

Her son was in the first class of students to attend Little Village High. It still makes her proud to think of that. But he didn’t make it through the school SHE fought to create. She says he missed graduating by a credit and a half.

SARATE: And I feel like my son  fell through the cracks. Like there wasn’t enough being pushed, or challenged enough.

In WBEZ’s analysis, the four schools inside Little Village High score about the same or worse as already low- performing schools nearby.

The high schools have other positive things going—attendance rates are good, their first graduates are in college. Students are taught a deep commitment to community. But principal Weiden admits: test scores help kids get into college, and HIS need to improve.

Five miles north is Noble Street Charter School’s Pritzker campus. It’s one of 4 Noble street schools opened under Renaissance 2010 for which we have test scores. All four of beat every neighborhood high school around them. In every subject. By a lot.

Noble-Pritzker is housed in the old St. Philomena’s school. Pablo Sierra is principal there.

SIERRA: I would say that we’re like a Catholic school but only stricter. The bell rings, and they start getting demerits. And that’s part of the magic. So we’re very structured, very disciplined. The onus of the learning is on the child. And they gotta be on task and on time.

There’s a singular focus here: college, and the test scores kids need to get there.

With a few exceptions, Chicago essentially has two classes of high schools: the very best in the state—which kids test into. And the worst, which are segregated with poor and minority kids.

Noble Street is pushing students that might otherwise go to those low-performing schools—into a new middle ground.

That sort of accomplishment has people asking what comes next. What do we do with what’s been learned from Renaissance 2010?

Noble Street’s superintendent Michael Milkie says he wants to keep going.

MILKIE: Dozens of high schools. I mean we could run certainly 20, 30, 40 high schools.

Milkie envisions something provocative: having the school district contract out its high schools.

MILKIE: So right now we’re 5 percent of the high school students attend Noble campuses. We hope that will soon be 10 percent.  I foresee a day where—I hope—where a majority of the students are educated in either Noble campuses or campuses like that at the high school level.

Milkie admits that on average, between 35 and 40 percent of Noble students leave for other schools before hitting senior year. Some say that’s the reason his schools look so successful.

TOZER: The difference isn’t between charters versus publics. The difference is between how you do school.

Steve Tozer is the head of a principal development program at UIC.

TOZER: It’s not magical when high school kids succeed. They’re getting high quality instruction. What we want to say is: What’s going on in those schools and what do we as a district have to do to achieve that?

Tozer says that should be the school district’s post-Renaissance 2010 homework assignment. 

Hear more about our analysis in this conversation between reporter Linda Lutton and host Melba Lara:

lutton-lara 2way on ren10.mp3

Darnell Little contributed analysis. This story was produced with support from the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news source based at Teachers College, Columbia University. Our thanks to IRE, Investigative Reporters and Editors, for valuable assistance with data analysis and presentation.