Skyline

Skyline, Lori Lightfoot and a Mayoral Election

By Jim Vail

The Skyline Curriculum in CPS features a lesson on our all mighty Mayor Lori Lightfoot!

Mayor Lori Lightfoot made headlines recently after she apologized for recruiting Chicago public school students to work on her reelection campaign and earn class credit in return.

Lightfoot's deputy campaign manager had reached out to Chicago Teachers Union members at their work addresses asking educators to line up student 'volunteers' who would give at least 12 hours each week to the campaign. 

The teachers union and the media called out the Mayor for her unethical behavior to get re-elected.  

But the Mayor's political actions, which hark back to the good old days of the Chicago Machine which tied city jobs to getting democrats elected, continue in the schools via its controversial curriculum called Skyline which was rolled out last year.

The whopping $135 million curriculum that was developed with Covid money features lessons that compare Mayor Lori Lightfoot to Katherine Johnson, the African-American NASA scientist who helped land the first man on the Moon.

In other words, she's a hero who overcame the odds to become our first African American lesbian female elected Mayor of Chicago!

Students watch a NY Times video entitled "Who is Lori Lightfoot?" that states she made history in Chicago by being the first black woman and first openly gay woman to be mayor who sold herself as a political outsider (funny since a lot of money that supported Mayor Richard Daley was funneled into her campaign). She was hired by the former mayor to investigate the Laquan McDonald police shooting and promised to reform the police dept. and put a freeze on new charter schools. 

"Lightfoot's platform of beating the machine and cracking down on gun violence seems to have paid off," the video stated, "but will she deliver on her promises that have plagued Chicago for decades?"

The Skyline lesson says the teacher should ask students if they know who Lori Lightfoot is. The teacher should also say that Lightfoot was a lawyer who investigated police behavior in Chicago and found that many people here had negative experiences with the police and believed they were racist and she wants to reform the department. 

The students should note that both Katherine Johnson and Lori Lightfoot experienced racism and they were the first African American women to do what they did.

The lesson on Lori Lightfoot comes at a time when her re-election is right around the corner.

The Chicago Public Schools sends out an email every year to its employees entitled Political Activity in an Election Season and Compliance with the Chicago Board of Education's Code of Ethics. It states what CPS employees can and cannot do during election time. 

"Political activities must not result in the misuse of Board personnel, time or resources or create an impression that the Board supports particular candidates. The Code of Ethics is meant to preserve the independence of the school system and avoid any appearance of impropriety. Violations of the Code of Ethics can result in disciplinary action, including dismissal for Board employees."

Does this include lessons about the Mayor?

Skyline is a new curriculum that has been criticized by many teachers on social media. While it has a focus on social justice, and stories about black civil rights heroes abound, the pedagogy behind it has been blasted by educators who note the lessons do not address special needs students and the skills are taught in a haphazard fashion.

But perhaps most significant of all, Skyline was sold to the City of Chicago with Mayor Lightfoot at the helm. While Second City Teachers does not have the resources to investigate if the Skyline publishers poured money into Lightfoot's first election, a former CPS principal wrote on Chicago Educator's FB Page that the person who spearheaded the $135 million project took a promotion to be superintendent in another district the year Skyline was implemented.