Mayor Rahm Emanuel likes to close schools in African American communities. He claims underenrillment but then opens new charter schools to replace the public schools he closed. Is there a master plan? Is this strategy about real estate and gentrification? Large numbers of black families have left Chicago. The Chicago Teachers Union has valiantly resisted School closings, but Mayor Emanuel will not be deterred. Some community activists charge that the school-closing strategy has contributed to the city’s high levels of youth violence. Stable communities support stable schools. School closings disrupt communities and studebts’ lives.
Stop Destructive School Actions
PLEDGE TO ATTEND
CPS’ dishonest “choice model” — which sets up a limited number of well-resourced magnet schools, a large number of charter schools and defunds other schools using “Student Based Budgeting” — has destabilized Black & Latino neighborhoods, driven families from Chicago, and left many neighborhood schools struggling to offer students a quality curriculum, starved of even the most basic resources.
CPS proposes to close all four neighborhood high schools in Englewood: Hope High School, Robeson High School, Harper High School, and TEAM Englewood Community Academy High School. To the Mayor, their students just don’t matter enough to have the same rights, access or education as his children or neighbors.
CPS proposes to phase out National Teachers Elementary Academy because they want to give their building to another community.
The unelected School Board voted to co-locate a clout-heavy charter school whose charter operator is linked to scandal-ridden SUPES into Hirsch Metropolitan High School, a move that would destroy Hirsch to start a new privatized school.
As CTU members, there are ways to fight back. We urge all CTU members to support the educators and families at these schools as they defend their schools and communities. Here are some of the ways you can help:
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Attend closings hearings starting on January 9th. Plan to testify to talk about how student based budgeting and privatization are affecting your school and community.
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Attend actions being planned by the students, parents and educators at these schools. They need our support at these protests to keep the public informed and keep the pressure on Rahm.
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Plan to attend the next Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, January 24.
Click here for more information.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Rahm is making use of the term Quisling obsolete.
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Mayor Emanuel’s maternal grandfather was a West Side Chicago union organizer and Civil Rights activist. Rahm should be ashamed.
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His mother, as well (takes after her father), was a civil rights activist (she’d even been arrested) & was a psychiatric social worker.
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There is a proverb from my community that states, an animal that does not have a tail, it’s sprite pursues flies that would want to destroy it.” The prover fits nicely hear. Diane Ravich is a profetic and moral consequence of a nation and she certainly lending her voice by speaking for those whose schools are being unnecessarily been closed perhaps for gentrification. The Chicago power to be should listen or read Dr. Ravitch’s point and act accordingly.
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