Imagine the wonderful neighborhood school South Loop Elementary could be if the CAVE people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything), as referenced in Dawn Turner Trice’s column, and Ald. Madeline Haithcock were working positively rather than negatively with the school community.
The opposition to the school fence is well-organized, persistent, politically connected and vocal.
Imagine how great our school could be if those rallying against the school harnessed such energy for positive improvements and community involvement.
To appease those who oppose a schoolyard fence, Chicago Public Schools has agreed to open community meetings, redesigned a safe fence into a structure with openings wide enough to drive a truck through and delayed installation well into the school year. The parents and the principal who have worked tirelessly over the last five years to turn this failing school into a community asset have been let down by the alderman, the mayor, CPS, the Park District and the community.
We do not have to send our children to South Loop; we have chosen to do so. Likewise we do not have to donate time, money and effort to make up for the shortfalls in financial support by both the city and the State of Illinois.
The parents and children of South Loop have done a miraculous job in working as a team to make the school a place for all children in the community.
Unlike many CPS schools, South Loop is open to all who live within its boundaries. It is truly a community school–unfortunately in the middle of a hostile, narrow-minded and shortsighted community.
