Later today, Chicago Public Schools will reportedly announce over 50 school closures.

If this is true, it will represent the largest round of school closures in our nation’s history. Chicago Teacher’s  Union President Karen Lewis says the mass closures will send the district into chaos.

CPS denies that these initial reports are accurate, and maintains that closures are the right thing to do to ensure that students “have all the things they need to learn and succeed.”

These closures will disproportionately impact minority students.

From DNA Info:

“This city cannot destroy that many schools. It will send our district into chaos,” Lewis said in a statement issued Wednesday evening. “These actions will put our students’ safety and academics at risk and will further destabilize our neighborhoods.”

Teachers Union members have scheduled a rally to protest the closings for March 27 at Daley Plaza.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said the school closures will “have a devastating impact on the whole city.”

 

“There was really no back and forth” in the entire process of community engagement, he said. “A real conversation is when you go back and forth. There was none of that. … That’s the really disappointing part. … They’re rushing through this thing.”

 

Read more at DNAInfo.com

 

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