Chicago has hard decisions to make before closing more schools

I hope the series of articles on the 50 schools that were closed in 2013 leads to hard conversations in Chicago about the costs and benefits of closing and disinvesting in public schools — particularly for Black students, families and communities.

As an educational researcher who has studied similar schools, I want to add policy context for the outcomes reported and also suggest some new directions for CPS.

The creation of charters and turnarounds proliferated in the years up to and including 2013. Although the number of new and turnaround schools tapered off after 2013, CPS’ embrace of “choice” intensified, with accountability ratings (now defunct) and resources, such as the Annual Regional Analysis, to steer parents to “better” schools.

Thus, the closing of schools is not a “stand-alone” strategy. In Chicago, it has meant disinvesting in publicly managed schools in favor of privately managed options with reduced data reporting and accountability. Your reported student outcomes are evidence of the efficacy of Chicago’s “school choice” policy environment for families forced to choose new schools for their children.

The series draws attention to two essential goals, in addition to school quality, going forward: stability in the educational experiences of children, which requires attention to sources of instability outside schools; and effective support for student transitions.

There is plenty of research to back up these goals for both student and school outcomes. The complexity of attending to all three goals requires knowledgeable and skilled leadership at both the school and district levels, and strong partnerships with other public agencies and service organizations.

I hope CPS and its longtime partners can, once and for all, get behind this work.

Lisa Jean Walker, PhD, Chicago

House migrants on federal property

Apparently, competence in fiscal responsibility is not a requirement for political office. This has been demonstrated repeatedly at all levels of government.

Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to use $51 million in “surplus funds” to aid migrants. Where is this surplus coming from? Chicago has millions owed to underfunded pension plans. CPS has schools that are closed because they were underutilized, and cannot close any more schools until 2025, yet they want to spend millions on a new high school. We must separate what we want from what we need.

The federal government is responsible for the migrant crisis, yet has only offered token support. Instead of spending city funds, we should move the migrants out of the police stations and into federal buildings — court houses, office buildings, military bases, senators’ and representatives’ offices, etc. Let’s see how quickly they respond to the need for funds when migrants are in their lap.

I firmly believe we should do all we can to help these people. My family is one of migrants, some many generations ago, some recently.

Charles Carlson, Belmont-Cragin

Jail’s solution to drug-laced paper is ‘draconian’

For the past decade, I have been a member of Midwest Books to Prisoners, a nonprofit that sends books to incarcerated people, including in Cook County Jail, so people can read and achieve educational goals. People inside have told us how important books are — they engage their minds, allow for learning, and reduce disciplinary tickets. We have sent countless books to thousands of people, with no issues until recently.

Suddenly, books and paper have become the target of a draconian clampdown (because of concerns over drug-laced paper). The sheriff’s office has had a rule specifying that people can only have three books in their possession, but it has been randomly and rarely enforced over the last decade. That changed in April, when officers conducted raids, indiscriminately throwing away books, in a facility with no libraries. People were not allowed to decide which three they would keep, and some people had all their books thrown away, including legal books and dictionaries people use to help prepare their own defense.

Midwest Books has continued to send books these past few months, but after a decade without problems, our books are suddenly being rejected at high rates. The mailroom now says that the books are “stained,” “have permeated pages,” “emit odors,” or simply give no reason. We don’t get the books back, the sheriff’s office destroys them, so we cannot appeal the decision and prove our books are not an issue. However, the sheriff’s office now points to these rejection forms as cases of “contraband” to justify their draconian measures.

Tablets are not the catch-all solution that Sheriff Tom Dart claims. People inside are limited to when, where, and for how long they can access tablets, with limited books available. Tablet use is limited to the day room, and people spend 20+ hours in their cell. What are people supposed to read for the vast majority of the day?

Dart claims that these extreme measures are needed to prevent drug-overdose deaths. We, too, are concerned with the health and safety of people inside the jail, but throwing out books that have already been screened by the jail is not the answer.

Jacqueline Spreadbury, Oak Forest

Royko’s take on aldermen

With all of the shouting and insults being thrown around by Black and Hispanic aldermen (and their constituents in the gallery) when considering whether or not to direct $51 million to the care of migrants, they unwittingly exhibited adherence to Mike Royko’s famous twist on the city’s motto, “Urbs in Horto” (city in a garden) to the more apt “ubi est mea” (where is mine?).

Kevin Garvey, Chicago