FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 24, 2002
For more information, please contact Andrea Lee, Neighborhood Capital Budget Group,
Schools Initiative Coordinator, (312) 939-7198

Concerned parent, school, and community leaders from across the city are gathering today Tuesday, September 24th at 10:30 a.m on the playground of the shuttered Jacob Riis Elementary School. on a “Back to Failing Schools” Press Conference in conjunction with the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group (NCBG). Riis School is located on the City’s Near West Side at 1018 S. Lytle.

“As the school year gets underway, NCBG’s coalition of school leaders and parents is taking a hard look at the relationship between overcrowded or underutilized schools, the conditions in Chicago’s neighborhoods, and how those factors are too often ignored when addressing school performance,” explained Mildred Wiley, NCBG’s Board President and Vice-President of Education and Special Initiatives at Bethel New Life, Inc. Ms. Wiley said, “When we look at the 191 schools labeled ‘failing’ because of the No Child Left Behind Act, we’re asking: What about the impact that the surrounding neighborhoods and condition of the school facilities are having on educating our kids? Let’s look at where these 191 failing schools are, and how to revive the communities they’re in!” Ms. Wiley is also a veteran Local School Council member at several Austin schools.

On Tuesday, NCBG released an updated report on Chicago public school overcrowding and underutilization with an analysis of community trends. NCBG’s research looks at the 191 failing schools in the context of their surrounding neighborhoods, community demographics, and the tug and pull of underutilized and overcrowded schools.

“When we really examine the saturation of Chicago’s ‘failing schools’ on the South and West sides of Chicago, it appears that neighborhood development is not being anchored by quality 21st century schools. Instead, development seems to be eroding our ability to stabilize a community, especially when we’re pushing families with children out of our changing neighborhoods, perhaps for good,” said Queen Fields, former Williams School LSC chair, a recent victim of school closing on the near south side.

In June 2001, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) closed Riis Elementary, the site of today’s press conference. Riis is situated in the Jane Addams public housing development. CPS justified the school closure because of declining student enrollment and costly school capital repairs due to years of neglect. The 3 schools CPS named to receive Riis’s students--Jefferson, Medill, and Smyth-- were supposedly “higher-performing” schools. A year later, all 3 are on the State’s failing school’s hit list. “What happened to Riis School is just what scares us. When Terrell School closed, I questioned CPS’ recommendation to send our students to Farren School because their test scores were not much better than ours. And Farren was more underutilized than Terrell! Now, Farren is on the failing schools list, so we have to wonder: How much longer will it stay open?? How many times will our children be shuffled around the City??” questioned Geneva Brooks, former Terrell School LSC President. Ms. Brooks fought and finally succeeded in getting her son into Beasley Magnet, a more stable and academically challenging school .

The coalition of parents and community leaders are now challenging CPS’ decisions to close schools. So far, 1,602 students from the 4 closed schools have been forced to move to what CPS claimed was higher performing. In all 4 cases, at least one identified “receiving” school is now on the failing schools hit list. All the CPS “receiving schools” for Dodge School, which CPS closed this summer, are on the State’s NCLB failing schools list.

Parents and community leaders are joining forces, because they are worried that more school closings are ahead for their children.

Among the questions parent and community leaders want the Mayor and CPS to address:

• How does the condition of school facilities impact Chicago's low-performing schools?
• How can our children achieve when facilities and class size affect learning?
• How does the Federal “No Child Left Behind” Act impact school facilities?
• Since there aren’t enough “successful” schools for children to transfer to, how will Chicago improve the neighborhood schools we have and want to keep?

“At Peabody School, we are losing students because of the rapid gentrification here in the West Town/Wicker Park neighborhood. We’re concerned because when schools lose students, they also lose funding, resources, teachers, and programs—all impacting the quality of education. Our school fits the profile for “school closings” and “failing schools,” and we fear that our school could be next. However, we urge CPS follow its capital program and build us the much needed new school that is planned for 2006, and hopefully our parents here in the neighborhood today will be able to benefit from it,” says Peabody LSC representative and West Town Leadership United parent leader, Luz Padilla.

“And just as important, CPS must do a better job at reaching out and including the parents and community in the process for addressing school closings and failing schools,” adds Brooks.

“We are calling upon school officials to do the right thing for Chicago’s children – keep our neighborhood schools open, relieve overcrowding, and help us tell the politicians to support increased education funding. The No Child Left Behind law doesn’t even include money for school repairs and construction to bring down class size!” said Alfred Rodgers, NCBG 2nd Vice President and Southwest side LSC member. Mr. Rodgers is also the Southwest side LSC regional representative. “We agree with Mayor Daley! Shuffling our kids around from school to school is not the answer. Children lose ground when they have to transfer. That’s a sure way to leave kids behind! Let’s work together to improve all our schools instead.”