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News > In the Headlines
Chicago Public Schools may reevaluate its proposed school turnarounds and closures after more than 100 teachers, students and parents protested outside its offices Wednesday. School officials said that public outcry through protests and hearings warranted a second look at the proposal, according to a statement released late Wednesday. "It would be absolutely unimaginable to me that CPS would be unaffected by the testimony of the parents, teachers, students and community members," said Chicago Teachers Union spokeswoman Rosemaria Genova. The union organized the rally demanding that Chicago retract its plan to close or overhaul 14 schools. Genova said she credits public rallies and hearings with having a direct effect on the school system reconsidering its proposal. "The concerns voiced at these hearings are being carefully weighed and will be considered in our final recommendations to the Chicago Board of Education," the schools' statement said. Public schools spokesman Frank Shuftan declined to comment on which schools were being reconsidered. Last year, efforts from the teachers' union led to six schools being dropped from the closure list, Genova said. "[Protesting] is an organizing tool in and of itself," said Virginia Parks, a sociologist who specializes in community organizing. "It can get people together to express their anger, and that can be very powerful." And that's exactly what 13-year-old Andrew Comier did at the rally. He said he hopes his efforts will persuade the school board to remove his school, Guggenheim Elementary, from the closure list. "We're trying to keep Guggenheim open so we don't have to transfer," Comier said. "Our school is like a family to us." With the Chicago Board of Education not voting on the proposal until March 24, the teacher's union isn't finished rallying. "We're not done yet," Genova said. "We are still putting together some other gatherings to get the board's attention before the vote." |
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