Hundreds of concerned students, teachers, parents, and concerned citizens converged to a Chicago Public School board meeting, protested in the streets, and staged a downtown rally. The coalition called on a moratorium of the controversial "Renaissance 2010" plan to privatize Chicago Public Schools — ostensibly under the rubric of "underutilization" and "failing test scores", though poised to accelerate trends of gentrification and displacing low-income communities.

The current announced changes would result in at least five closed schools, five more schools consolidated into other schools, and five more schools slated for phase-out. The plans are a legacy of outgoing Chicago Schools CEO Arne Duncan, who has been tapped as the Obama Administration's Secretary of Education.

Chicago Indymedia posts: Massive Protest Fires Opening Shot | Photo essay: 1.28 Stop School Closures Rally at the Board! | The battle to save our schools in Chicago | Media Activist Call-Out for Hearings on School Closings!

Additional Coverage: Teachers for Justice: Stop the Proposed School Closings!! NO to R2010!! | SouthwestYouth Collaborative's Photos - No More School Closings & Privatization | Gapers Block: Over a Thousand Protest Renaissance 2010 | Rally calls for moratorium on school closings | Substance News: Daley shuts out protesters after tumultuous Board of Education meeting | CORE: The Caucus of Rank and File Educators