Chicago teachers, unions, families fight assault on education

On Jan. 28, members of Chicago ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) joined more than 1,000 union leaders and teachers, students, and community activists in front of the Chicago Board of Education building to oppose the board’s plan to close, merge and “turn around” almost two dozen of the city’s public schools. A “school turnaround” is essentially the firing all the staff, including the educators.

Chicago residents take to the streets to oppose the dismantling of Chicago public schools in favor of charter and contract schools, Jan. 28.

The people chanted demands to stop the closing of schools like Holmes Elementary in Chicago’s south side Englewood neighborhood. The vast majority of the school’s students live below the official poverty line. From the Chicago Board of Education building, protesters marched up Clark Street to City Hall to bring their fight to Mayor Richard Daley’s doorstep.

The board’s plan will force 1,500 children to look for new schools and leave 300 teachers out of work, favoring instead non-union, privately owned charter and contract schools. The proposal could be up for approval as early as Feb. 25.

The scheme is part of the larger Renaissance 2010 initiative enacted by Mayor Daley, with support from former Chicago Public Schools CEO and the new U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Renaissance 2010 is a barefaced attack on the Chicago public school system, the Chicago Teachers Union and the students who cannot afford to attend private educational institutions.

Gentrification has forced poor, working-class families out of Chicago and into the surrounding suburbs. As a result, enrollment in Chicago Public Schools has dropped by 40,000 since 2001. According to the plan, another 50 schools are set to be closed down by 2012. The majority of students in the Chicago Public School system are African American and Latino.

Low attendance rates have been used as an excuse and reason for shutting down these troubled schools despite improved performances and higher test scores. The buildings are sold for scrap and their employees are thrown out.

Students, teachers and parents all lose. The only winners are the privately owned charter and contract schools.

The outrage from the school board’s proposal was intensified by Daley’s appointment of former Chicago Transit Authority CEO Ron Huberman to replace Duncan. During his tenure at CTA, Huberman cut services, raised fares and slashed jobs. His record makes him well-qualified to implement the proposed campaign of school privatization.

The demonstration of unions, teachers, working-class families and their children showed that they are not giving up without a fight. Free, quality education should be provided to all by union-employed educators and staff.