Last night I found out about CPS’s decision to go ahead with the 17 purposed school closings, fade-outs, and “turn arounds”. This shocked me because of the events and speeches I had witnessed earlier that morning at the CPS board meeting. I was convinced the board had to have heard the voices of these people.
When we arrived we knew we were in the right place when we saw the crowd of picketers and protesters. This was going to be a heated board meeting because CPS had purposed actions on “low performing” schools. While these actions follow the current trend of the mandated No Child Left Behind Act, the opposition was strong because of the majority of black and brown neighborhoods targeted, and the “apartheid“ like rhetoric these actions suggest. It isn’t enough simply look at test scores to access “low performance”; one must look at the causes of low performance. I’m convinced it is a lot more complex than the CPS board wants to believe.
After waiting in line after line to get registered and go through security, we finally grabbed our seats in the overflow room on the 15th floor. The room’s seats were filled, with standing room only left for those who didn’t arrive early enough. People who wanted to speak had arrived and signed up at 5 or 6 in morning for the meeting scheduled at 10, it didn’t start till 11.
Once the meeting started, the president of the board spoke about current events, such as the amazing amount of money several military academies raised for homeless CPS students. Then the meeting proceeded with two guest speakers, one being none other than Rev. Jesse Jackson himself. They spoke about their disgusts with the purposed school closings and demanded the board reconsider, a common theme held throughout most of the speeches to follow. 83 speakers we scheduled and each was to abide by the 2 minute time limit, only those registered were suppose to speak, although an reluctant exception was made for a student of one of the targeted schools.
These speeches all came from the heart and were founded in facts, such as the research presented from the University of Illinois Chicago. Concerned people from all walks of life spoke: teachers, parents, community members, and students. Interesting facts were presented that completely dumbfounded me, such as CPS’s board is one of the only top down appointed school boards, not elected by the people. I was also appalled to learn about the hidden agendas of some of the board members that created a conflict of interest, or the fact that the funders for these “turn arounds” was not being disclosed to the public.
It seems as though the board meeting, and the board itself, is a faux democracy. When the board members profess to be working toward what is in the best interest for the students, but seemingly fail to really listen to the concerns of the people and work with them on solutions, this makes me lose faith in the process itself. It appeared that the minds of the board were made up long before the meeting, and there was nothing anyone could’ve done or said that would have changed their minds. The meeting seemed like nothing more than an event to pacify the people, and make them think they have a voice in the decisions that effect their children. But based on the meeting that I attended, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
