Write an Op-Ed addressed to a Chicago newspaper publication (such as the Chicago Tribune)
You must synthesize the following information in your op-ed:
1. Include your argument from Dyett Part II and some supporting information from the data you gathered for Dyett I.
2. Include supporting evidence from our class (no fewer than two of the course sources–Lareau, Sternehimer, Raible and Irizarry, Houston, et cetera)
12pt font, Times New Roman, single-spaced, 600 words total (This does NOT include your in-text citations)
In this Op-Ed incorporate the following argument and quotes:
Argument
In 2013 the city of Chicago found itself plastered on the pages of The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times because CPS approved the closure of over 50 schools, the largest school closure in Chicago’s history. This is not a hidden issue as individuals have gone on hunger strikes and thousands of people marched the streets to bring awareness, yet there is nothing much being done about it. School closings in Chicago affect the future of this generation of students and employees as well as the generations to come.
Quotes
Due to the unequal distribution of resources, most Southside Chicago public schools serve in underprivileged conditions (Lareau 2011).
When resources are cut or don’t exist within a community, this significantly impacts the greater good as Lareau states, “parents’ social class position predicts children’s school success and thus ultimate life chances” (Lareau 2011).
Despite circumstances and social class, every parent wants their child to flourish (Lareau 2011).
“Educational attainment, what kind of job they [parents] get, and how much money they earn are tightly interwoven” (Lareau 2011).
Dyett Part 1
Dyett High School in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood is just one of the many
Chicago public schools that was on the brink of shutting down due to low attendance and
academic performance. The high school is a public school located in the Washington Park
neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. The neighborhood is a low income community with
issues of crime such as drug use and gang activity. The broader context in which the school and
its surroundings are situated serve as an explanation of the fact that many children raised in
poverty do not do as well as their counterparts. In addition to this, high poverty schools receive
less state and local money than more prosperous schools and students are more likely to be
taught by inexperienced teachers.
In September of 2015, only 12 students showed up for classes in the beginning of the
school year as the school was expected to shut down by then end of the 2014-2015 academic
year. The staff consisted of three teachers and one principle with essential classes such as gym
and art being offered only online (Perez 2015). Dyett High School was phased out at the end of
the 2015 school year and CPS had issued requests to reinvent the school. This is what sparked
action from community members.
Community members have tirelessly fought to keep the school open, arguing that their
proposal to turn Dyett into a “school of green technology and leadership” was not given a fair
shot (Erbentraut 2015). One of the biggest among these efforts includes a hunger strike that was
staged by a group of residents in hopes to pressure Chicago Public Schools to reopen the school.
The protests and hunger strike helped persuade CPS administrators to reopen the school after
years of declining enrollment and low academic performance. Chicago Public Schools said it
planned to open a new arts-focused, neighborhood school on the Dyett High School campus in
fall 2016.
Works Cited
