General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I can't stand hearing the Chicago parents asking what they are supposed to do with their children [View all]HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)the city.
Think of it like Jets invading a school in Shark territory.
Communities believe charter schools actually increase violence
A lot of the people most affected by charter school expansion would strongly disagree with Lockett's notion that charter schools are an answer to youth violence. In fact, communities report strong feelings that charter schools, and the school closings that go hand in hand with their expansion, have actually contributed to increased violence.
The 2007 report, "Students as Collateral Damage" (Lipman and Person), includes interviews and first-person accounts of students and teachers from schools closed in the Mid-South region of Chicago during the first years of Mayor Daley's Renaissance 2010 program:
Teachers, staff, and students report that incoming students are traveling outside of their neighborhood, often crossing different gang boundary lines. As one parent stated, "We have a lot of issues with gang fights. This is the bottom line." (p. 33)
Parents, teachers, administrators and students at receiving schools report increasing concerns about the rise in discipline and safety issues resulting from an influx of new students. Concerns centering on these issues are twofold: an increase in discipline and behavioral problems in receiving schools and classrooms, and an increase in violence in and around receiving schools. (p.31)
In March, April, and May 2006, a series of articles in both major Chicago newspapers highlighted the escalating violence in schools receiving displaced students. In some instances they reported that teachers were quitting out of fear, yet CPS officials vowed to continue the school closings. The Chicago school reform journal Catalyst also reported increase in violent incidents (Duffrin, 2006) in all receiving schools in the Midsouth. (p. 32)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-woestehoff/chicago-violence-charter-schools-_b_1666630.html