Anti-charter rally

Small Rally to Stop Charter Schools
By Jim Vail


A group of about 100 energized yet frigid teachers, union employees and activists are protesting against the Chicago Public Schools insistence that the city needs more charter schools on Tuesday, January 21, 2014.

The rally that included a march to the Chicago Board of Education, will replicate past protests when the evening is capped off with an all-night vigil.



The board of ed will vote at its next board meeting Wed. Jan. 22 to add 20 more charter schools, on top of the 10 new charter schools scheduled to open next school year.

This comes after CPS closed 50 public schools last year and cut every public school's budget. The drive to privatize continues at lightening speed.

Several speakers spoke against the need for charter schools.  A bilingual teacher from Prieto said there are 51 students in one 4th grade class, and 55 students in the other. The public school also Shas extremely overcrowded first grade classrooms, the teacher said.

The Prieto community found out not too long ago that a brand new Nobel Street Charter school in opening almost right next door in a temporary building where another public school was forced to move from, the teacher added.

"It's about defunding public schools and turning them over to private corporations," said Brian Harris, a charter school teacher and the president of ACTS, which represents unionized charter school teachers and staff.

A teacher from Prosser High School noted the absurdity of opening another charter high school right across the street.  Would you build another library across the street, or another police station, she asked the crowd.

She also noted that the area's alderwoman Emma Mitts, quietly and quickly removed herself from serving on Prosser's local school council, and is backing the charter school against the community's wishes.

One might ask how can CPS be building and funding more charter schools as they cut public school budgets and close schools.

Thanks to corporate money, including over $20 million coming from the Gates Foundation, the drive to drive out unionized teachers and install union-busting charters is in full force.