Chicago International Charter School Teachers Set Strike Date

CHICAGO — Teachers at four charter schools in Chicago have announced they will walk out on Feb. 5 if a deal isn't reached. The strike would affect over 2,000 students at the schools, which are operated by Chicago International Charter Schools.

Students at Wrightwood Elementary School, ChicagoQuest High School, Ellison High School and Northtown Academy High School would be affected by the strike. CICS' ten other schools won't be affected, the organization said.

“We’re fighting for the educational futures of our students,” said said teacher Jen Conant. “When I was a first year teacher at CICS’ Northtown High School, a student turned to me one day and asked, ‘Will you leave like all the other teachers?’ I was shocked. This is not a normal question for a student to ask a teacher. But this student had seen teacher after teacher leave each year because working conditions were tough and compensation was low."

The teachers have been trying to reach a contract with Civitas Education Partners, which manages the four schools.

In a press conference at Wrightwood on the North Side, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said there is funding available to improve conditions for students at the schools.

“We’re tired of management stalling, tired of their lies, and tired of our students being shortchanged,” she said. “We are sick of management’s legal fiction that their management outfits have no funds, when their own financial statements show the opposite. If we don’t have meaningful movement by February 5 towards a fair contract that supports our students and the educators who serve them, we will strike.”

The teachers, who are a part of the Chicago Teachers Union, are requesting smaller class sizes, higher compensation and more adequate staffing.

"Our students’ educations suffer because of the lack of stability in staff and curricula," Conant said. "These are not the kinds of learning conditions our students deserve. They deserve the great, dedicated teachers and staff who have set a strike this week so we don’t have to choose between educating our students and providing for our own families.”

Civitas Education said most of the contract has been settled, and a pay raise has been offered.

If the teachers walk out, the four schools would remain open during normal hours; however only online learning, recreational and arts activities would be offered. All after school programs and activities would be put on hold.

Both sides said they hope a deal can be reached before the four schools are affected.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images