Marching in Chicago: Resisting Rahm Emanuel's Neoliberal Savagery

[HiPointDem]

53. they're not 'under-attended'. the claim of 'underutilization' is false.

It's also hard to know what CPS means by "underutilized." An independent investigation of CPS data by the Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education coalition found that "76 percent of CPS elementary schools had entire grades above the recommended class size limit set by CPS in 2011," according to Catalyst Chicago.

Clearly, the statistics that supposedly show underutilization at more than 300 schools have been manipulated.

http://socialistworker.org/2013/03/04/rahms-scorched-earth-assault


Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push to close dozens of schools hinges on a vision of the "ideal" size for kindergarten through eighth-grade classes as 30 students, far larger than is the case now in the typical Chicago classroom.

That round number — little mentioned despite months of public debate — provides the simplest explanation yet for parents, students and teachers trying to understand why their schools are among 129 that could face closing.

Setting a benchmark higher than what records indicate is reality across Chicago — and far higher than in many suburbs — indicates to some that Emanuel is willing to buck the popular notion that smaller classes produce better students who get more individual attention.

But state records show that actual classroom numbers are all over the map in Chicago, with some above 30 yet most well below. Last school year, for example, Chicago classes ranged from an average size of 23.8 in second grade to 25.1 in sixth grade, according to the state data. City class-size averages have been in the same ballpark for several years, the state records show.

Thirty is not the norm in most suburbs or downstate school districts either, according to state statistics that show most class sizes substantially below that.

The statewide average class size ranges from 20.9 in kindergarten to 22.8 in fifth grade.

Asked why they seized on the 30-student-a-class standard in calculations, school officials first told the Tribune that the number reflected the reality in a Chicago classroom today. Pressed on the discrepancy with state records, they said they didn't know where the state got its information and cast doubt on its accuracy. The state said it gets its data from CPS.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-06/news/ct-met-cps-school-closing-class-size-20130306_1_class-size-state-records-high-schools


Rahm's closing *only* black schools because they don't have 30 kids/per class. It's bullshite and it's racist.