Four years ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 public schools in one day, something that has never happened before in American history. Now, with enrollment continuing to decline, reporters Sarah Karp and Becky Vivek ask if he is likely to do it again.

They write:

“Nearly five years after shuttering a record number of under-enrolled schools, Chicago once again confronts the same stark realities: plummeting enrollment and more than 100 half-empty school buildings, most on the city’s South and West sides, according to a WBEZ analysis of school records.

“Chicago Public Schools has lost 32,000 students over the last five years, nearly the same enrollment drop as in the 10-year period leading up to the closures of 50 elementary schools in 2013. Those missing students could fill 53 average-sized Chicago schools.

“This massive enrollment decline comes as a self-imposed five-year moratorium on school closings lifts in 2018. Despite that, political observers and CPS insiders said they are not betting on Mayor Rahm Emanuel closing 50 more schools — at least not all at once.

“They say if Emanuel opts to close more schools, they hope he does it more slowly and over time. In fact, that’s already underway, despite the moratorium. Since 2013, CPS has quietly shuttered more than a dozen schools, many of them charter schools.

“The school system must announce by Dec. 1 any proposed closures for its more than 600 schools. Officials have already indicated they will recommend closing only a handful of schools for next year, the first without the moratorium.”

But they note a curious anomaly: the city has been opening new schools even as it closed existing ones:

“Since 2013, a total of 39 new schools serving 16,000 students have opened, and 29 of them serve high school students. This includes several new charter high schools and 15 alternative high schools for dropouts. Those alternative schools are mostly in neighborhoods with the most severely under-enrolled high schools.”

I asked several of my friends in Chicago what was going on. Why the drops in enrollment? Who was leaving?

Mike Klonsky, community activist, responded.

He wrote:

“Why the loss of enrollment?
“Losing about 10K students/year mostly due to huge out-migration of black and poor families. New state voucher law will only make it worse.

“Where are the kids going?
“Many to inner-ring black suburbs, to neighboring states, or back to the south.

“Is Chicago losing population?
“Yes, I call it ethnic/racial cleansing. Quarter million black people have left Chicago in past few decades. Result of deindustrialization, lack of jobs, educational opportunities, resulting rise in crime and violence, tearing down of public and low-income housing, police brutality, blighted communities. Has led to a weakening in black and progressive political power within the city.

“Which neighborhoods?
“Westside, ie Lawndale and southside,ie. Englewood. Mass school closings, opposed by the communities, plus loss of social services, mental health clinics and other medical facilities, markets, police coverage, have led to further blighting of these neighborhoods, driving out more residents.

“Loss of 100k of poorest and academically challenged students has led CPS leaders to claim statistical bump in test scores and grad rates. City leaders celebrating supposed10% drop in shootings.

“This is why it’s not enough to just oppose more school closings. Must be seen for what it is — the whitenizing of the cities, as I’ve been saying for years.”

Mike added this link about the black exodus from Chicago:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-neighborhood-demographics-are-shifting-in-chicago

Jitu Brown, director of the Journey for Justice Alliance, Read Mike Klonsky’s comment and added this response:

“I agree. This is why independent, clear political leadership is so important. The whitening of Chicago has happened on the watch of a city council that has significant African American representation. This is a national crisis, as we see a similar evacuation in cities like DC, New Orleans, Detroit, Oakland, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Cleveland.

“In the case of Chicago, families are moving to the south suburbs, believe it or not thousands have relocated to the quad cities in Iowa, and as Mike stated, back to the south. The removal of black people is not just limited to the coasts and the Midwest however. The black population in Atlanta has declined in the past 5 years. Troubling is a huge understatement.“