Parents scrambled to find places for their children as public school teachers in Chicago started their first strike in 25 years on Sept. 10. Job security, evaluation procedures, benefits, and classroom conditions are key to the strike, while pay is not as big an issue, according to the teachers.
“We are demanding a reasonable timetable for the installation of air conditioning in student classrooms—a sweltering, 98-degree classroom is not a productive learning environment for children,” said Chicago Teacher’s Union President Karen Lewis in a press release.
Chicago’s school system is the third largest in the country. In response to the strike, the school system opened 145 schools, but for only four hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
In Chicago, 84 percent of public school students qualify for the federal free lunch program, so breakfast and lunch were offered at the open school sites.
Access to computer labs, gyms, and “a safe environment and positive activities they need and deserve” were among the services offered at the open school sites, according to a Sept. 4 letter from Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Jean-Claude Brizard.
“My team and I are committed to staying at the negotiating table—every hour of every day if needed—until we reach a fair resolution that keeps our students in class where they belong,” wrote Brizard in a letter to parents.
According to the Chicago Tribune, about 150 teachers picketed outside the open site at Disney Magnet School, chanting “Rahm, Brizard, we’re no fools. We won’t let you ruin our schools.” They were also addressing Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Some parents and students were reluctant to cross teacher picket lines, yet working parents needed to drop their children off at the school sites. “It’s really awkward. We support the teachers but, on the other hand, what am I supposed to do with my kid? I have to go to work,” said Antonia Hernandez, quoted by the Tribune.
Some parents planned to bring their children to work for the afternoon. At least 59 churches and other faith-based organizations offered children a place to go.
Chicago’s 350,000 students received no instruction at the sites, but they could participate in activities such as “independent reading and writing, arts and journaling, sports activities, computer-based programming, among others,” according to Brizard. Only certified teachers are allowed to provide instruction in Chicago schools.
Office staff, nonunion employees, and individuals from nonprofit organizations were to staff the open sites, with the ratio capped at one adult for every 25 students, according to CPS. Elementary- and high-school students were to be kept separate.
The city’s summer camps extended their sessions in around 70 to 80 parks. The Chicago Transit Authority offered free rides for students, and 79 public libraries became “safe havens” during what would have been the school day.
The city had just extended both the number of days in a school year and the hours of a school day. It also intended to change the way teachers would be evaluated and offered no raises, despite the longer hours. Teachers have not had a contract since June, while the two sides tried and failed to reconcile their differences.
According to Emanuel, more teaching time is an essential reform to help students learn. He and Brizard want teachers to be evaluated based upon students’ standardized test scores.
Lewis said that it is unfair to evaluate teachers based upon test scores because “there are too many factors beyond our control, which impact how well some students perform on standardized tests such as poverty, exposure to violence, homelessness, hunger, and other social issues beyond our control.”
According to the Tribune, Lewis and Emanuel have a hostile relationship.
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