CPS Back to School Live Updates: That's a wrap on first day of school

I checked in after school with nine-year-old Abraham, a newcomer who arrived in Chicago two months ago after traveling from Venezuela with his mom. Abraham was exhausted after his first day at Jordan Elementary School in Rogers Park. He hasn’t learned his teacher’s name yet, but says he had a good day in class.

He’s looking forward to learning math and playing soccer with his new friends. Abraham walked to school this morning with his mother, Carolina, and her partner Jose. The family is staying at a nearby city-run shelter. Originally from Venezuela, they briefly lived in Peru before moving to the U.S. in search of a better life.

Dozens of migrant families from the shelter traveled to and from school together, finding safety in numbers. Carolina and Jose ran errands until it was time to pick up Abraham at 3 pm.

They’re still learning how to navigate the CTA and nearly missed a connecting bus to get to the school on time. Carolina feels relieved that her son is enrolled in a good school, and that it gives her time to work and save money. They’re hoping to stay in the Rogers Park area long term.

Meanwhile, Abraham says his biggest goal at the moment is to find a bike to explore the neighborhood and maybe ride to school in the mornings.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Monday that the union had warned Chicago Public Schools leaders against moving the start of the school year earlier into August because of the threat posed by heat waves like the one hitting the city this week.

“The calendar was done very haphazardly without any type of democracy or input or collaboration, and so now you have a calendar that has children in school buildings that perhaps should not be in those school buildings,” Davis Gates said outside Kenwood Academy High School, where she had just finished visiting with Mayor Brandon Johnson and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

Asked if she would address the concerns with Martinez, who made the decision on the earlier start, Davis Gates blamed former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration. And she said the current calendar came without negotiation, but that’ll change now that state lawmakers granted the CTU its full bargaining rights.

“I would like to call Pedro back to the table on that right now. What I think the calendar we have right now shows us is that without the type of collaboration that a bargaining table yields, you get calendars that don’t make a lot of sense to a city that’s experiencing climate catastrophe.”

A CPS spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to Davis Gates’ comments.

But earlier Monday, Martinez said all schools had working AC and would be ready for the heat.

“Our team has been working around the clock, all of last week, this weekend,” he said. “Any systems that are having issues, we’re getting those resolved over the weekend, on Friday. Of course, our buildings are old, so for our families, we have a lot of window units.

“We’re going to continue to keep an ear out for any school that’s having any issues, but hopefully the heat will pass over a few days and we’ll continue forward.”

Dozens of CPS parents gathered before dismissal Monday outside of the newly named Minnie Miñoso Academy, blocks west of Guaranteed Rate Field, named after the White Sox Hall of Famer. Formerly George B. McClellan Elementary School, at 3527 S. Wallace St., the school had been named for years after a racist Union Army commander.

It was one of three CPS schools renamed this year after a Sun-Times investigation found that 30 schools were named for slaveholders. Some parents waiting outside the school for dismissal were delighted by the new name.

“It’s a great callback to White Sox history,” said Lashun Nash, 30, who waited for his son, Avery, to finish his first day of pre-K.Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso was a Cuban baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues and became an All-Star third baseman.

In Chicago, he became the first Black player on the White Sox. Other parents were unaware of the new school name, which was emblazoned on temporary signs and staff T-shirts with Miñoso’s number 9 on the back, and his nickname “Mr. White Sox” on the front. The school’s marquee on Monday still read “McClellan.”

The sign will likely be replaced by the end of the year, Principal Carrie Ann Cole said. The new name was chosen with extensive input from the community, Cole said.

Ten names were narrowed down to three: Miñoso, Fred Hampton and John Lewis.Cole surmised that Miñoso won “overwhelmingly” because the school is close to the Sox’s home turf and also because the school is heavily African American and Latino, which each represent 40% of the school’s 310 students, Cole said.

Dave Struett/Sun-Times

Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and other city leaders, headed to Kenwood Academy High School, where his son started 10th grade Monday. Speaking to teacher Jennifer Jilek-Watson’s 11th grade AP social studies capstone class, he asked the kids to do him a favor.

“So, my son doesn’t talk to me,” Johnson joked. “So I want to embarrass him because he doesn’t think I’m cool. But if you all think I’m cool, it’ll make his life miserable. And that’s the goal of parenting, is to make our children’s lives miserable.”

Johnson pointed out that he, CTU President Davis Gates and Jen Johnson, the deputy mayor for education, all taught social studies at CPS.

“Social studies teachers rule and rock the world,” he told the class.

In a Kenwood math class, Johnson told kids to never lose their “wonder and joy and curiosity” for learning.

“Everything in us is committed to investing in you,” Johnson told students. “We send our kids to the public schools. We are products of public education. We’re teachers in the public school system.”

He also thanked the “young brothers in here who are growing mohawks. Keep doing that,” joking about boys copying his hairstyle. Some kids laughed; others gave a familiar teenager eye roll.

A student named Willow raised her hand to ask a question: “As the mayor, what’s your day-to-day — what do you do? I get that you make decisions, but, like, you don’t do that all the time.”

“That’s a very good question,” Johnson said. “There are a variety of issues that I’m constantly dealing with. Whether it’s dealing with migrants that are coming to the city of Chicago, whether it’s dealing with public safety, contracts. It’s going to be really hot on Wednesday and Thursday so we’re already figuring it out.

“Most of the day-to-day is listening to people, and then usually what happens after we listen to each other is I get two to three options that I get to pick from which decision to make.”

Later, speaking to Principal Karen Calloway and reporters in the library, Johnson said it’s “remarkable to see the same level of energy across the whole city of Chicago” on the first day of school.

“I don’t know what was more exciting, the 400,000 people at Lollapalooza or the 300,000 kids who are coming back to Chicago Public Schools,” Johnson said.

“Our parents trust us to get it right. And our school district is being led by parents and products of public education. So we know exactly what parents are experiencing right now. There’s excitement and hope, and they’re counting on us to work together.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Johnson stopped this morning at Brighton Park Elementary School, a small neighborhood school on the Southwest Side. It is one of many schools getting children of migrants who have arrived on buses from Texas.

As she took Johnson into a bilingual kindergarten class, Principal Sara Haas said some of the little children sitting at the short tables were part of this group. The teachers, speaking some Spanish and some English, were encouraging the students as they worked on fine motor skills by using tweezers to pick up cotton balls and other similar activities.

Haas said the school is prepared for what she calls “the newcomer families.” Even before the new arrivals, about half the student population were English Language Learners. Most of the teachers are bilingual certified.

Haas said some families enrolled over the last few weeks, but many came last year and their children were able to participate in the summer programs at Brighton Park.

She also said the school is helped by having a strong community schools program, which brings in partners to support families and neighborhood residents. The partners can help connect families with housing, health care and mental health services.

And current families and staff have stepped up. “We just have a lot of members of our school community who are just really passionate about helping our newcomers,” she said. “And so we do this for all of our families, in addition to ones who are new, but making sure that they have uniforms, they have access to school supplies, that we remove any and all barriers for them to be welcomed into the school.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Kids at a few Chicago schools got a glimpse of teacher Brandon Johnson — from his jokes to his answers to questions — when the mayor visited their classes Monday morning on the first day of school. He was joined by Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and other city leaders celebrating the new school year.

Johnson sat in a kiddie chair with preschoolers who were playing with Magna-Tiles at Brighton Park Elementary.

“I really like this container here,” he said, pointing to a boy’s construction.

Only a minute into talking to kids at another table, a girl who was busy at play told the mayor, “I need more space!” Johnson said, “I believe you!” and got up.

In a kindergarten bilingual classroom, kids were matching alphabet tiles and sorting small toy vehicles by their colors. A girl looked up from her activity to tell Johnson, “You look like my dad!”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

After months of drama around CPS’ efforts to revoke the charter allowing Urban Prep Academy to operate, parents expressed relief this morning to drop off their children at the school’s Bronzeville campus. Urban Prep is an all-boys, mostly Black high public school with two South Side campuses.

“It took a lot of stress off of me,” said mother Katina Harold, who drove her son to the school at 521 E. 35th St.

Until a month ago, it was unclear if Urban Prep would be operating under the same name. CPS revoked the school’s charter last October. The school district had planned to reopen its two campuses at the same locations under different leadership and a new name but with the same mission.

In late July, the school won the right to continue operating. A Cook County judge ruled that CPS violated a moratorium of school closings by revoking the charter of Urban Prep, which has been operating since 2002.

Mother Lawanda Smoot said she was upset CPS tried to revoke the charter but feels good now that Urban Prep remains open. But she wishes the downtown location reopened as well, which is closer to her West Side home.

“I don’t even know how long [my son is] going to be in this school because it’s way too far for us,” she said. Urban Prep was also allowed to continue operating its Englewood campus.

Dennis Lacewell, the school’s chief academic officer, said, “We’re very happy about the victory.”

Lacewell greeted parents and students this morning outside the school’s entrance. He said 95% of students have remained with the school since October, when the uncertainty over the charter began.

“Our families are just thrilled that we didn’t give up,” Lacewell said. “They wanted this option for their boys. Black boys need a viable option, and we are proven proof-positive as far as our work.”

Urban Prep has struggled for years with declining enrollment. In revoking its charter, CPS cited financial mismanagement and concerns about the charter’s response to a sexual misconduct investigation involving Urban Prep’s founder.

Lacewell said the biggest obstacle during the charter uncertainty was enrolling incoming freshmen.

“The challenge has been the freshmen,” Lacewell said. “This is something we’re trying to get the word out ... Urban Prep is still an option.”

Father Shawn King said he wasn’t too worried about the threat of the charter being withdrawn. His son, Breair King, is still trying to switch schools to finish his senior year at Martin Luther King College Prep in North Kenwood.

“I was in no panic,” said Breair King, 17.

His father had been keeping track of the school’s memos regarding the charter. “Everything worked out,” he said.

Chrystal Harris dropped off her son, incoming junior Bobby Wilson, at the front door and reflected on the school’s other scandals last year. She said she has faith in the school’s leadership, which she described as “pretty great.”

What matters is that the kids get to school, she said.

“There’s always a bump in the road, but as long as they allow the kids to come back to schools, that’s all that matters,” Harris said.

Temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday. Is CPS prepared?

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said during a school visit this morning that the district is ready for the heat. He said all classrooms have air conditioning. Many schools have air conditioning units rather than central air.

If it’s too hot, Martinez said schools won’t send kids out for recess and will use the gyms instead. He did note school hallways are not air conditioned.

The Tribune reports today of teachers complaining about air conditioning not working, uneven cooling in schools and that CPS facilities assessment data shows cooling breakdowns occur regularly across the district. Also, CPS data shows some rooms, such as computer labs and libraries, lack AC. The district is reportedly providing portable air conditioners in classrooms without functioning AC.

I’m following a newly-arrived family from Venezuela this morning as they drop their 9-year-old son off at school.

Carolina and her partner, Jose, sipped on coffee as they walked Abraham to school around 7 a.m. The family is staying at a city-run shelter in the city’s Rogers Park neighborhood.

Abraham woke up at 6 a.m. to get ready. He wore a bright blue sweater and matching Nike Jordan sneakers. Classes started at 8 a.m. and they were careful to arrive on time. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the shelter to Jordan Community School.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

Dozens of migrant families from the shelter walked alongside them, buzzing with excitement for the first day. Many of the kids wore black and gray backpacks they received during a recent back-to-school bash on campus.

Abraham said he wasn’t nervous for the first day. He’s just excited he doesn’t have to wear a school uniform like he did back in Venezuela. His mom told him his new sneakers better be clean at the end of the day. She and Jose walked him all the way to his classroom and stayed inside until it was time for class to start.

Carolina said she felt relieved to see him settle in school. She doesn’t know his teacher’s name yet, but a classroom aide assured her that her son would receive bilingual support in school. She hopes he learns English soon.

Carolina and José are planning to run errands and rest until it’s time to pick Abraham up at 3 p.m.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

Students at Hancock College Prep arrived for class today as controversy swirls about the Southwest school’s principal, Vanessa Puentes Hernandez.

Many students are upset about the decision by the local school council in late July not to renew her contract. They had planned a sit-in this morning and staff had planned to wear red in solidarity with the principal. Some two thousand people have signed an on-line petition calling for the principal to be reinstated.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

I’m at Beidler Elementary School in Garfield Park on the West Side.

The mayor, the head of CPS and the president of the Chicago Teachers Union are expected to show up soon.

Starting at Beidler highlights Johnson’s conviction that the city needs to invest in schools like this one and try to revitalize them. Beidler’s a neighborhood elementary that’s down about 100 students in the last five years.

Crossing guards are at the ready, balloons and beds of flowers are welcoming the kids.

Students are slowly showing up in their kelly green polo shirts and the air conditioners are already going at full blast on this hot day. School staff say they have been running since Friday to prepare.

Sarah Karp/WBEZ

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will start the first day of the new year for Chicago Public Schools at a West Side neighborhood elementary school. This highlights his allegiance to the area where he lives and his push to focus investment on open enrollment schools that take all children from their communities.

In an unusual — though not surprising — move, Johnson will be joined at Beidler Elementary School in Garfield Park by Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates. In the past, the CTU president kicked off the first day at a separate school. But Johnson comes from the CTU and the joint appearance will showcase the newfound unity between the union and mayor’s office. It’s the first of three planned stops for Johnson, Gates and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

After Beidler, the group plans to visit Brighton Park Elementary, a Southwest Side neighborhood elementary with a strong “sustainable community school” program. Johnson wants to see more sustainable community schools, which bring community organizations in to provide programs and serve as community hubs for families and area residents.

Their final known stop is Kenwood Academy, where Johnson’s son is a sophomore. Johnson is the first mayor in a long time, perhaps ever, to have children in CPS.

The leaders face many questions coming into the school year, including whether students will show up. This is the second year in a row that classes have begun before the traditional post-Labor Day start. With classes starting a week earlier than last year, it made for a particularly short summer.

Air conditioning is key to a successful start of the school year. Much of this week is predicted to be in the 90s. In 2016, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel promised to buy enough air conditioning units for all classrooms, but since then many have broken. Last week, teachers setting up classrooms were already complaining about overheated buildings.

The district also faces questions about enrollment: Will it continue its decades-long decline or will it stabilize? Some 81,000 fewer students enrolled last year compared to the decade before.

An influx of children of migrant families bused by the Texas governor to Chicago may help counter enrollment loss. However, the school district must figure out how to make sure there are enough bilingual teachers and other support for these students.