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Public Safety
Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:48pm
Tue Apr 23

Parkman Elementary Students Would Be Forced To Cross Gang Lines If School Closes, Parents Say (VIDEO)

More than 200 students enrolled at Fuller Park's Francis Parkman Elementary School will be asked to travel six blocks and cross East Garfield Blvd. to attend their welcoming school, Englewood's Jesse Sherwood Elementary School, if the Chicago Board of Education approves a proposal by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

East Garfield Blvd., according to attendees of Friday’s public forum on the school action, serves as the dividing line between two South Side neighborhoods and gang territories.

“The children are being asked to cross an invisible barrier,” said Carla Smith, 48, a lifelong Chicagoan and 2nd grade teacher of three years at Parkman Elementary.

Smith, one of approximately 75 people who attended the hearing, pleaded with the hearing's mediator to listen to the voice of the community.

“I’m scared for the kids; they can’t cross that line.”

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PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
1:03pm
Tue Apr 23

Call For Legislative Help In Fighting CPS School Closures Rings Loud At Congressional Forum (VIDEO)

Education

The proposal to close 54 schools across the Chicago Public Schools system is unsafe and will destabilize communities already hit hard by the economic depression, according to speakers at a Congressional Forum hosted by U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush (D, IL-1) and Danny Davis (D, IL-7) over the weekend.

PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
8:22pm
Wed Apr 3
1 comment

Debate On CPS School Closures Heats Up At Chicago Board Of Education Meeting (VIDEO)

Education

There was no shortage of heated words today at the Chicago Board of Education’s monthly meeting as Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett presented her final school closure plan. Parents, teachers and activists all urged board members to consider the consequences the school actions will likely have on Chicago's communities.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
11:39am
Tue Mar 19

Education Activists Head To Springfield Calling For Moratorium On School Closings (VIDEO)

A group of education activists boarded a bus to Springfield this morning to campaign for a moratorium on school closings in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Leaving shortly after 6:30 a.m., the group of approximately 30 CPS staff members, students and supporters plan on attending a 1 p.m. Senate Education Committee hearing at the Illinois Statehouse. Organized by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) the group aimed to petition for lawmakers’ support and testify on behalf of SB 1571, legislation that would place a two-year moratorium on school closings.

“Before they instill policies and close schools they should listen to the people who actually do the job,” said Dorothy Clabaugh, a librarian at Alexander Graham Elementary School in Canaryville, which is one of 129 schools that is facing a potential school action.

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