A cartoon in the Sept. 2 Perspective section on the death of 34 Chicago Public Schools students last year could not have been more misleading. The cartoon implies that the terrible loss of life in the past year occurred in our schools, when in fact Chicago’s public schools have never been safer.
Last year, only four firearms were confiscated on school property — two inside schools and only one of those got past our entry screening. A decade ago, the number of firearms confiscated on school property was 53.
To the Tribune’s credit, you have faithfully chronicled the 34 student deaths last year to raise awareness to the senseless death of our children. But, as you well know, every single one of those 34 deaths occurred off of school property, and the majority occurred late at night. Tragically, some even occurred inside homes.
We are profoundly upset by student deaths. We are committed to doing everything possible to mobilize families and communities to keep our children safe and to reduce violence both in and around schools and in our neighborhoods. Any suggestion, however, that these tragic acts of violence have occurred in our schools is not only factually incorrect, but it also undermines our larger effort to improve attendance and performance.
The safest place for children is in school and in safe, constructive, supervised after-school programs. Just as we have a responsibility to both educate and protect children, you have an equally weighty responsibility to accurately inform parents and children of the best way to keep their kids safe. And it all comes down to three simple words: Go to school.
