Parents hold hunger strike outside Bronzeville high school
CHICAGO — A group of concerned parents are staging a hunger strike in front of Dyette High School.
The Chicago Board of Education voted to phase out the school after what they call years of poor performance and declining enrollment.
In fact, this past year, only 13 students made up the senior class.
But the district is interested in re-opening Dyett for the 2016-17 school year as an open enrollment neighborhood school with a revamped curriculum and focus.
There are three proposals.
The parents who are part of the hunger strike worked with local and national education experts to come up with one of them: The Global Leadership and Green Technology plan.
The other two include a sports-focused academy and an arts school.
Parents say there was supposed to be a final meeting with the school board this month and then a vote on the 26th. But they just learned both were tabled.
One protestor, whose lives nearby, says her daughter is going into 8th grade this year and if Dyett isn’t reopened in 2016, her daughter would have to travel 16 miles to the nearest high school.
She is not happy and feels her group’s proposal isn’t being taken seriously.
CPS spokesperson Bill McCaffrey released a statement saying
Chicago Public Schools is carrying out a community driven process to select a new high-quality school for the former Dyett site. Identifying a high-quality education option for the former Dyett site is a priority for the District, and CPS is reviewing school proposals to determine the best open enrollment, neighborhood education option for the site.
Chicago Public Schools says it will hold a public hearing on September 15th at 6 p.m. at CPS headquarters for community members to provide additional input on the three proposals.Parents hold hunger strike outside Bronzeville high school | WGN-TV:
