Moses Montefiore Academy

Moses Montefiore Academy or Moses Montefiore School is a special school of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). It is located in the Near West Side of Chicago. It serves students with severe emotional disorders.[1] As of April 2015, most Montefiore students had been expelled from other schools due to violent behavior.[2] As of 2015 it serves grades 7-9.[3]

History

In 1988, a gunman entered the school property and shot a 40-year old female police officer, Irma Ruiz, dead. The assailant also injured a 38-year old male police officer. The injured male police officer shot the gunman dead.[4]

In 2010, the school had 62 students in grades 5-8. In the years until 2010 there had been a decline in enrollment and Micah Maidenberg of the Chicago Journal wrote that "Staff and administrators at Montefiore had feared closure".[1] In 2010 CPS announced plans to add a high school division to Montefiore with a plan to make it a 6-12 school; at the time the district administration was recommending Bartholome De Las Casas Occupational School, which had 82 students, for closure. Ron Huberman, the CEO of CPS, stated that the Montefiore facility is superior to the De Las Casas facility for special education.[1]

Vice made a short documentary series on the school, titled, "Last Chance High."

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Maidenburg, Micah. "High school at Montefiore." Chicago Journal. January 20, 2010. Retrieved on April 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ VICE Staff. "Last Chance High - Part 1." Vice. April 5, 2014. Retrieved on April 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Home." Moses Montefiore Academy. Retrieved on April 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Police Officer Loved Children And Died While Protecting Them." Chicago Tribune. September 23, 1988. Retrieved on April 19, 2014. "Irma Ruiz, 40, the mother of four children and a police officer who liked her job working with kids, was killed Thursday morning when a rampaging gunman barged into the Moses Montefiore School, 1300 S. Ashland Ave.,[...]"

External links

Coordinates: 41°51′53″N 87°40′00″W / 41.8647°N 87.6667°W