"Rickover" Military Academy Prepares to Drop Anchor at Senn
By Jesse Sharkey

On hearing that the planned Naval Academy at Senn High School is to be named the “Rickover” Naval Academy, a Senn teacher quipped, “that about sums up how we feel about it… if you change the first two letters.”

Perhaps it is sad that the Naval Academy at Senn HS will be named for Hymen Rickover, an ardent cold warrior whose nuclear submarine program set Armageddon on a hair trigger. But it is more sad that the military is moving in on public education at all—and doing it over the vocal objections of the community.

It is the only logical conclusion that we would begin naming schools after generals, warriors, and war criminals (after all, one side’s war hero is the other side’s war criminal.)

Meanwhile, teachers, students and community members at Senn are continuing to oppose the BOE’s plan for Senn HS, which in addition to the Naval Academy, seems likely to include closing the school and parceling the building out to charter and contract schools.

No specific plans have been announced, but Mary Ann Smith has formed a committee to advise Arne Duncan on the best way to ‘improve’ Senn, and stacked it with her own constituents. The fight over Senn High School will continue.

See Sun Times piece on Rickover Academy www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-senn26.html