Chicago parents rally to protect charter schools as CPS shifts away from school choice
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Charter school parents rallied at City Hall on Wednesday, calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Board of Education to protect school choice.
The rally comes after the board last month passed a resolution laying out a five-year strategic plan from the Chicago Public Schools to move away from school choice and shift its focus to neighborhood schools.
Officials from several charter schools and many charter school parents gathered at City Hall to argue charter schools are important and should be preserved.
Under the current system of school choice, CPS students are assigned to a neighborhood school, but can apply to compete for seats in several selective-enrollment programs and charter schools.
During his campaign, Mayor Brandon Johnson argued the school choice model creates a "Hunger Games" scenario that results in neighborhood schools losing out to better-funded selective-enrollment and charter schools.
In December, the mayor's hand-picked school board passed a resolution to shift away from the current school choice model to emphasize neighborhood schools.
School officials said moving away from a focus on selective enrollment schools would improve and lead to better investment in neighborhood schools.
They also emphasized that the resolution does not amount to a vote to close selective-enrollment, magnet, or charter schools.
Still, some charter school parents are concerned that is exactly what will happen, and that's why they descended on City Hall on Wednesday to send the mayor and the school board a message.
"Clearly the decision was made behind closed doors, and that was not right. When you made that decision, who were you thinking about? You clearly weren't thinking about the children in the City of Chicago. It got me thinking what does that mean for charter renewal? We follow CPS protocol for renewal, and we proved that we deserve to be here for the long-term and it is my choice keep my kids out of your political games," said charter school parent Myisha Shields.
Those parents said they want fair terms for charter school renewals. Typically, charter schools are given 10-year contracts to operate within CPS, but those parents said they have heard contracts will be reduced to three years. They plan to be at next week's school board meeting to voice their demands.
CPS released the following statement Wednesday:
"The Chicago Board of Education and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) leadership do not make charter renewal or revocation decisions lightly. We are committed to working with charter leaders and listening to members of all of our school communities to ensure we make the best possible decisions for our students."