History

In 2006, PECS proudly opened its doors on the former Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School campus. PECS’ purpose was to engage its students in a rigorous curriculum, providing them with the academic skills necessary to thrive in high performing high schools, leading to their enrollment into college, and ultimately becoming successful, productive members of society. At its inception PECS served 200 students in grades Kindergarten through five, with only 23 faculty and staff.

During the first year the PECS faculty quickly went to work on understanding the student’s academic performance. They administered the Terra Nova, a nationally normed standardized assessment, as a baseline assessment. The test revealed that the school’s average score was in the 9th percentile, compared to the national average of 35th percentile. The PECS faculty and staff worked diligently under the advisement of educational leaders to develop a school improvement plan, which at its heart focused on four values: pride, expectations, community, and success. With these values driving the work, PECS would support their students and equip them with the knowledge and tools to achieve academic success. By the end of the first year, the new Terra Nova results revealed that the school’s average had increased to the 44th percentile, surpassing the national average!

Mrs. Angela Johnson-Williams became the Principal of Providence Englewood Charter School in the winter of 2007. In 2006, at the beginning of the school’s inaugural year, Mrs. Johnson-Williams served PECS as a math consultant. By the completion of her first year as Principal the school had grown to 288 students, and Mrs. Johnson-Williams began the process of building a holistic model of service by expanding the curriculum to include Physical Education, and eventually “specials” classes such as Character Education, Art, Music, Spanish and French. She expanded PECS’ administrative team to include an Academic Dean and Dean of Students. In addition, she hired a full-time school-based Social Worker to support PECS’ families and students. She also added the PECS Safe Haven program which includes a menu of afterschool activities, competitive athletic programming, and summer enrichment programming.PECS continues to grow and thrive under her leadership both inside and outside of the classroom.

In the 2009-2010 academic year, PECS celebrated its first graduates. 17 graduates were honored at the 2010 commencement ceremony. 65% of the class of 2010 matriculated to high quality college prep secondary schools such as Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago High School for Agricultural Science, and Providence-St. Mel– schools with proven records of successfully preparing students for college. Each year since 2016, 100% of PECS’s graduates have been accepted to high quality college prep secondary schools.

In the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years, the track team won back-to-back city championships and went on to win second place in the 2015-2016 school year. In the 2015-2016 year the boy’s basketball team won first place in both the St. Columbanus and St. Sabina Middle School Varsity Leagues. In the 2017-2018 year the girl’s volleyball team placed 2nd in the St. Columbanus League.

In 2015 PECS established the PECS Promise program to support and engage our 234 alumni as they move towards college completion, provide advising and mentoring to our middle school students as they apply to high school programs, and deepen the overall college going culture within the school. Since the establishment of the PECS Promise program, 95% of our 8th grade graduates have matriculated to some of Chicago’s most competitive college preparatory programs, including Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, De La Salle Institute, Noble UIC College Prep, Whitney Young, Providence-St. Mel, Marist High School, and Walter Payton College Prep.

In 2018 PECS alumni included 5 boarding school students attending Lake Forest Academy, Wayland Academy, and our first international student at Upper Canada College in Toronto. PECS alums have also been selected to participate in the prestigious Daniel Murphy, Link Unlimited, HighSight, and HFS scholarship programs.In 2018 PECS’s alumni included 5 boarding school students attending Lake Forest Academy, Wayland Academy, and our first international student at Upper Canada College in Toronto. PECS’s alums have also been selected to participate in the prestigious Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund program (8), LINK Unlimited (3), HighSight (2), and HFS Scholar Program (4).

In 2019 PECS was selected 1 of 6 schools from a pool of 15 applicants to participate in the Accelerate Institute, a program designed to create high impact school leaders who accelerate student achievement. Through this program PECS concentrated its efforts in data analysis and increased student performance and culture. AI helped to concentrate our efforts in Change Management, High-Performing Team, Constructive Environment, Aspiration Environment, Data Driven Culture and Black Belt Teaching by having hands-on coaching throughout the school year. As a result of implementing strategies in the above mentioned areas, preliminary results show a substantial improvement in student growth in Reading and Math.

In 2020, PECS began the year implementing a strong instructional coaching program and good systems in place for collecting data. By the end of S1 we made gains in Reading and Math Attainment, our primary metric (75% of students earning 75% mastery) and decreasing the number of out-of-school suspensions.

During Q3 we celebrated Spirit Week, Martin Luther King Jr. and our very first Sneaker Ball! And by March we experienced school closures across the nation due to COVID-19. We quickly moved into our rendition of Remote Learning which consisted of daily instruction via Zoom, Google Classroom, Scootpad and Zearn. We finished the year in Remote Learning with 78% of student attendance/engagement.

As much as we all love our respective devices (phones, tablets and computers), none of us could have ever imagined how much we'd be using them during the 2020-2021 school year to allow us to connect in ways we previously took for granted! We are so thankful for a responsive, flexible, cooperative PECS community--students, teachers, parents, faculty and staff--who willingly collaborated to navigate through the unprecedented changes of successfully functioning remotely, in a way that appeared to be practically seamless. With attendance for both students and staff continuously rising above 90%, plus 78% of parents attending the remote Parent-Teacher Conferences, the PECS family showed how much we believe in education, our curriculum and each other! The grace everyone displayed, even though behind the scenes there was tons of grit and hard work, was unmatched--and this is what makes us KNIGHTS!

In 2022, after a year and a half of remote learning due to COVID-19, PECS returned back to in-person learning. Even in the midst of transitioning back to our new norm, we did not miss a beat, as we were able to maintain an 86.3% student attendance average (just shy of our 90% goal). Additionally, 95.8% of our students met discipline expectations, our faculty/staff had a 94.3% attendance average, 91% of classrooms met the Reading and Math school created metric, Reading and Math assessments average was at 80%, and 58% of students grew 100%+ on End of Year NWEA. Also, PECS launched its pre-kindergarten program in November of 2021. For the first time we welcomed 19 of our newest Knights! Excited to see them matriculate through our program.

In 2023-24, we learned that we earned a Commendable rating as an ISBE Designation for the 2022-23 school year! Our student attendance remained consistent with the previous school year, maintaining an 89% rate. Remarkably, 12 of our Knights achieved Perfect Attendance, with no absences or tardies. Our faculty and staff also demonstrated strong commitment with an attendance average of 94%.

We introduced a new curriculum in iReady Reading and Math, which not only aligned with educational standards but also incorporated three diagnostic assessments throughout the year. This initiative resulted in substantial growth, with 31% of our students meeting their stretch growth targets in both ELA and Math and 58% achieving their typical growth targets. These results bring us closer to our 50% stretch growth goal.

Additionally, 95% of our students adhered to discipline expectations, with no strikeouts reported. We celebrated the return of our cherished Disney Musical performance with a delightful production of "The Aristocats," which included a Gym Show during intermission. Our Battle of the Books team competed in the City Finals against other elementary schools in Chicagoland, proudly securing the ONLY charter school to advance from Citywide battles.

The school year culminated with our traditional graduation ceremony, where we welcomed 46 new alumni. Notably, 12 (26%) students were accepted into and enrolled in CPS Selective Enrollment High Schools, a 5% increase from the previous year. Two students enrolled at Morgan Park Academy, with one earning the prestigious PECS Foundation Scholarship. This year was a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and community.

PECS exists to lay the foundation for future leaders. As we grow, we continue to challenge and prepare our students and graduates to become not only high school and college graduates, but to also become responsible citizens in the modern world. All that we do focuses on providing our students with a path to success and a better future. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

*Please note: Providence Englewood Charter School is not associated with Providence-St. Mel School.