The Chicago City Council recently approved EPIC Academy College Prep’s plans for a $22 million addition and renovation, considered a “community-impact institution,” at 8231 S. South Shore Drive, the site of the former St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School in Chicago’s South End neighborhood.
EPIC Academy is currently located at 8255 S. Houston Ave. at a school in the now closed Archdiocese of Chicago that was built in 1902. While not uncommon, the building’s limitations aren’t just structural, said LeeAndra Khan, EPIC’s executive director.
“It’s a nice building and it’s well maintained, but what you have to do is think back to when you were in high school, and look around and see what’s missing,” Khan said Thursday. “We don’t have a gymnasium. We had to do a lot of coordination with the (Chicago) Park District in order to give our students physical education and offer sports teams. We do not have a library or media library. We don’t have space in our buildings to bring large groups of people together. Our cafeteria is in the basement, next to the boiler room.
The Houston Avenue building has only one science lab, which is shared among all grades ninth through twelfth. The new 56,000 square foot addition to the St. Michael building is expected to have four labs.
“We work very hard on the schedule to make sure every student has the opportunity to have science lab time,” Khan said.
The Houston Avenue building lacks resources for even rudimentary STEM education, Khan said, noting that a planned 7,500-square-foot greenhouse and green roof will provide living labs for plant biology and urban agriculture studies that can address food justice issues common to EPIC student neighborhoods.
Khan, who has spent more than 10 years in various roles in Chicago public schools, including principal of Bronzeville Scholastic Institute, principal of King’s College Prep and math teacher at Whitney Young High School, said she’s seen the difference an environment makes to a child’s learning experience. Every child deserves a beautiful and exciting facility in which to learn, despite the population being socio-economically underserved, she said.
Sixty percent of EPIC students come from the 60617 ZIP code in South Chicago. According to 2021-22 Illinois Report Card, 93.6% of EPIC students are low income, while 14.3% are homeless.
School officials tout their graduation rate of 85% and college acceptance rate of almost 90%.
“It may sound corny, but it starts with our name,” said board member Lou Sandoval. “You teach kids to be epic in life, and I think the great thing about that is that they know it starts with education. Education is transformational for everyone. It was for me, and it will be for the children and young people who go to school and that’s where they will shape their future.
Sandoval grew up at 79th Street and South Shore Drive, just two blocks from the site of the new facility. He said his neighborhood is made up of proud working-class families; and among those families, many resented the 1992 closure of US Steel, the South Side plant that produced steel for the John Hancock Building, the Willis Tower, and countless other Chicago skyscrapers after it was established in 1882.
“When 18,000 jobs go away, that really impacts an area and I’m saying arguably the south side has struggled to bounce back since then,” Sandoval said. “But there’s a lot of resilience in the neighborhood, and it shows like the kids going to school there. So, in addition to being an educational institution, its most redeeming quality for the community is going to be as an anchor – a place that brings people together. And all communities need it.
Khan hopes the new facility will spur a transformation around the school by becoming a community hub that will help develop a workforce left behind decades ago.
“There was this promise (by the city) of a redevelopment and that promise has yet to be fulfilled,” she said. “I’ve actually spoken to homeowners who have purchased homes in this community because of this promise.”
Aldus. Gregory Mitchell, 7th, said the new development is key to helping energize a new generation of young people as well as reinvigorate an existing group of residents.
“The design of the building integrates the community and provides an even greater connection between the school and the community,” Mitchell said Thursday. “This new development can serve as a generator of new partnerships and a pathway to greater accessibility. Historically, our community has been underfunded and underserved. Our children and our community deserve it to increase positive student outcomes. »
After discussions with stakeholders who expressed what they would like to see in the neighborhood, a community garden and a community café are also in the works as part of the redevelopment plans.
“There was a time in our life when schools were the center of the community, and in other cities people select neighborhoods based on school quality,” Khan said. “South Chicago is bordered by a beautiful lake. We want to be an asset. One of the reasons the gym will be on the top floor is that we want to give our kids a 360 (degree) view of their city. We want them to wonder and wander while they’re here.
While EPIC is known among Chicago charters as having a strong post-graduation prep program, a career and college center within the new facility will make counseling services even more efficient, Khan said.
“When you walk into a beautiful space, you feel better. It’s easier to learn in a clean house, right?” says Khan. “It’s easier to be productive in an office that has order. Our students could become more innovative and successful in a building that reflects their desire.
Under the school’s charter agreement, EPIC may have a student body of just 600, but with the new building, the school hopes to increase its student body to 800.
A campaign is underway to raise $7 million of the $22 million needed to purchase and renovate the former St. Michael’s Building as well as several adjacent properties, including an early childhood center. The new school will be 67,000 square feet in size and is expected to open for the 2025-2026 school year.
