Chicago is taking another step toward Mayor Richard Daley’s goal of opening 100 new schools by 2010. The district is calling on community groups, teachers, and school operators to submit proposals for its next round of schools.

Seventy-three new schools have been created under the city’s Renaissance 2010 initiative, and 20 more are slated to open this fall.

Schools chief Ron Huberman:

HUBERMAN: Providing choice in neighborhoods is a key imperative for us. We believe that every kid and every family deserves to have a choice of schools in neighborhoods across the city.

But the Renaissance initiative has been criticized by parents and teachers who associate it with school closings. The district has shuttered dozens of schools for poor performance or under-enrollment at the same time it’s opened new ones. Many of the closed buildings have been taken over by Renaissance 2010 schools.

A recent study found that, at least initially, the Renaissance schools tend to perform about the same as their neighborhood counterparts. Advocates for the new schools say improvement accelerates after that.