Three Companies Apply to Run Charter School on Naval Station Great Lakes

Three companies have submitted applications to open a K-8 charter school on Naval Station Great Lakes that would enroll up to 500 students, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and North Chicago Community Unit School District 187 announced.

The three companies are Concept Schools, a not-for-profit Charter Management Organization that manages 27 charter schools in seven Midwestern states; LEARN Charter School Network, a not-for-profit network of college prep elementary schools with five campuses in Chicago; and SABIS Educational Systems Inc., a for-profit education management organization that operates a network of schools in seven states and 15 countries, according to the announcement. A final decision on the applications is expected by March 2012.

A building on the military base that housed corpsmen training programs until July 2011 has been targeted for the charter school.