School Canceled in Chicago Due to Teacher Strike

The strike has pitted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel against the Chicago Teachers Union.  Even after 400 hours of negotiation, Emanuel and Union president Karen Lewis have been unable to reach a compromise over a longer school day, testing, teacher evaluation and pay raises.

Mayor Emmanuel wants student test scores to count toward 25-40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation and wants a longer school day to leave more time for instruction, including music classes, and give economically disadvantaged children a leg up.

Union President Lewis argues that standardized tests are not a good way to measure success and that teachers are not being compensated for the extended day.

Testing and longer school days are the issue in the Chicago strike

	Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel meets with elementary school students. He made election promises to bring tough reform to Chicago schools.

“Rahm is bullying us down” says Joshua, a middle school science teacher and “strike captain.” “He’s messing with our power to negotiate.”

Joshua is against using student test scores to decide whether a teacher is doing a good job.

“The problem with that is the tests don’t measure growth,” Joshua said.  “I work at a school where poverty is a huge problem.  That hinders student growth.”  

However, Emanuel continues to support the system, saying, “The evaluation is designed by our teachers, for our teachers, and will be revised by our teachers.”

Working parents scramble to take care of their kids

	To help parents, the Sheridan Park field house allowed parents of over 100 Chicago students to drop their kids off for a Play in the Park day.

While school officials opened 140 schools for half-days to feed those students who rely on the free school breakfast and lunch, that did not help the kids whose parents work all day.

Some children were left locked at home or wandering the streets and some parents were angry.

“How dare you guys stop school in session? How dare you do that to our children? What are you thinking about? Not about them,” said Gladys Hampton, a CPS parent.

However not all parents feel the same way.

Kathleen has two children in a Chicago public elementary school.  

“I am fully supportive of the teachers,” she said. 

Kathleen was a Chicago public school student during the last strike in the 1980s that lasted for 19 days.  Back then, students had to stay in school until June 30 to make up the lost time.  But she is still supportive. 

“A lot is expected of teachers in Chicago,” Kathleen says in reference to the extended school day and rising class sizes. “And Chicago parents are tired of testing.” 

She did offer a sure-fire way to end the strike quickly: “Handcuff [union president] Karen Lewis and [mayor] Rahm Emanuel together.  The strike would be over in ten minutes.”