On July 10th, 2017 at 5 p.m. , a town hall was held at the National Teachers Academy (NTA) elementary school. The event was held in order for the community of parents, educators, and supporters involved with the school to be able to voice their opinions and concerns on the Chicago Public School’s proposal. The proposal is for NTA to be converted into a high school for incoming students in the Chinatown, Bronzeville, and Bridgeport neighborhoods. The elementary school students at NTA would be transferred to a new school in the South Loop area for the 2018-2019 school year. It was clear by the atmosphere and speeches given by the community that the majority of attendees disagreed with the proposal.
Over 100 people of all races, primarily Black, Asian, and White, attended the town hall, filling both the main room and the overflow, which took place in the gym. Before the event started, a detailed packet was handed out detailing the CPS plan along with answering some frequently asked questions, such as “If NTA becomes a high school, what would a conversion look like for students in different grades?” and “What is the current state of elementary schools in this area?” As the event was beginning, there were two other sheets handed out. The first was printed with 258 colorful handprints, each representing “a child who will be displaced by the CPS plan to close National Teachers Academy.” The second was a call from Chicagoans United for Equity (CUE) to attend upcoming meetings and posing the question, “We don’t have to settle for poorly thought out solutions that hurt us all, so why even consider it?”
After the introduction of the present aldermen, including Daniel Solis and State Representative Theresa Mah, NTA Principal Isaac D. Castelaz, after wild applause from the audience, posed a question to the room. He emphasized “The NTA way” through sharing the school’s values of Courage, Commitment, Awareness, and Integrity. He left the podium with the following: “Which of these values do you want to uphold tonight?” Again, there was a great applause in the room and parent number one came forward.
Parents, mostly donned in “I [heart] NTA tees, students, and members of the community were each given two minutes to speak and were called by previously assigned number. The overall attitude of the community was an acknowledgment of the need for a high school in the area but a rejection of it being at the expense of a level one elementary school. There was also a level of disdain with politicians, both large and local. One man stated that, “NTA is being demolished. The things that made it a home will be smashed. It’s not a merger. It’s a hostile takeover.” He went on to call out Rahm Emanuel saying, “You won by the skin of your teeth; you won’t win next time.” He was followed by a huge applause from the audience.
Others argued that closing NTA would give children a lack of stability. “Take the foundation from a child, and you take their ability,” says an NTA mother. “We want to teach our kids stability. We do need a high school; we don’t want to start all over.”
Another major concern was that when the new school experienced issues, that the students of color would be first in the line of fire. “Are the boundaries of Chinatown guaranteed?” asks the mother of an NTA scholar. “How many think they’ll be included when push comes to shoves?” echoes the father of an NTA rising second grader.
Still, others defended the high school. A south loop resident and father of two girls recognized that a high school would shorten the distance his children would have to travel. “There’s no high school here,” he says. “It makes sense to convert. My daughter can walk if this becomes a high school.” He received mild applause.
Despite the detailed slideshow at the beginning of the event and the assurances that the new school was necessary as there are “28 elementary schools in the area and only four level one high schools,” it would be a state of the art facility, and elementary students at NTA will be able to attend the school in the South Loop “regardless of where they live.” But, parents and supporters, aware that it will not happen overnight, were not moved. Most see it as a means to divide the community and as an act of discrimination. CPS has stated they will provide an update before the first day of school for this upcoming year.
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