Re: another Chicago hero

[Csubstance@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/10/06 12:29:29 PM, shays@ccwebster.net writes:

<< Art ... what do you not understand about the fact that there ARE  
schools in Chicago with lots of space, but kids are being forced into  
overcrowded schools so that a few "privileged" kids won't have to  
face overcrowded conditions?  The affected children are not "someone  
else's problem" ... they are the problem of a school district that  
set upon a course providing special treatment for SOME kids while  
denying similar treatment for the rest. >>

9/13/06

I don't bother with Art's reactionary rantings, as I've made clear. The 
reason is that they are intended to divert people from looking at the real issues 
and the facts that are easily available. Repeating reactionary talking points 
is a staple of right wing nutcase bloggers, as we've all found out from time to 
time. Rather than waste time on them, it's best to DELETE and move on to 
relevant discussion. (If you spend enough time on the Web, you'll get spammed at 
some point by these reactionary thought police; sort of the Bill O'Reilly clan 
of the Internet. Best to ignore them unless you have infinite time and 
resources). 

It's been very busy here in Chicago, not only because of the opening of 
school but because our mayor just came out squarely for Wal-Mart and against the 
living wage ordinance passed by our City Council. Although many of us have known 
for a decade or longer that Richard Daley and his brand of "Democrat" are 
deregulation and privatization promoters, it's taken a long time for the issues 
to frame squarely enough for Daley to be right there with Wal-Mart and the 
others in opposition to decency and even common sense. We're expanding Substance's 
Chicago coverage to face these exciting happenings, but our main coverage 
will always be the public schools of Chicago. 

The purpose of this Post is to update the situation on Gage Park High School 
in Chicago. Although there are today more than a dozen overcrowded Chicago 
public high schools (all general high schools, serving the less privileged, and 
almost all of them serving minorities), for this month, thanks to Marty 
McGreal, there is some public discussion of what is happening at one of them: Gage 
Park High School.

The relevant facts, in context, expose the racist and anti- public school 
policies of the Chicago Board of Education (appointed by our mayor) squarely. 
Those polices are to sabotage the general high schools, scapegoat the general 
high schools and traditional public schools, and to promote (at enormous expense, 
both socially and in dollars) the false "choice" of what the Chicago Tribune 
has called the "boutique" schools, especially the charter schools. What Marty 
McGreal did was expose how these "choice" claims are frauds. If the children 
begin squeezed into Gage Park High School had the choice of going to the 
Lindblom building (see below) McGreal would still be at his job as principal of 
Gage. Instead, he's being "fired" as I was six years ago, for similar heresies and 
for articulating similar truths about Chicago's hypocrisy.

Marty McGreal's fight was not over whether the children should attend a 
public school.

It was over where space was available. And the high school space is available 
a few minutes (driving time) from Gage Park High School. 

But that space is being held from the children of Gage Park -- not by Marty 
McGreal but by the policies of the Chicago Board of Education. It's "choice" as 
reactionary hypocrisy, and that's why the response to McGreal was so vicious. 

If I had a map, this explication would be easier. But now that most people 
have MapQuest and similar things, it's not impossible for people who want to 
think through the facts. 

Gage Park High School, where McGreal got into trouble, is at 5630 S. 
Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60629. 

Lindblom High School (currently called a "Math Science Academy" or "College 
Prep High School") is at 6130 S. Wolcott, Chicago 60636. 

If you do a Mapquest, you will see how close they are to one another. The 
driving time from Gage to Lindblom is about five minutes; total distance 1.7 
miles. Many of the students currently attending Gage Park High School live in the 
blocks around the Lindblom building but are barred from attending Lindblom 
because the two "schools" inside Lindblom are both selective enrollment. "Choice" 
in the reactionary world of corporate school reform is not for everyone. 

The Lindblom building was rehabilitated at a cost of more than $30 million 
over the past four years. Last year, the Lindblom staff and students, who had 
been relocated during the rehab, were returned to the Lindblom building. 
Although it is difficult to locate data on the Chicago Public Schools website, a 
little digging can get you to the following:

Last year, in a building meant to hold between 1250 (my numbers, based on the 
building's history) and 1400 (the current numbers CPS is citing, based on a 
very unusual demographic method) Gage Park had 1600 students. As of yesterday, 
it was just under 2000 students. All last week, the Board of Education, after 
firing McGreal, was rushing desks and books (although not enough) to Gage Park 
because of the overcrowding (and the fact that it had become a public issue, 
thanks to McGreal and the protests). 

Last year, Lindblom had fewer than 500 students in its "College Prep High 
School." This year, they've expanded to between 600 and 700 (I'm told), depending 
upon who you talk with. 

In addition to that, the Board of Education put a charter high school ("Urban 
Prep") inside the Lindblom building. Urban Prep reportedly has 120 students. 
So, at maximum right now, the Lindblom building is serving 650 students. 
However, as anyone who goes to Lindblom can see, the building has almost twice the 
capacity of the Gage Park building. (If you can get the aerial maps you can 
see this easily). During the 1960s and 1970s, Lindblom served up to 4000 
students.

One of the interesting things is to try and get these data from CPS. Start at 
the website. Google around. Call Arne Duncan or our mayor. And think about 
"choice" and transparency...

How much space is available today at Lindblom?

How many students attended there last year?

Just about every high school in Illinois (outside Chicago) now has a 
professional website that will give you all this information. Chicago is still 
covering these data up, deliberately, because of what the data would expose about how 
"school reform" is really operating here. 

Clearly, the Chicago Public Schools has the space, near Gage Park, for all of 
the students who are presently being squeezed into the Gage Park building.

The problem is the policy, not Marty McGreal. 

I would also add that the problem includes those who reflexively (and 
racistly) promote that policy, and similar policies, as part of their attack on 
public schools. This is very serious stuff. 

But there is more.

Not only did CPS attack Gage Park, but the top officials of CPS went out of 
their way to try and divert attention from the Gage Park problems with 
publicity stunts and a deluge of propaganda over at Lindblom and at a small 
self-promoting charter school that they just dumped inside the Lindblom building. Here's 
how that worked.

On the opening day of school, the Chicago Board of Education did a major 
media event at Lindblom, featuring the President of the Board, the CEO, and 
numerous others. The event was designed to launch the Urban Prep charter high 
school. The Board's propaganda department ("Communications") made every effort to 
divert media attention away from Gage Park's crisis and over to the hype at 
Lindblom. 

The most extensive version of that propaganda onslaught is available from the 
Chicago Defender (the September 6 story on the opening of "Urban Prep"). The 
Defender quotes extensively from Rufus Williams and Tim King (the charter 
entrepreneur who is running "Urban Prep"). Note that this year, there are more 
than 600 black students at Gage Park, while all of the prattle from CPS (and the 
propaganda recycled by the Defender) is about the 120 kids beginning high 
school at "Urban Prep." At every point, these hypocrisies, when measured against 
the facts, become more and more notable. Urban Prep has no record as a school. 
It just opened. But it's receiving every privilege, while the majority of the 
students are being shunted aside. 

Not only did the Board and Chicago's corporate propagandists try to divert 
attention from the crisis at Gage Park; to a certain extent, they succeeded.

But they only succeed because there are people who want to ignore, distort, 
or spin the facts, as is done by at least one person here at ARN. 

The Board's policy is also racist. Virtually all of the children being hurt 
by the Gage Park overcrowding are black and Latino (a tiny percentage is 
white). 

To spin away from that, the Board wants you to concentrate on the words and 
images cast by the President of the Board and the Urban Prep people, who are 
black privatization and deregulation people.

And, of course, repeat the reactionary talking points that some people spew 
on every issue here at ARN.

My friends at Gage Park are documenting the day-to-day challenges and chaos 
the is undermining the education of those nearly 2,000 children at Gage. Our 
bet is that in January, Chicago CEO Arne Duncan will announce another attack on 
Gage or another one of the general high schools, breathlessly proclaiming that 
the school has "failed" (as measured by test scores) after the real failure 
came from the policy of Duncan's administration (read, our mayor, Richard 
Daley) and corporate Chicago. That policy is promoting the boutiques at Lindblom 
and sabotaging the children of Gage Park. 

In the USA today, "accountability" is a one-way street aimed only at the 
powerless and the working class. Nobody is holding Arne Duncan or Board of 
Education President Rufus Williams (let alone Mayor Daley and his corporate sponsors) 
accountable for the tragedy that is unfolding today for the more than 2000 
students at Gage Park. 

And that is why my anger welled up from the depths of my soul when one fool 
here proclaimed against Marty McGreal a few days ago. 

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance (newspaper)
Substancenews news service