Chicago united in fight for a better school system – CSMonitor
Tribune’s Brian Casella photo of closed Stewart School sign
Reporter Amanda Paulson interviewed me and some other Chicago activists and got a strong, unified message:
The district’s critics are focused not only on the school closures, but also on budget cuts, a profusion of standardized tests, large class sizes, and a governance system that includes a mayor-selected school board rather than an elected one.
“It is looking to be our worst year ever,” says Julie Woestehoff, executive director of the parent group PURE, assessing the state of the public schools. But she is hopeful that the problems will be a catalyst for change. “Sometimes you have to bottom out in order to make the changes that really need to be made,” she says. “That will begin