Chicago school officials are considering closing an elementary school that serves a mostly poor population so that another elementary school can use the building and begin offering a high school program. The district wants to close Carpenter Elementary School and turn the building  over to Ogden Elementary School, which plans to open the Ogden International High School of Chicago. Carpenter's 350 students are mostly Latino and African-American; 97 percent come from low-income families, and a third are in special education programs.  Ogden's 600 students are 36 percent white, 30 percent black, 12 percent Hispanic and 10 percent Asian. A fourth are low-income. Some parents at Carpenter are upset that the proposal would take away their school in favor of they perceive as a "rich kids" school.

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© 2012 Penton Media, Inc.

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