A large group of students, parents, and activists demonstrated against the closing of their schools at the elite University of Chicago Lab School Where Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s are students.
“On Wednesday, high school students, parents and education activists gathered near the University of Chicago Laboratory School, 5835 S. Kimbark Ave., to speak out against the proposed closings of their neighborhood elementary and high schools. The group staged a “tent city” outside of the Lab School, which is where Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s children attend school.
“We have stood up and demanded that the school’s in Englewood be fully funded just as schools in other neighborhoods,” said Erica Nanton, a community organizer, and Illinois co-chair for the Poor People’s Campaign. “We have been ignored, pushed aside and students have been silenced. “We come today on the grounds [in a] place where Mayor Rahm Emanuel does care.”
“The group consisted of parents and students and education advocates from the Grassroots Education Movement, Harper High School, Paul Robeson High School, Hope High School, National Teacher’s Academy, Hirsch High School Students, Hyde Park High School and the Journey for Justice Alliance.
“The group presented demands that they are asking the city and Chicago Board of Education to consider before shuttering their neighborhood elementary and high schools for good.
“What if we were your children [Mayor], Rahm Emanuel,” asked Mackenzie Turner, a freshman at Paul Robeson High School in Englewood. “None of our schools are just schools we are a family. We came together and bonded and built that school.”
“Jakil Benson, who is also a student at Robeson High School, echoed Turner’s thoughts.
“We don’t have art classes or music classes or things to help us find our gifts. We want to be doctors, lawyers, and musicians. We are being sabotaged by you, Rahm Emanuel,” Benson said. “We have low enrollment because you took our funds away these decisions affect our future. We still deserve a better education.”
“During the press conference, Lab students inside of the school cheered in support of the group.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Betsy DeVos
School choice is not about picking this building or that classroom – it’s much bigger than that. It’s about freedom to find the best way to learn and grow. Learning can, should, and will look different for each unique child, and we should celebrate that!”
Respectfully, Madam Secretary this is baloney.
Every single story they are telling in DC this week is about a child transferring out of a public school and into a private or charter school.
DeVos has actually taken ed reformers in a very bad direction although ed reform is an echo chamber so they probably don’t hear it. DeVos doesn’t just attack public schools. She attacks public school students. ALL of her ed reform narratives revolve around “choice” children leaving public schools because they are bullied or the other students are poorly behaved or scary or poor students.
This is deliberate and it is political. If she can convince public school families that they must “flee” public schools because the students in public schools are thuggish bullies with behavior problems she gets closer to her political and ideological goal of eradicating public schools.
It’s outrageous that she’s doing it – REALLY unfair to public school students that their own federal government is smearing them like this- and if ed reformers had any spine they would object to it, but they don’t, so they don’t. They’re the only people who can rein DeVos in because they’re the only people she talks to or meets with. Yet they don’t rein her in. They go along because they have the same POLITICAL goals she does.
Go read a DeVos speech and look at the depictions of public school students. Bullies and thugs that parents should FLEE from. It’s one of the nastiest things I’;ve even seen in politics.
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I have to give Duncan and Emanuel credit. As bad as they are for public education they never attacked public school students by portraying them all as dangerous thugs who are poor students and that caring parents must FLEE from them to “choice” schools.
This is a new low in ed reform, The DeVos Years. I’m not sure they really want to follow her in the usual lemming-like way. This is going nowhere good. This is what you get when you hire a person who has been a political operative for 50 years- who literally has never held another job BUT political operative you get bare knuckles politics and if public school students have to take a hit, well, what of it? They’re collateral damage in this crusade.
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NO credit for them, Chiara, NO credit. They’ve done their share of damage & far more–Duncan, nationally, & Rahm locally. Remember, Rahm told Karen Lewis at the outset that (I know this isn’t the exact quote, so I’m not using “”–if someone has it down, please post it) he wasn’t going to waste resources on 25% of kids who wouldn’t amount to anything.
Isn’t that bad enough? As I’ve said repeatedly, we didn’t even need to wait for DeVIL to wreak destruction–the DINOs & the Obama administration took care of that,remember? Appointing basketball bud know-nothing as S.o.Ed. & THEN…John King? Didn’t we cheer when O was elected, because we thought that was the death of NCLB & endless testing? Praising charter schools during National Teacher’s Week? Of course, I can go on & on…
And, BTW, read the heartbreaking post by Julie Vassilatos here.
BELOW.ZERO.CREDIT.
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A high school named after a famous American singer, Paul Robeson doesn’t have music classes? Up be down, in be out, insane is as does.
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YES.
This is the surreal world of school naming and empty-of-meaning appropriation.
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It’s like all those schools named after MLK that are almost 100% black. It’s an extra layer of irony to go with the sad.
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My Father lived in Chicago and it is a very segregated city. It seems this has been prevalent in Chicago, and sorry to admit, in many cities throughout our Country.
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People like Rahm Emanuel and Arne Duncan are living in their own private Idaho.
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Private Idaho is a perfect metaphor for the entire “progressive” invasion of poorest schools: not a clue, not a clue.
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Yes, but not just faux progressives.
Betsy D is living in her own private Idontknow.
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Want to learn more about Rahm Emanuel’s decision to close National Teacher’s Academy?
Visit http://wearenta.org and learn more about the neighborhood elementary school growing students that are 75% African American and 75% economically disadvantaged more than 75% of students nationwide. Learn that this decision is not based anything educationally sound, but instead to provide more affluent more powerful more white families with a “better” high school option. And let me frame the current high school option – it is the receiving school for the displaced students from the Black Englewood neighborhood. Essentially, the current high school is not good enough for more affluent more powerful more white families and is good enough for poorer black families. The Chicago Way.
The term “hyper-segregation” was created to describe how extreme segregation is in Chicago.
#BlackStudentsMatter #WeAreNTA @WeAreNTA
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SomeDAM: there are no words to praise your brilliance.
“Betsy D is living in her own private Idon’tknow.”
Do I have your permission to use that when questioning politicos here in ILL-Annoy-?!
(e.g., “Sen. Meh, are you living in your own private ‘Idon’tknow?'”)
Although, probably, no one would know what I was talking about, because few are as intelligent as you. SomeDAM (& Diane & most commenters/readers on/of this blog!
&–thanks for the video–LOVE the B-52s (lucky enough to have seen them live)!
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I hope that the next time (&, believe me, there WILL be a next time) people demonstrate outside of Lab that the Lab students will walk out.
Creative disruption done right (& for the RIGHT reasons, not deform).
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Want to learn more about Rahm Emanuel’s decision to close National Teacher’s Academy?
Visit http://wearenta.org and learn more about the neighborhood elementary school growing students that are 75% African American and 75% economically disadvantaged more than 75% of students nationwide. Learn that this decision is not based anything educationally sound, but instead to provide more affluent more powerful more white families with a “better” high school option. And let me frame the current high school option – it is the receiving school for the displaced students from the Black Englewood neighborhood. Essentially, the current high school is not good enough for more affluent more powerful more white families and is good enough for poorer black families. The Chicago Way.
The term “hyper-segregation” was created to describe how extreme segregation is in Chicago.
#BlackStudentsMatter #WeAreNTA @WeAreNTA
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Maybe next time Stephen Colbert is forced to interview Rahm he might bring this up. He looked distinctly uncomfortable talking to him last time – a bit of controversy might lighten the mood …
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So true, David. A puff piece, arranged by brother Ari, no doubt.
Every night Colbert is brilliant, but this was a real low.
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I found it enlightening that the children of the privileged who attended recognized the plight of those who were picketing and cheered them on. Their is hope that these future decision makers will reject the actions of their parents and support a new paradigm of equality in opportunities in education (as well as other areas in society).
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Who attended the U of C Lab School
There is hope
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