AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/chicago-public-schools/)
The idea of opening a new Austin high school was met with mixed reviews at a meeting earlier this month; parents and other West Side residents discussed ways to ensure the schools that are losing students remain open.
The focus should be on showing West Side residents that students can receive an equitable and well-resourced education at Austin’s existing high schools, writes resident Dwayne Truss.
That’s good news, though some advocates say West Side students continue to suffer from too little funding over the years.
West Side business owners, parents and social workers met last week in Oak Park to discuss the potential and challenges facing the school. The conversation was moderated by Reesheda Graham Washington, executive director of Community First Association and owner of the LIVE café, where the meeting was held.
The layoffs will hurt West Side students and the community as a whole, educators and advocates say.
West Side schools in the state’s largest district will see fewer teachers, staff in September when classes begin, warn community activists and others.
Longtime Austin resident sounds the alarm about how officials are deciding what to do with the school, which has been vacant since 2013 when it was closed.
There are 12,000 slots available for Chicago teens to work an apprenticeship or internship through the program started by Maggie Daley.
The Austin school is down to just 150, causing some to fear it will be shuttered. CPS shut down four Austin elementary schools in 2013, including one right across the street from Douglass.
CPS is still trying to attract developers to re-purpose buildings shut in 2013.