I’ve been a Chicago Public School student since I was in kindergarten all the way through senior year of high school. The amount of pride I have in saying, “I went to Burley, Sauganash, and onwards to Lane Tech” is indescribable. Being raised in Chicago is something to be proud of despite recent events and issues happening in my city right now.
One of these atrocious events is the pay cuts and layoffs of Chicago Public School teachers. My past teachers have a special place in my heart. These people have mentored me throughout my childhood and into my young adulthood making me the person I am today. I can say, without hesitation, that I received a high quality education at every CPS school I attended. The current problem is that Chicago’s Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, CEO of CPS, Forrest Claypool, and the Governor of Illinois , Bruce Rauner, want to significantly defund our school system with their first target being the beloved teachers. But, the fact of the matter is that Bruce Rauner and Rahm Emanuel do not care nearly as much about my teachers that I do.
Here are some quick facts about CPS:
- 86.02 % of students are low-income
- 396,683 students
- 41,579 employees of which only 22,519 are teachers
- 16.7% English Language Learners
“According to district budget numbers released in July, CPS enrollment has dropped by 8,781 students in the last two years. Officials project enrollment for the FY17 school year will be 364,306 – down from the 373,087 students enrolled in 2015” (Masterson, 2016).
These facts are undisputed especially to current CPS students. We have one of the largest school systems in the United States with a miniscule amount of funding in comparison to other school districts.The politicians that make decisions for CPS want to cut teacher’s pay by seven percent over the next four years or expect around five thousand teachers to be laid off. This is not a choice for these teachers, this is a career-threatening ultimatum.
My former teachers do not deserve this. They have worked long and hard to help children and teens of Chicago create a good life for themselves and are currently being threatened because our ‘trusted’ politicians have not spent the estimated given budget of over five billion dollars, correctly. CPS teachers are like no other, they never stop giving and helping the youth of Chicago, why are their salaries and jobs being threatened? I ask myself the same question.
The teachers plan to strike within the next week and put up the upmost fight to get what they deserve: fair pay and job security. What we can do to help is show our support for our current/former teachers throughout this strike. In past strikes, students have done as much as picketing with the teachers. Their fight is our fight, we must stand with them. I’m over two hundred miles away from Chicago and my former high school but I stand with all Chicago Public School students and teachers and will do anything to end this issue and put our school system back on it’s feet.
"Chicago Public Schools Fast Facts." Huffington Post. Huffington, 12 May 2016. Web.
Masterson, Matt. "CPS to Cut More Than 1,000 Teaching, Support Staff Positions." CPS to Cut More Than 1,000 Teaching, Support Staff Positions. WWCI, 5 Aug. 2016. Web.
Tucker, Dorothy. "CPS Says Contract Offer Staves Off Layoffs, But Teachers Say It Cuts Pay." CBS Local News. CBS NEWs, 15 Dec. 2015. Web.
