Admissions
Admissions Director Michael Veitch spoke about the changes in the “demographics” of the Lab Schools’ student population over the last seven years. Veitch said that enrollment has gone up during this time and attrition has gone down. Enrollment currently stands at 1745 students or 99.7% capacity. The schools used to lose about 150 students per year due to parents’ job changes or other factors, but now only lose about 115 per year. The percentage of students coming from the University is now at 55% and climbing. Diversity has also gone up significantly. The schools are now 59% caucasian and 41% students of color, an increase of 20% in the last seven years. The number of multiracial students has also increased. 
Geographically about half of the students come from the Hyde Park or South Shore neighborhoods with a wider geographical range as the kids get older. The fastest growing areas for enrollment are Bridgeport, South Loop, Bronzeville, and North Kenwood.
Admissions are categorized into University Faculty, “Lab People” (i.e. employees and teachers of the Lab Schools, siblings, Lab alumni, etc…), UC Staff, Other Priority (development, diversity, community, recommendations or relatives) and No Priority. University faculty receive highest priority and there are many grades where there is only room for children of University faculty.
High school admissions is “a more level playing field” in terms of admissions, according to Veitch. That is where students who have no University affiliation have the greatest chance of being admitted. Veitch said that the financial aid budget has also doubled in the last seven years. “That has certainly brought some terrific students here that might have gone to Walter Payton, Northside, or Whitney Young (high schools).”
In light of the increased demand for admissions from University faculty and demand for admissions from the outside, Veitch noted the need for a larger school.
Emergency Preparedness
Christopher Jones and Paul Gunty spoke about emergency preparedness at Lab. The Laboratory Schools’ crisis plan was developed in 2001 and is reviewed on an annual basis. Currently the school holds drills for various emergencies using a new emergency broadcast system that works in every corner of the Lab Schools other than the 
Woodlawn building, which has its own procedures in case of an emergency. Students are well-prepared for emergencies. Teachers go over procedures with students in their classrooms.
School administrators also coordinate with the Univerisity of Chicago. “Very few independent schools are able to rely upon the resources and services of a university like the University of Chicago,” said Jones. School administrators work very closely with the University Police who are very familiar with the Lab Schoos’ buildings. The University’s Health & Safety office has also been engaged in the school’s crisis plan.
Jones stressed the importance of communication in the event of an emergency. The schools can use the call center or the schools’ website and they are exploring the use of the cAlert system which utilizes home phones, cell phones and text alerts to communicate with students at the University of Chicago. The administration is working with the University and is looking into making the system available to Lab parents and students as well.
Depending on the type of emergency, Gunty said, teachers go to the classroom door to listen to instructions given over the emergency broadcast system, then act according to whichever type of drill is being signaled. In case of evacuation (as in a fire drill), safety coordinators are located at the doors of the school to determine whether the children should be allowed back into the building. Each teacher knows where to take their group in an emergency. The emergency broadcast system is also zoned so that different parts of the school can be turned off and on depending on where communication is needed. Many teachers also have radios that they can use to communicate with the office or administrators.
Director David Magill said that he did not feel comfortable about the state of emergency communications at the Lab Schools when he arrived five years ago because he could not get an announcement out quickly. Now he feels far better about emergency communications. “The key, however,” he said, “is not to use it. It is not a public address system. It is an emergency broadcast system. “
Director’s Report
Director David Magill addressed the need for expansion of the Lab Schools and the need to renovate the aging school buildings. Magill asked, “How do we create the conditions for learning that are going to optimize our children’s chances?…How do I create an environment where teachers will want to come here? Because what makes a school great are the teachers I put in front of your children.”
Judd Hall is being slowly incorporated into the Lab Schools and should belong entirely to the Lab Schools sometime in 2009 or 2010. According to one estimate Magill received, it will cost about $37 million to renovate Judd Hall and convert it
into classroom space. Blaine and Belfield Halls are also in need of extensive renovations. Currently the rooms that are in the least favorable condition are the rooms for the arts. None of the rooms were initially designed for the arts in terms of ventilation, storage, water supply or acoustics. The tiny, boxy theater can’t hold more than 100 people.
As Magill wrote in a letter he sent out in April, the plan for newly expanded Lab Schools adds an additional section of grades N3-5, and two additional sections of grades 6-8. The high school could expand by up to 25 students per grade. Demographic studies have been done that show the school would have no problem filling the classes.
The schools would be comprised of five divisions rather than four: An early childhood center N3-K, Primary School 1-2, Lower School 3-5, Middle School 6-8, and High School 9-12. Magill believes that in creating a community that really cares about its kids, every child should be known by every adult in their division. The combined enrollment will be around 2000 when the plan is fully implemented.
The project may end up being among the highest expenditures in the history of the University of Chicago. A gift of $10 million from the family of Chicago business leader Earl Shapiro is a good beginning for the fundraising effort that will be required. The University will also contribute to the project. In June, when the University trustees are expected to approve the project, an architect will be selected. At the earliest, construction would begin next summer and continue for about five years. Magill is committed to making sure that current students are not disrupted during the construction.
Magill then showed some drawings of what the school could look like in the future with expansion and renovation. He described the drawings, from Skidmore Owings and Merrill, as “the dreams of an artist.” Actual plans have not been drawn at this point, nor has an architectural firm been decided upon. The drawings included a new theater space, larger libraries, a glass atrium, a cafeteria/large gathering space, and an art gallery. Magill wants to keep the gothic nature of the buildings and interior woodwork and also add “some level or greenness.”
One parent expressed concern about rising tuition costs. Magill responded saying that the project will not be financed by tuition hikes, but rather with funds raised through a capital campaign. He added that rising tuition costs are due to a number of variables including the cost of hiring quality teachers.
Posted on June 9th, 2008 by Anne Ryan
Filed under: Safety, PA Meeting Report | No Comments »
featured a guest speaker. Those speakers included Robert Zimmer, President of the University of Chicago and a Lab parent, Janet Rowley, a distinguished medical geneticist, a Lab alumna, Lab parent, and Lab grandparent, and Catie Bell, a Lab English teacher, and Joe Kallo, the Lab Webmaster. Catie and Joe gave a presentation on John Dewey and his leadership at Lab in its early days. The best-attended meeting was one devoted to behavioral issues involving middle school students, planned by Cate Plys and Christena Nippert-Eng, both Lab parents.
Board Member-Elects will take over their positions on July 1, 2008. Arlene Mays-Johnson will lead as Parents’ Association President with Joan Simmons as Secretary and Nia Verdirame as Treasurer. Ken Housinger will be responsible for the PA website in the position of Communications Coordinator. The rest of the PA Board is as follows:
acknowledges the incredible High School Theater Program, and celebrates our ethnic diversity. This year’s Rites of May can only be called a HUGE SUCCESS — from the incredible performance of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream to the fun activities to the delicious cuisine to the wonderful International Booths to the rocking Entertainment put on primarily by Lab students; and of course the games and inflatables on Saturday; the festival was enjoyed by all.
