Saving Our Schools

Our local public schools are the bedrock of our community. It is a place for community discourse, a voting location, and a determinate of our property values. A strong local public school is a major factor in attracting young families to our neighborhoods. And these are the benefits to our community to those that do not have a child attending our local public schools.

I attended public elementary school, my daughter currently attends Kate Starr Kellogg elementary school, named for a local pioneering educator. Both of my sons attended both public elementary schools and high schools. I am a strong proponent of public education. Public schools are required to address a child’s education, not what they believe it should be, but where their education currently is. There is no option to turn a child down, nor should there be. Every citizen deserves the best education that a world class city like Chicago can provide.

I will ensure that we maintain a great public-school option and will again defend our schools from closing or being tampered with to fit a political agenda. A group of my fellow parents in 2016 steadfastly refused to have schools closed and shuffled around to fit a disastrous “Plan”. The strength of our community prevented this plan’s fruition.

In 2017 the parents of another elementary school National Teachers Academy (NTA) came to us to ask for help in fighting back their alderperson’s plan to close their school. NTA was a high performing low-income school that should have been celebrated but was slated to be closed. The parents of NTA and I stood shoulder to shoulder and fought to keep NTA open.

As alderman, I will ensure that we have strong public schools for our children where ever they may be in the spectrum of learning.