Thursday, March 21, 2013
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As word dribbled out today about which Chicago public schools will be closed, some parents renewed their charges that minorities are being unfairly targeted while principals accused CPS of "slash and burn."
CPS officials are expected to release a list this afternoon of about 50 schools slated for closing, many educators, parents and students at targeted schools got word earlier today.
Natasha Norment, 28, said she was “very disappointed” after learning Wednesday evening through a news report that her 10-year-old daughter's school, Mahalia Jackson Elementary at 917 W. 88th St., was on the list.
“It seems that they’re targeting the African-American schools,” Norment said Thursday. “The majority of these schools are in black communities. I feel it’s not right.”
Clarice Berry, president of Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said principals of schools on the closing list were told at 6 a.m. today and were instructed to inform their teachers but not to talk to anyone else until 5 p.m. Berry said she also was told by CPS not to talk to the media until 5 p.m.
“I’m angry. I’m upset. I’m shaking to the core. I didn’t think they’d actually go through with this, the largest number of closings ever. There’s been no real planning,” Berry said.
Berry said there has been little planning at schools that are expected to take in students whose buildings are shuttered. Principals have told her that nothing has been worked out to provide the libraries or air conditioning CPS has promised at all receiving schools.
“There’s been no planning. Just slash and burn,” she said.
Berry expressed anger at Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is on a family skiing vacation in Utah this week. “You do this stuff and you run away on vacation,” she said. “That is really wonderful.”
The Chicago Teachers Union released a statement saying it was "outraged" as the "hit list" of schools.
"Today, a vacationing Mayor Rahm Emanuel is sending our school district into utter chaos," it said. "CPS lacks the capacity to close 50 schools. The CTU contends closing these schools are unnecessary, will not save the district or taxpayers a single dollar, and put students’ safety and academics at risk."
Today's expected announcement follows weeks of debate between CPS and City Hall over how many schools to close. The district, which says it needs to close under-enrolled schools to address a looming $1 billion deficit, has been working from a preliminary list of 129 schools released in mid-February.
In addition to closing about 50 schools, sources said the district will consolidate or overhaul staff at a number of other schools, bringing the total number of school actions to about 70. Urban districts around the country have been forced to close large numbers of schools, but if the number in Chicago holds it would likely be the largest number of schools shut down by a city in a single year in recent history.
CPS has never closed more than a dozen or so schools in one year. Emanuel has pushed to close a large number of schools all at once, and in return has offered a five-year moratorium on closures.
While district officials said they are closing a large number of schools to address a budget shortfall, they have not released details on how much it will cost to shut down schools, provide extra security and safety programs for students, and equip receiving schools with promised upgrades like science labs, libraries and air conditioning.
District officials said they'll pay for the investments by "redirecting resources from underutilized" schools, which will be closed.
Norment didn’t yet know where her daughter Navi will be going to school next year.
“Once the schools close and the kids are going to the other schools, are they still going to get the same quality of education? And is that school going to be overcrowded?” Norment wondered, before adding that her daughter is currently receiving “one-on-one education” at Mahalia Jackson Elementary.
Norment also worries about Navi’s ability to adapt to a new classroom that could separate her from friends she’d known since preschool.
“If she has to go to another school she’s going to have to get a whole new group of friends, a whole new group of teachers, and she’s used to these teachers and their teaching style,” she said.
Norment attended Mahalia Jackson Elementary as a child, which only added to her disappointment.
“The majority of the teachers I had are teaching my kid now,” she said. “So I know she is getting a good quality education.”
CPS officials are expected to release a list this afternoon of about 50 schools slated for closing, many educators, parents and students at targeted schools got word earlier today.
Natasha Norment, 28, said she was “very disappointed” after learning Wednesday evening through a news report that her 10-year-old daughter's school, Mahalia Jackson Elementary at 917 W. 88th St., was on the list.
“It seems that they’re targeting the African-American schools,” Norment said Thursday. “The majority of these schools are in black communities. I feel it’s not right.”
Clarice Berry, president of Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said principals of schools on the closing list were told at 6 a.m. today and were instructed to inform their teachers but not to talk to anyone else until 5 p.m. Berry said she also was told by CPS not to talk to the media until 5 p.m.
“I’m angry. I’m upset. I’m shaking to the core. I didn’t think they’d actually go through with this, the largest number of closings ever. There’s been no real planning,” Berry said.
Berry said there has been little planning at schools that are expected to take in students whose buildings are shuttered. Principals have told her that nothing has been worked out to provide the libraries or air conditioning CPS has promised at all receiving schools.
“There’s been no planning. Just slash and burn,” she said.
Berry expressed anger at Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is on a family skiing vacation in Utah this week. “You do this stuff and you run away on vacation,” she said. “That is really wonderful.”
The Chicago Teachers Union released a statement saying it was "outraged" as the "hit list" of schools.
"Today, a vacationing Mayor Rahm Emanuel is sending our school district into utter chaos," it said. "CPS lacks the capacity to close 50 schools. The CTU contends closing these schools are unnecessary, will not save the district or taxpayers a single dollar, and put students’ safety and academics at risk."
Today's expected announcement follows weeks of debate between CPS and City Hall over how many schools to close. The district, which says it needs to close under-enrolled schools to address a looming $1 billion deficit, has been working from a preliminary list of 129 schools released in mid-February.
In addition to closing about 50 schools, sources said the district will consolidate or overhaul staff at a number of other schools, bringing the total number of school actions to about 70. Urban districts around the country have been forced to close large numbers of schools, but if the number in Chicago holds it would likely be the largest number of schools shut down by a city in a single year in recent history.
CPS has never closed more than a dozen or so schools in one year. Emanuel has pushed to close a large number of schools all at once, and in return has offered a five-year moratorium on closures.
While district officials said they are closing a large number of schools to address a budget shortfall, they have not released details on how much it will cost to shut down schools, provide extra security and safety programs for students, and equip receiving schools with promised upgrades like science labs, libraries and air conditioning.
District officials said they'll pay for the investments by "redirecting resources from underutilized" schools, which will be closed.
Norment didn’t yet know where her daughter Navi will be going to school next year.
“Once the schools close and the kids are going to the other schools, are they still going to get the same quality of education? And is that school going to be overcrowded?” Norment wondered, before adding that her daughter is currently receiving “one-on-one education” at Mahalia Jackson Elementary.
Norment also worries about Navi’s ability to adapt to a new classroom that could separate her from friends she’d known since preschool.
“If she has to go to another school she’s going to have to get a whole new group of friends, a whole new group of teachers, and she’s used to these teachers and their teaching style,” she said.
Norment attended Mahalia Jackson Elementary as a child, which only added to her disappointment.
“The majority of the teachers I had are teaching my kid now,” she said. “So I know she is getting a good quality education.”
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