Dyett High Protesters Rip Alderman, Mayor, CPS
CITY HALL — Dyett High School parents, students and community leadersrepeated their calls to keep the school open and accused the local alderman of making a "backroom deal" to move another school into the Washington Park building at a protest Monday at City Hall.
Jeanette Taylor, chairwoman of the Local School Council at nearby Mollison Elementary and a member of the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett High School, said Ald. Will Burns (4th) met with the group last week, but asked no questions about its presentation to convert the school into the Dyett Global Leadership and Green Technology Community High School.
He said simply that he would not support it, Taylor said.
Accusing him of "continued disrespect," Taylor called Burns "unaccountable, and his performance is unacceptable."
Yet Burns denied there were any backroom deals and said he also was against closing Dyett, at 555 E. 51st St.
"I totally agree with them that Dyett should be kept open as a high-quality, open-enrollment high school," Burns said. "I've told them that, and I've told them that's what we share in common."
Yet, he also said that he had "not endorsed their plan for Dyett." He said he has "no plan" to move another school into the building.
The group wants Burns to hold a public hearing on the proposal in the next 30 days, and also calls on Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools to support the plan.
Taylor also is pressing CPS to hold a town hall meeting on the topic.
"Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Will Burns are in lockstep in ignoring the needs of children from working and low-income families," Taylor added.
Emanuel spokeswoman Rachel Kruer, though, said that her office has "met with this group and are scheduling a future meeting to discuss providing quality education options in the North Kenwood and Oakland communities."
CPS Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett and CPS board members "continue to receive proposals about the future of Dyett High School and are always interested to hear feedback from the community on how we can collaborate to provide quality education options to our students," said CPS spokesman Joel Hood. "CPS has met with Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, including two weeks ago when board President David Vitale listened to their proposal for Dyett High School."
Despite Burns' statements, Parrish Brown, valedictorian of Dyett's 39 graduating seniors this year, said he believes the alderman is not on their Dyett High Protesters Rip Alderman, Mayor, CPS - Downtown - DNAinfo.com Chicago: