WALK INS BY SCHOOL: J.N. Thorp in South Chicago...
J. N. Thorp school Chicago Teachers Union delegate Arnice Moore lead 30 teachers, parents and students in the Wednesday morning, February 17, 2016, on a sidewalk march that began at 7:15 a.m. outside the school, in South Chicago. The protest included chants of "Whose Schools!? Our Schools!?" and helped parents and staff feel more united.
Parents, children and teachers marched outside J.N. Thorp Elementary School in Chicago's South Chicago community on February 17, 2016, during the Walk In. Substance photo by David Vance.As the rally ended, Curtis Bynum a CTU organizer addressed the crowd "We are standing together. Teachers, parents and community are fighting for funding to save our schools."
At 7:45am teachers and students entered .J.N. Thorp with warm hugs. Standing together for the school made everyone feel better. Teachers and staff at the end of the day were still in good spirits.
JN Thorp teachers felt they had accomplished part of the fight against Rahm and Rauner. JN Thorp was part of a city wide "Walk In" that included over 100 schools.
People of Thorp believed by day's end that the fight for school funding in Chicago took a step closer to winning. When teachers, parents and community are sticking together, a strike for better schools is possible.
But, if only 100 schools organized a "Walk-In," then it means that 500 schools did not participate. The CTU has work to do, to build up the school by school unity and confidence that will be needed to strike and win.
By: Ed Hershey
Walk-Ins at Kelly and Lindblom
I attended two Walk-Ins
Kelly's had around 70 people, probably 20-25 students, 20-25 parents, 8-10 teachers, a few BPNC workers, some press (and a Lindblom teacher and student). Evelin, their student leader there, led most of the chants. They're on a busy intersection, so they got a lot of response from passing drivers.
Lindblom's was about the same size, but was 40+ teachers, 5 clinicians and staff, 5 or so parents, 15-20 students.
I guess the main difference, walk-in at Kelly was driven by the associated community group (BPNC), Lindblom's by union activists. Students who attended were primarily those previously involved in activism -- like the Bank of America March, or the big rallies.