CTU rallies to fight closure of 7 charter schools

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago Teachers Union is vowing to fight the closure of seven charter schools serving largely Latino communities.

A week after a vote by Acero charter leaders, union members and parents spoke out in front of Cisneros Elementary in Brighton Park on the southwest side.

It’s one of the schools targeted for closure at the end of this school year.

Bilingual teacher Sara Magana said she’s worried what will happen to her students if the school closes.

“Beyond the emotional toll, many of my students depend on our valuable programs and support services to survive,” Magana said.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates points to massive closures 11 years ago under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel as a failure.

“There are a 1,000 students that were impacted during those school closings that we do not know what happened to them. We do not have any idea what happened to them. And here we are again,” Davis Gates said.

She said the district lost track of one thousand students who were affected by the closure of 50 schools.

Davis Gates said the union is looking to allies in Springfield, the City Council and the newly elected school board to help stop the closures.

Acero leaders cited declining enrollment and increasing personnel costs as reasons to close seven schools at the end of this school year.

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