CHICAGO – As the Chicago Teacher’s Union strike enters its fourth day, the nearly 400,000 students, and their parents, have been left in limbo with “nothing to do” during the standoff. With the unexpected days off – and no end in sight – many parents have had to come up with alternative options for childcare around the city, especially in its poorer neighborhoods.
“When we looked at this strike, we kind of knew the storm was coming,” said Juandalyn Holland, the executive director for Teamwork Englewood, a community organization on the city’s South Side. “I think it caught everyone by surprise because there hasn’t been a strike in 25 years. When the strike happened in 1987, I was in the eighth grade.”
This is the 10th strike by the Chicago Teacher’s Union since 1969. The 1987 walkout was the longest in the city’s history – 19 days, ending on Oct. 4, 1987. The fear is that this current strike could wage for weeks.
“When we look at the climate today of education and all those things, we have to be mindful that children who are behind now are children who are truly behind the 8-ball,” Holland said. “The catch-up curve is tremendous. Anything you do for three weeks straight can turn into a habit.”
“That’s the fear, especially with what’s going on in these urban areas. After a month, if they get used to not coming to school, then what is the likelihood of them coming back.”
Englewood is one of many Chicago neighborhoods that have been plagued by violence in 2012. Chicago has seen a 32 percent uptick in homicides this year, often with incidents of shootings coming fast and furious throughout the city.
On Sept. 4, Englewood was the scene of the death of 18-year-old up and coming rapper Joseph “Lil’ JoJo” Coleman, who was murdered while riding his bicycle near the corner of 69th Street and Princeton Avenue. Teamwork Englewood is helping CPS attempt to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble during the strike and after it ends.
“You always gear up and get ready for school,” Holland said. “You have the back to school parades, the after school programs; you have everything. When it comes to a halt, it’s like your world changes. We just want to make sure that it stays as copacetic as possible.”
When the teachers announced that they were striking, the Chicago Public Schools announced that they had opened nearly 150 schools to accommodate students who were to receive free breakfast and lunch. The sites faced low turnout from families due in part to schools only being open until 12:30 p.m., which would lead to parents having to leave work early to pick up their kids.
“Since the [Chicago Teachers Union] chose to strike on Sunday, parents are seeking greater support, and we have responded by increasing hours to more closely mirror a traditional school day,” Chicago Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard said in a statement. Around the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, kids could be seen on basketball courts, as well as hanging out in front of corner stores and on street corners. Many others simply hung out and played video games with friends at their homes.
“When I polled the kids this morning they said ‘Well, I went up to the school, and I go to Kershaw, and they told me that I have to go to Mays (Elementary School),’” Holland said. “But then one kid would say that he didn’t hear anything.”
Holland also said that if the strike goes into next week, that they would hire tutors to help kids with math and language arts. The strike looks like it will not be reaching a quick end anytime soon, and it is even affecting athletics as all CPS school sports programs – including football – have been suspended until the strike ends.
On Tuesday, thousands of teachers turned out in a massive rally in downtown Chicago, starting in front of the Chicago Board of Education headquarters and later marching though the streets. The massive throng of teachers, parents, and students were all clad in red, leading chants such as “Rahm Emanuel’s got to go,” and drew numerous signs of solidarity from passers-by.
The atmosphere was at times as lively and as raucous as a Mardi Gras parade, but quickly turned very serious when the subject of teachers getting what they need came up.
“While I enjoy my job and can’t complain too much about my position, going to actual buildings and seeing kids passing out from the heat, I see what other teachers and other therapists have to put up with,” said Vija Reed, a speech therapist with the Chicago Public Schools who was picketing downtown. “Being overworked and having 16 schools assigned to them is not an effective and efficient use of our resources.”
Also at odds is the expressed use of standardized test scored being used as a method of grading teacher performance. This practice was recently introduced by the Obama administration, through the Race to the Top competition, along with waivers from the President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind. In the proposed contract, standardized test scores would account for 25 percent of a teacher’s evaluation.
According to Karen Lewis, the Chicago Teacher’s Union president, the district could lose nearly 6,000 teachers due to the test score mandate. She feels this is unfair due to the fact that extenuating circumstances such as poverty, living situations, and crime are all factors in lower test scores for CPS students – 87 percent of which are either black or Latino.
Groups such as Teamwork Englewood are working to help stem the tide of losing students to outside influences and one of their ways is through their African-American Male Initiative. This group reaches out to young men age 10 to 18 and acts as an after school safe haven.
“It’s easy to get into trouble and hard to get out of it out here,” said Lazarus Fleming, 17, a member of the African-American Male Initiative Program. “I’m just trying to make a name for myself in the right way instead of negatively.”
Fleming, who will be entering his junior year at Al Raby High School on Chicago’s west side, is one of 80 young men who are a part of the program that is meant to help steer young black men in the right direction. The program is one of many that Teamwork Englewood has, along with the Golden Nugget Leadership program for girls.
“I don’t think (violent crime) in Englewood is as bad as it has been portrayed,” said Michael Tidmore, the head of the African-American Male Initiative. “A lot of times Englewood is the first to be labeled a bad community, but in a lot of instances, it’s no different. It’s not like a danger going to schools.”
Tidmore noted that CPS normally has security personnel along the main routes to local schools, and nearby churches also act as safe havens for kids to go after school. He also makes himself available to the boys if they are in need of anything.
“I try to be there to lend a [sic] ear and try to give them the support that they need,” Tidmore said. “If it’s something in terms of gangs or pressure or even if there’s some personal stuff at home with their parents, they know I’m always available. They have my phone number and they can call me 24-7. This is more than just a 9-to-5.”
The group is one of many around the city that will have to help keep kids out of trouble and on the right path as long as this teacher strike goes on and, in a lot of cases, even after school goes back in session. In Englewood, it’s seen as another chance for a group of young men to better themselves and stay out of trouble.
“I’ve been in this program a long time and they’ve watched me grow since I was a shorty,” Fleming said, noting that he wants to eventually become an attorney. “You can live in the hood, but don’t let the hood be in you. You can get away and escape from the negativity in Englewood by coming or by going to school.
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