Chicago Public Schools gears up for May Day protest

“Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest news on Chicago Public Schools. Chicago Public Schools officials say they feel confident schools will be fully staffed Friday amid Chicago Teachers Union push to embrace a national “no school, no work, no shopping” day of protest. The district did not say how many teachers and staff members requested the day off to participate in May Day activities. But it said it is on track to enlist enough substitutes from a pool of almost 10,000 to cover any absences. The district previously said it might deploy some central office employees to help out at short-staffed schools. CPS also said officials are reviewing about 45 May Day field trip requests, and so far none have been denied. The union had pushed to cancel school Friday so students and educators could participate in an afternoon pro-labor, anti-Trump administration protest downtown. But district officials balked at the demand, insisting that May Day should remain a full day of instruction and end-of-school-year activities as designated in the CPS calendar. The union and district struck an agreement to enable teachers and students to take part in the protest, to provide bagged lunches and transportation to the event for up to 100 schools, and to encourage lessons on civic engagement that morning. But more recently, the district has stressed repeatedly that employees must request the day off with enough notice — and must secure approval from their principals for any materials they use to teach about May Day. These directives have generated tension with the CTU. The union has insisted that its members have academic freedom to select teaching materials that day without school leaders’ pre-approval. This week, district leaders said principals would only allow materials that “provide diverse perspectives rather than advancing any particular viewpoint.” Recent meetings between district officials and principals have been dominated by discussion of navigating staff absences and materials for May Day, with school leaders bracing for a day with lean staffing. In a post Wednesday on its website, the union implored its members to join protests and rallies. “We need you there — because we’re taking on the billionaires who are underfunding our schools, shortchanging our communities, and imperiling democracy,” the union’s leadership team wrote in the message. But CPS said that schools are fully prepared for the day. “We do feel confident we’ll be able to cover any absences,” a district spokeswoman said. The district said previously it aims to have a solid estimate of staff absences at least 48 hours in advance of May Day, but it did not immediately provide that number in response to a Chalkbeat request. Teachers are preparing for a day focused on civics Nationally, most urban districts are remaining in session Friday. In North Carolina, multiple districts, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg, announced closures this week as they braced for widespread teacher absences. School in Madison, Wisconsin, was also cancelled for May 1. CPS said schools that submitted May Day field trip requests had to provide safety plans with transportation arrangements, chaperone assignments, and other information. It said officials have agreed to review some requests that came after a Friday deadline, but that some principals have since cancelled field trip plans. “School leaders have the autonomy and authority to determine if a proposed field trip meets educational and safety standards,” the district said. In an email to members last week, CTU urged teachers to alert their union representatives if requests for field trips, curriculum, or days off are denied. At one North Side school, staff and the principal worked together to decide on lessons related to labor and May Day, said music teacher Kat Zamorran, who is part of several union committees. Zamorran asked students this week about various roles that made a recent school concert possible, such as security staff and teachers. She then broadened the conversation to talk about the jobs kids notice in their daily lives and telling them that May Day is a holiday to celebrate labor. “It’s kind of nice to ask, ‘Well, do your parents have a job? What do your parents do when you go to school?’” Zamorran said. “That kind of opens it up for kids.” In one of Zamorran’s classes, students made art that thanked people for their work. One student drew a picture for her mom, thanking her for caring for her. Another made a poster thanking the school’s custodians for cleaning the stage. Zamorran said her school doesn’t have a field trip planned, but students may hold a small parade outside toward the end of the day. Parents have varying takes on May Day protests The district has stressed that only students with signed permission slips from their parents would be able to go on school-sponsored field trips to the Grant Park protest or other May Day events. Though the district and the union said their agreement struck an admirable balance, some parents and advocacy groups have continued to voice discomfort with the district’s embrace of a politicized event. Others have welcomed the opportunity for students to engage in civic advocacy. One group of parents, organized in part by the pro-school choice organization Urban Center, described the union’s push as a form of political indoctrination of students. Some of those parents, flanked by Bill Quinlan, the attorney representing former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez in his ongoing lawsuit against some Chicago Board of Education members, attended a school board meeting last week to express their concerns. Other parents have more mixed feelings. Princess Shaw, whose 7-year-old daughter attends DePriest Elementary School in the Austin neighborhood, said she didn’t support cancelling classes on May 1 because she and other working parents wouldn’t have child care options. Shaw helped write a letter that the West Side branch of the NAACP distributed to some board members, asking them to keep school open. She is relieved that classes will be in session. “May 1 is for my kid to go to school,” said Shaw, who was recently elected to sit on the DePriest Local School Council. Still, she supports older students who have parental permission to attend a protest as a learning opportunity on Friday and likes the idea of teaching kids about labor history and civic engagement. About one week before CPS reached its agreement, the Local School Council at Logan Square’s Brentano Math and Science Academy unanimously approved a resolution supporting the idea of a May 1 “Day of Civic Action” after a request from some teachers, said Andrew Yankech, one of the parent representatives on the LSC. Yankech said he supports the idea of protesting on Friday due to his school community’s concerns over federal education and social service funding cuts, as well as more aggressive immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump. The latter has created “a climate of fear” for some Brentano families, especially for those whose relatives have been stopped or arrested by immigration agents, he said. Those challenges were “front of mind for me,” Yankech said of his decision to support the resolution. Yankech’s daughter will stay home Friday. Her parents have tasked her with writing an essay about the history and significance of May Day and the labor movement. Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org . Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

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