Humboldt Park community forum outlines problems at area schools, sabotage by Board of real public schools programs
More than 50 parents, community members, community activists, teachers and Public school staff members met at Humboldt Park, Wednesday, August 8th, to discuss school matters with Chicago Teachers Union leaders and members. Brandon Johnson, of the Chicago Teachers Union's organizing department, pointed out that some schools are not receiving needed resources and outlined what has become a regular litany of what amounts to the sabotage of real public schools by the current CPS administration.
Teachers and CTU committee chairman Drew Heiserman (above, standing) was one of those who helped outline the sabotage of Chicago's real public schools during the Humboldt Park meeting. Substance photo by Jean Schwab.Johnson noted: There are 160 schools with no libraries and only 202 nurses in the entire system of more than 600 real public schools in Chicago. There is a high concentration of poverty, and these high-poverty areas have low test scores. Class size in these schools generally exceeds the maximum 28 students per class that is contained in the union contract book because the union is not allowed to file grievances to end overcrowded classes. There are schools without music and art. Three-fourths of the boys suspended from school are Black. The entire system has only 370 social workers. The example of how Chicago's real public schools are being sabotaged went on and on.
Jerry Skinner, a teacher and union delegate at Kelvyn Park High School, discussed that Ames Middle School was slated to become a military school. Parents in the community want the school to remain a neighborhood school.
Kevin Hough, one of the twenty- five teachers released from Clemente High School this spring because a new International Baccalaureate program is being implemented, talked about the decrease in students at Clemente High School. For example, in 2005 there were 2,700 students and this year there are 940 students. Clemente will not have a traditional IB (International Baccalaureate) program. A traditional IB program is more rigorous than Advanced Placement classes. Hough insists that the "new" I.B. program is untested and is an experiment using Clemente students. We don’t know if all current students will be allowed to attend Clemente, because this is Alderman Moreno’s IB program and he may want to put his students in there.
Hough noted that Clemente has been an open enrollment school — a general high school — and "has always taken everyone.” The new IB focus may force students who would have attended Clemente to go elsewhere.
Recently, programs have been cut at Clemente, including woodworking, art electives, Social Studies electives and computer training.
After the forum, Hough also told Substance that over the years, drafting and Advanced Placement classes have also been eliminated.
Someone mentioned that Lane Tech has cut drafting and auto mechanics classes.
Ronald Jackson, a LSC member at Tilden High School, stated that several programs had been cut at Tilden, including CNA( Certified Nursing Assistant) and art. Jackson emphasized that the CPS Board has applied for an “exemption from compliance with the Cory H. Lawsuit (Special Education Lawsuit). CPS has never been in compliance.”
Jackson also stated that the Illinois Facilities Task Force has again ordered CPS Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Brizard to attend a hearing August 21 at 8:30 AM in the Michael Balladic Building downtown. The Illinois Task Force will then take any concerns to Representative Cynthia Soto.
Participants were encouraged to run for the LSC , converse with friends about school issues, and join groups such as Raise Your Hand, Parents 4 Teachers and Blocks Together.
