Parents rally to keep their school open

Parents rally Monday to keep their school open

Parents whose children attend the Miriam G. Canter Elementary School in the Kenwood/Oakland area are holding a rally tonight at Dr. King's Workshop to protest the closing of their facility because it will soon become a middle school pushing some students out the door.

They are meeting at 6:30 p.m. at 930 E. 50th Street to vent their anger and frustration that the their school, located at 4959 S. Blackstone could be closed.

Renita Braggs, a parent, explained that: "They're closing the school. There was a proposal to redesignate. They'll elect a new principal and new teachers and we're not certain if our students will be allowed back into the school."

Gretta Chamberlain, a teacher and Local School Council member whose daughter attends Canter Middle School, said: "Supposedly, the community has decided they wanted to have a neighborhood middle school.

"They've been meeting for the last two-years, but, the process actually started back in 1997 with the University of Chicago involved," she stated. "Many of the parents are not for this proposal. They don't want to uproot their child from the school where they've been in sixth grade."

However, when contacted, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) said: "I support the creation of a neighborhood middle school for the Hyde Park/Kenwood community in response to the concerns of our school leadership.

"This is a proposal that comes from the principals of our neighborhood schools," she said. "They think it is a good idea, and so do I."

When asked if that's is going to be good for the students, Preckwinkle said: "I think middle schools are great ideas. Academic and emotional needs of preteens can be better served in an environment that's focused on them and where you don't have the broad age groups that you have in traditional grade schools."

"We have some serious problems with students not doing well in their first year at Kenwood, and we wanted to make sure these kids are well prepared."

Preckwinkle said a middle school ensures that these students entering Kenwood "would be given a better shot" academically by preparing them better in the middle school.

Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.

Photo (Parents from Miriam G. Canter Middle School)