Judge clears the way for Chicago to close 50 schools

Ugh! This is a story I've been following for awhile and am sorry to see how it's turned out. Of all the places this kind of cutting would be done, Chicago is about the last (perhaps Detroit would be worse) to be making cuts in this area, at this level for. Education needs cut? Okay. I am sure waste exists in abundance. It sure has at any school I've been to. Waste in areas which don't help anyone and shortage of require supplies in areas that DO matter.

Well, shortage of supplies won't be an issue at 50 school properties in greater Chicago anymore.

(Reuters) - A federal judge cleared the way for Chicago to close 50 public schools by denying a request from some parents to stop the closings because they affected mainly African-American students.

Sean Morales-Doyle, an attorney for the parents who brought the complaint, said Friday that attorneys are reviewing the opinion, issued Thursday, and deciding what to do next.

I do hope Mayor Rahm never claimed to be the education leader or anything similar. Given his personal track record, it won't surprise me if he has though, despite this being the result of....in part...he's less than stellar leadership.

Last month, an Illinois court judge denied a request from the teachers' union to keep 10 schools open.

The Chicago Board of Education voted last May to close 50 schools, including about 10 percent of all elementary schools, in the largest mass school closing in the nation.

Source

They couldn't even see their way clear to maintain 10 that teachers and the District thought especially important. Yeah....The claim is no evidence of harm from this move in advance. If EVIDENCE of harm to a future event has become the standard? We're in more trouble than those Chicago students...as damn near anything can use THAT argument and be accurate. After all, until we have proven psychics in a 'Psy-Corps' service, I don't think that line of logic CAN even be challenged. Who can prove a negative which hasn't happened yet?

Common sense though? Well.... It's damn sure not common in Chicago leadership. Not common at all with these headlines to remind us what Schools there are like already.

Only 21 Percent of Chicago Public School 8th Graders Are Proficient in Reading

The district contains 18 schools that received gold, silver or bronze medals in U.S. News's Best High Schools rankings.

^^ Indeed... The top of the list is VERY nice. It takes just part of page 1 to get to the schools you'd really not want your kid even walking past, let alone entering.

This last one is perhaps the most damning of the bunch I looked at to share. This is from the Chicago Public Schools itself and ranks schools by ISAT performance. What is ISAT?

The Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT)

Chicago ISAT Results by school 2010-2013

Overall City Wide Performance 2001-2013

I'm thinking that shutting down 50 school houses wasn't the best move in the largest of it's kind in the nation....while the student body of the city consistently hang around the 40% range for being below average in every subject and single digits show those above. These are on tests I'll bet a little work would find have already been dumbed down pretty far.

Good luck on this for those who live in Chicago. The 13/14 School Year looks to be off to an...interesting start.

Good idea.

Close the schools. The surplus of highly educated children is what is causing the crime wave in the city.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Hey Wrabbit, thank you for creating awareness with regards to this. The state of education in not only the US, is in serious danger of no longer being able to create an environment conducive to learning and academic excellence, that at one time was at the forefront of the world. Some would in fact argue just that has already happened.

U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee disagreed with the argument that children will suffer academic harm due to the closings, since the Chicago school district said they will be going to higher-performing schools when classes resume August 26. Lee ruled on two main civil lawsuits involving five schools.

Okay, lets cram more kids into fewer classes, no academic harm has ever been documented as a result of that

I see this "solution" and I use that term loosely, as not only affecting the student who are now forced to go to a new school, but the kids in the remaining school as well. Overcrowding, new social dynamics that comes with a flood of new kids, lack of transportation and facilities for the increase populations.

I do not think anyone could ever say that closing schools will not incur academic harm... Ridiculous.

"Me fail english?! That's unpossible."

Rahm has sold his soul to private interest.

Originally posted by Kali74
Rahm has sold his soul to private interest.

Yes, agreed.
I don't think he sold it recently. He did it some time ago, even before his association with the Clintons.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I don't know the specifics of Chicago, but if it is like Detroit then there are just too many schools and not enough students to be financially feasible. I don't think Chicago has undergone the mass exodus that has happened in Detroit, but if the number of students is way down, then you don't need all the schools you once needed open. A good portion of Detroit residents send their kids to ring one suburban schools of choice, rather than have them fail in the Detroit Public School system.

Originally posted by Kali74
Rahm has sold his soul to private interest.

That would imply he had a soul in the first place.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000



Rahm wants a legacy...to fix an education system in Chicago that has been declining for decades.

So he is no longer trying to cure the patient of the infection, and opting for amputation.

I get his thinking...someone without a leg, no longer has a raging leg infection.

But...hey...they no longer have a leg either...and time will tell if this fixes the problem or if the infection is systematic.

He has messed up the lives of thousands of students and parents...so if this fails...his career is done for good.

I going to go out on a limb and guess that the Chicago Teacher's Union voted democrat in the Mayor election. So now the old adage of "Be careful what you wish for" can be changed to "Be careful who you vote for".

I am the last person to agree with that criminal Mayor, BUT if there is that many half empty schools, that much over-budget, that much fraud, waste. and abuse in the city school system and this drastic of a measure is needed to get it all under control I am all for it. Frankly I don't care one bit if Chicago goes the way of Detroit, they have done it to themselves and they should all suffer for it.

Between bloated union contracts and extreme administrator to student ratio, the bleeding of money, poor student scores, pathetic graduation rate, terrible reading comprehension, and school violence is the real reason the education system there is in shambles not the closing of dilapidated school buildings. But this does give them a nice out, because from now on they can claim that this decision is the new cause of problems.

I'm curious is how they will blame a repub for it, but I'm sure they'll figure out a way.

Originally posted by Carreau
Frankly I don't care one bit if Chicago goes the way of Detroit, they have done it to themselves and they should all suffer for it.

Your concern for innocent school children is touching...

Karma comming to a nieghborhood near you shortly..

reply to post by Indigo5


I was referring to the economics of the city. But let's talk about your wishing ill will on someone shall we? Hypocrite.

Originally posted by Carreau
reply to post by Indigo5

 

I was referring to the economics of the city. But let's talk about your wishing ill will on someone shall we? Hypocrite.

Karma is not wishing ill...unless you earn yourself bad Karma?

And you said "they should all suffer"...which sounded awefully indiscriminate.

And Detroit's economic situation has led to a "failed state" of city...where the average 9-11 response time in some nieghborhoods runs over an hour. So maybe you shouldn't wish that upon anybody? and show a little humanity?

reply to post by Indigo5


Normally I stop after one reply and ignore the rest in a thread but I'm going to make an exception because it is relevant to the topic of education.

I know Karma isn't about wishing ill will on someone but you hoping it "comes to a neighborhood near me" IS.

I have to wonder if you are a product of the Chicago school system if you discerned that I was referring to a child when saying that the destructive economic policies of the two cities was deserved and not by the very democrats who have governed and their supports the past 50 years.

Instead of commenting on the topic you chose to try and cherry pick comments out of my post. NOTE I did wonder out loud how they were going to blame someone other than themselves.

I listed several things wrong with the Chicago school system and that it is now a democrat Mayor who is closing the schools. Address that and Wrabbits thread instead of deflecting.

reply to post by Indigo5

He has messed up the lives of thousands of students and parents...so if this fails...his career is done for good.

I can only hope the memory for accountability is that clear and effective in the end. Things seem to get fuzzy and outright forgotten come election time.

In terms of the welfare of the kids, I hope this seemingly crazy thing works out in the long term. I can't see how it does, but there is no benefit in hoping for even MORE fail on top of what already exists here for the kid's situation.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Well it's hardly surprising when the people running the city consider the school system a "black hole".