CPS Students Stage Sit In & Walkout To Protest Closures, Teacher Firings

By aaroncynic in News on May 4, 2013 4:00PM

A group of students and some parents held a sit-in at Williams Elementary yesterday to protest its proposed closure. At least 65 students and five parents assembled in the hallways at 10 a.m. According to a press release from the group Occupy CPS, students from Williams Elementary and Williams Middle School, on Chicago’s south side, will be transferred to Drake Elementary first, and then Drake Elementary will be relocated to the current Williams Elementary building.

Meanwhile, hundreds of students walked out of Lincoln Park High School to protest the firing of 8 teachers. DNAInfo.com reports the teachers will lose their jobs next year when the school transitions to a “wall to wall International Baccalaureate program.” The IB program has a more rigorous academic schedule and breaks up students by test scores. Nearly all of Lincoln Park High School’s 2,000 students participated in the walkout.

Kylie Kahn, a sophomore at LPHS told CBS news:

“Our teachers, you know, they’re the rock of our school, and they’re the reason why we’re out here today, because they’re really our role models, and they didn’t deserve to be treated the way that they were.”

Principal Michael Boraz made the decision to axe the eight teachers. In a statement that didn't exactly address the walkout or the firings, Boraz said: "As principal of Lincoln Park High School, it’s imperative to make the decisions that are in the best interests of all our students and their academic success."