Massive turn outs in protest against CPS removal of Troy LaRaviere, both inside and outside Blaine Elementary School, on April 25... CPS CEO Forrest Claypool ducks the hearing, and Mayor Emanuel denies he had anything to do with the attack on Chicago's most outspoken principal...
The auditorium of Chicago's Blaine Elementary School was filled to capacity, both on its main floor and in the balcony, with parents, students, and others who assembled to protest the removal of the school's principal, Troy LaRaviere. Photo by Labor Beat.More than 500 people filled the auditorium at Chicago's Blaine Elementary School on the evening of April 25, 2016 to protest against the removal of the school's principal, Troy LaRaviere, by the administration of Chicago Public Schools. The administration of CPS, along with the Board of Education, were all appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, failed in their feeble attempt to explain the abrupt action to the parents, students, and community at the meeting, which had been scheduled after CPS officials abruptly ordered LaRaviere away from the school.
Meanwhile, LaRaviere, who now refers to himself as "Principal in Exile," was holding a meeting with supporters a mile away, as part of his campaign to be elected as president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association (CPAA).
After a rally outside Blaine at 5:30 p.m., a large crowd assembled inside the school , nearly filling the auditorium. Speaker after speaker denounced the decision by CPS officials to remove LaRaviere from the school during the Spring vacation. Many also noted that it made no educational sense to replace LaRaviere, in what is supposedly an "interim" basis, with a former high school principal. The Local School Council issued a statement.
Blaine Eighth Grader Molly Clement spoke in favor of the school's principal, Troy LaRaviere, at the press conference outside the school before the large group went inside for the hearing. Labor Beat photo.Seated in front of the auditorium was the current Chicago Public Schools "Chief Education Officer" Janice Jackson and two other officials. None of them was identified with a name tag or sign, and no one explained by the head of the school system, Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool was not present. Many noted the unusual fact that Claypool, who has to make the final decision by law, is white, while Jackson is African American. Also noted was that Claypool's handpicked "General Counsel" (the Board of Education's chief lawyer) was also absent from the event.
Claypool, whose main experience in government was a head of the Chicago Transit Authority, was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in July 2015 to the CEO position. Claypool is the fourth CEO to head the nation's third largest school system since Rahm Emanuel was inaugurated to his first term in May 2011. Claypool personally brought in his former colleague from the Chicago Transit Authority, Robert Marmer, to be the school system's top lawyer. Both were conspicuously absent from the April 25 event, without explanation.
