Seven months after the Old Town School of Folk Music sparked enormous community opposition by announcing plans to sell its historic home in Lincoln Park, the school has launched a fundraising campaign to renovate the building to ensure its future as a home for OTS programs.

If you love 909 W. Armitage and what it means to the Old Town School and the community, we hope you’ll consider making a donation toward the renovation efforts via this GoFundMe page set up by OTS:  https://www.gofundme.com/oldtownschoolarmitage.  You may also donate directly to the School here: https://oldtownschool.org/support/909/.

The fundraising campaign is one of several important developments that point to a brighter future for the Old Town School:

• The 909 sale decision was reversed. In March, the school’s Board of Directors voted not to sell the building and, instead, decided to make improvements to 909 and work on boosting student enrollment.
• The school has new leadership. Executive director Bau Graves announced his retirement in January, and board member Jim Newcomb was appointed interim CEO through June 2020.
• The school’s teachers formed a union. Members of the Old Town Teachers Organization voted in January to affiliate with the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
• The school is taking steps to strengthen communications with the community.  More details below.

The 909 campaign

The board of directors has established a fundraising goal of at least $250,000 to make improvements to 909 W. Armitage -- including new windows, heating and air conditioning and a renovation of the lobby area.  The campaign theme is “909 Armitage Revisited” -- which, Newcomb said, “hearkens back to the classic Dylan album, a turning point in folk music, and the revisiting of the question of what we should do with the building.”

“We will need the help of everyone who cares about maintaining the school’s presence at 909,” Newcomb said. “We are hoping that all of the folks who have been involved in the effort to bring attention to 909 will make a contribution which is significant to them to support this important project.”

The GoFundMe donation page is just one part of the 909 fundraising effort, Newcomb said.  Donors to the school are also being contacted directly to support the campaign, and the GoFundMe donation target may be increased if there’s sufficient interest.  

Here's how to donate:

• Via the GoFundMe page:  https://www.gofundme.com/oldtownschoolarmitage.  
• Via the OTS website: https://oldtownschool.org/support/909/.

The first phase of renovations includes:

• Replace & reseal street side windows
• Update lobby furniture & decor for better community gathering & jam space
• Redesign & replace exterior signage
• Restore historic facade, including paint and repair
• Modernize first floor restrooms

Later phases will include:

• Concert hall sound, electrical and lighting equipment upgrades
• Interior painting for classrooms, hallways and public areas
• Refurbished front desk and entrance to the building
• Plumbing & HVAC modernization
• Kitchen update with new counters, sinks and appliances

Student association

The school has taken the first steps toward creating a student advisory group for the school.  (This was one of the key elements of our original change.org petition.) In an email to interested students, Newcomb said his goals for the group included “creating a new channel that gives the staff and board a better sense of how we can improve the student experience, ensuring that student ideas are heard by the staff and board, serving as ambassadors and boosters in the community, and hosting fund-raising events and parties that celebrate all that is good about Old Town while increasing our ability to do those good things.”

Communications with the community

Newcomb said two meetings are being planned to share information with the school’s community.  The first, an open house at 909 W. Armitage, will happen June 21 and will focus on what’s happening there, he said.  A “State of the School” meeting, which Newcomb said he wants to be held annually, will take place in August in Lincoln Square.

The meetings “will give students, community members, teachers and staff to get together to hear our plans for the future, to get involved and to have their questions answered,” Newcomb said. “It’s important for our community to come together, and we want to provide more opportunities to work together.”