User:MadelinePizzuto/Chicago School Closings 2013

Chicago Public School Closings

The Chicago Public School Closings 2013 are a series of public elementary school closings in predominantly African-American neighborhoods announced on March 21, 2013. It will be the largest public school consolidation in American history. The decision to close 54 schools came as a result of a $1 billion deficit in the city. Of the 400,000 students in the Chicago public school system, 30,000 will be affected with 42% being black.

One hundred schools have been closed since 2001 and of the students impacted, 88% have been black. Supporters of the closings believe it will give students the opportunity to reap the benefits that they currently do not have access to. Opponents are calling the plan racist and believe it is unfairly targeting minority neighborhoods.

Support

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools defended the closings stating “for too long children in certain parts of Chicago have been cheated out of the resources they need to succeed because they are in underutilized, under-resourced schools.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in support of the closings saying, "this decision has been delayed for a decade, and it's our children and our city that have paid the price for inaction … consolidating schools is the best way to make sure all of our city's students get the resources they need to succeed in the classroom."

Many African-American business leaders have come out in support of the closings; CEO James Reynolds stated ”with this plan, our children will have an opportunity to achieve the high quality education they need in order to be hired by the companies we represent and others in the Chicagoland area.”

Opposition

The Chicago Teacher’s Union publically opposes the closings, stating that the majority of students affected will be African-American. Opponents believe that the closings are targeting Black and Latino neighborhoods and will increase racial inequality.

The Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis stated, "this city cannot destroy that many schools at one time, and we contend that no school should be closed in the city of Chicago. These actions will not only put our students' safety and academic careers at risk but also further destabilize our neighborhoods." It is believed that the closings will impact the safety of many students, as they may need to cross well-known gang lines to get to school. Gang violence is a well-known problem in Chicago and many believe that these closings will expose many children to the hostility.

CReAte, the Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education, a group of Chicago-area university professors specializing in educational research opposes the closings and is urging the Chicago Board of Education against the plan. David Stoval, professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and contributor to the CReATE report stated, “we find that the history of previous school closures and school actions reveal that closures will negatively impact academic performance and create hardship for communities. Simply put, we believe that massive school closures will do more harm than good for Chicago’s children.” Another contributor, Stephanie Farmer, professor of sociology at Roosevelt University said “we strongly believe that the pathway to stronger schools for children is paved by safe and stable school environments, and strong communities. School closures undermine these conditions,”

Opponents say that analyses of previous school closures in Chicago reveal that 94% of students from closed schools did not go on to academically strong new schools. The evidence also shows that the affected students experience lower test scores and are at more of a risk of dropping out. They believe that closings also affect the students in the receiving schools due to increased class sizes and overcrowding.

The Chicago Teachers Union believes that in the past, school closings have not resulted in the savings predicted by city officials. In national studies of school closings, costs related to closings have consistently been underestimated because of unforeseen costs like demolition, moving services, student transportation and support for students being relocated and the schools that received them. In the long term, opponents state that they may also lose federal and state money if families remove students from the public school system and send them to charter schools instead.

List of Schools being closed

Banneker Elementary School will be closed into Mays

Bethune Elementary School will be closed into Gregory

Bontemps Elementary School will be closed into Nicholson

Buckingham will be closed into Montefiore

Calhoun North Elementary School will be closed into Cather

Canter Middle School will be closed into Hart, Ray

Delano Elementary School will be closed into Melody

Dumas Technology Acad Elementary School will be closed into Wadsworth

Roque De Duprey Elementary School will be closed into DeDiego

Emmet Elementary School will be closed into Ellington, DePriest

Ericson Elementary Scholastic Academy will be closed into Sumner

Fermi Elementary School will be closed into South Shore Fine Arts

Garfield Park Prep Acad Elementary Sch will be closed into Faraday

Garvey M Elementary School will be closed into Mount Vernon

Goldblatt Elementary School will be closed into Hefferan

Goodlow Elementary Magnet School will be closed into Earle

Henson Elementary School will be closed into C. Hughes

Herbert Elementary School will be closed into Dett

Jackson M Elementary School will be closed into Fort Dearborn

Key Elementary School will be closed into Ellington

King Elementary School will be closed into Jensen

Kohn Elementary School will be closed into Cullen, Lavizzo, L. Hughes

Lafayette Elementary School will be closed into Chopin

Lawrence Elementary School will be closed into Burnham

Manierre Elementary School will be closed into Jenner

Marconi Elementary Community Academy will be closed into Tilton

May Elementary Community Academy will be closed into Leland

Mayo Elementary School will be closed into Wells

Morgan Elementary School will be closed into Ryder

Near North will be closed into Montefiore

Overton Elementary School will be closed into Mollison

Owens Elementary Community Academy will be closed into Gompers

Paderewski Elementary Learning Academy will be closed into Cardenas and Castellanos

Parkman Elementary School will be closed into Sherwood

Peabody Elementary School will be closed into Otis

Pershing West Elementary Magnet School will be closed into Pershing East

Pope Elementary School will be closed into Johnson

Ross Elementary School will be closed into Dulles

Ryerson Elementary School will be closed into Ward

Sexton Elementary School will be closed into Fiske

Songhai Elementary Learning Institute will be closed into Curtis

Stewart Elementary School will be closed into Brennemann

Stockton Elementary School will be closed into Courtenay

Trumbull Elementary School will be closed into Chappell, McPherson, McCutcheon

Von Humboldt Elementary School will be closed into De Diego

West Pullman Elementary School will be closed into Haley

Williams Middle Prep Academy will be closed into Drake

Williams Multiplex Elementary School will be closed into Drake

Woods Elementary Math & Science Academy will be closed into Bass

Yale Elementary School will be closed into Harvard

Altgeld Elementary School will be closed into Wentworth

Armstrong Elementary Math and Science will be closed into Leland

Attucks Elementary School will be phased out over two years and closed into Beethoven

References

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/21/us/illinois-chicago-school-closures

http://www.ctunet.com/events/stop-school-closings-2013

http://www.ctunet.com/blog?month=march-2013

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/04/02/african-american-business-leaders-support-school-closings-plan/