Spawn of Rahm Not Attending Public School in Fall

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 21, 2011 4:30PM

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

If Chicago Public School teachers were already wary of Mayor Emanuel's plans for the school system, Emanuel's announcement that his children would attend University of Chicago Lab School in the fall must be at least a tacit acknowledgement of what he thinks of the value of a public school education, if not an outright rebuke.

Yes, it's Emanuel's and wife Amy's decision to send daughters Leah and Ilana and son Zach to whatever schools they believe give them the best education. But a large part of Emanuel's mayoral campaign was based on educational reform, which we now see as doubling down on pet Daley initiatives as charter schools. Emanuel said at a news conference a few weeks back, "My children get me as a parent, not as the mayor."

But with labor tensions riding high between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union, a nice caveat to at least show Emanuel walks the walk would have been to look at placing his kids in a gifted public school, like Disney Magnet.

The teachers and students at the Emanuel's home school, Ravenswood Elementary, a fine arts magnet school with 72.6 percent of its enrollment being low-income and Hispanic, must really be feeling the sting today. And not only does Emanuel opt for a private school - again, his choice - but he decides to shuttle his kids to one of the toniest private schools in the city. At least the Obamas, who sent their daughters to U of C Lab School, lived in the neighborhood.