On Wednesday February 23, Chicago Public School board approved the closure of three Chicago grade schools and the phasing out of Englewood Technical High School. Within a few hours parents of effected students filed two restraining orders in federal court. This is the first time that federal legal action has been taken to prevent the closing of Chicago schools.

CPS board members approved the closing of Grant, 145 S. Campbell Ave; Howland, 1616 S. Spaulding; and Bunche school at 6515 S. Ashland. The three schools will all close their doors after the end of this school year. In the same move the board approved the initial phasing out of Englewood High School by changing the attendance boundaries for the incoming freshman class in 2005.

Parents of Bunche students and Englewood students filed restraining orders to prevent the closures and phase out from going into effect. Both cases are scheduled to be heard Tuesday, March 1 in federal court.

The closings come despite vocal opposition from parents and the communities. At public hearings held earlier at the CPS offices and in the Englewood community, parents and students charged the board has failed to listen to the concerns and demands of the community while making decisions that will have a detrimental impact on the community.

The incoming freshman students to Englewood will be sent to four other surrounding high schools; Hyde Park, Hirsch, Dyett Academy, and Robeson. All of which are also classified by CPS as failing schools.

At the February 10 public hearing at CPS offices on 125 S. Clark Street, over a hundred students, parents and residents came to oppose the board’s plans of Englewood. The public hearing remained open for three and a half hours as residents warned the one CPS representative why the plan was faulty.

One of the biggest concerns was the safety of the children being transferred to other schools.

“No one took into consideration,” noted Sixth District Illinois State Representative Patricia Bailey, “that you are pulling students out, making them cross gang boundary lines and herding them off like cattle. They are not cattle.”

The board took into account a possible increase in gang violence and the safety of students and determined the problem “manageable.” But when pressed to answer if the CPS even knew what gangs where in the different schools, the hearing officer and experts couldn’t answer. Neither could the full board at the February 23 meeting.

Not only were Englewood residents in attendance but also parents and teachers from the schools that will be forced to take the freshman students. Speakers voiced the folly of sending students to failing schools and wanted to know why high performance schools in the area, such as Kenwood, were left off the list.

Teachers asked if the board had taken into account a possible domino effect on test scores at the intake high schools.

Julius Polk, member of the Hyde Park Local School Council, gave his take on the plan. “Hyde Park has seen an increase in PSA scores, even after enduring previous boundary changes,” said Polk. “We should use this opportunity to send students to high performing schools. We are so concerned about the racial make-up but no concern about the academic make-up.”

Polk’s comments came in response to the board’s study finding that the boundary change will not alter the African-American majority in any of the affected schools.

School achievement is rated heavily on the Prairie State Assessment Exam. The exam is required by state law and also as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

CPS requires that any school with less than 30 percent of students passing the PSA but put on academic probation. Englewood has the lowest scores in the system, with only 4 percent of students passing at a satisfactory level, but test scores are improving. Englewood has been on academic probation for nine years.

Whatever the outcome of Tuesday’s hearing, students and residents plan to fight.