Chicago Public Schools has set up a command center to help schools navigate ICE activity near them as the school district faces increased pressure to do more to help schools and families navigate the situation.
Chicago schools were in the crosshairs of activity over the last week. Rapid response and teachers in Albany Park say ICE agents were out in force around schools last Wednesday, prompting school staff and residents to take to the streets to get scared students home safely.
On Friday, some students at a Logan Square school were at recess when they were rushed inside after an ICE agent threw tear gas at a nearby car. And that afternoon one Southwest Side charter school went on lockdown because of a report of an ICE agent in a vehicle outside.
Among the many demands from various groups: expand safe zones around schools to include sidewalks and bus routes; provide real-time mental health services; provide more timely information and communication; offer remote learning and alter attendance policies to give grace to families too scared to take children to school.
“Children are not safe,” parent Jennifer Torres told the Board of Education at a meeting Wednesday. “Their families are not safe.”
She said things like not letting students into the school until the bell rings can be nerve-racking for parents as they wait outside.
Torres read a letter written by the sanctuary committee at Inter-American School, a dual-language elementary school in Lake View on the North Side. The committee’s understanding, according to the letter, is that if students miss too much school, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services could be called.
“We’d like to see schools instead ensuring absent students are getting their assignments and any support they may need not to fall behind. We request the district explore ways they can make the Virtual Academy and remote tutoring available. We request clear written guidance.”
The Chicago Principals & Administrators Association also has concerns about CPS’ attendance policies.
“It is tone deaf right now to ask about enrollment and attendance, when parents are afraid to take their children to school, when they see vans parked and they drive past so that they can make sure their families are safe,” said Kia Banks, the association’s president.
Banks told board members that school leaders are facing “immense first-hand and second-hand trauma” because of what is going on outside of their schools.
Principals have been to many briefings, she said, on the protocols if a federal agent approaches school grounds or buildings. But she said they don’t know how to keep their students safe as they traverse to and from school.
“What we’re not prepared for is what happens when masked men and guns are across the street, people are jumping out of vans grabbing people or jumping off helicopters on the roof,” she said. “… People are scared. It’s like trying to respond to a moving target.”
Banks said the effort needs to go beyond Chicago Public Schools to include city and state departments. On Monday Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from using city property, including school parking lots, as staging grounds for raids.
In addition to extending the area around schools considered safe zones, Banks said principals need to be able to connect parents to legal services so they can get their questions answered.
Board members did not address these concerns at the meeting on Wednesday. But on Monday four of them— Yesenia Lopez, Angel Gutierrez, Carlos Rivas, Jr. and Norma Rios-Sierra — sent a letter urging the school district to establish an Immigrant and Safety Committee to the district’s response to escalating immigration enforcement activity. This committee would include communication, safety and security, as well as executive level staff. The board members also want two or three briefings a week.
CEO Macquline King did not respond directly to the requests. But she acknowledged “the very real fear and anxiety that is plaguing our communities.” She also said the school district’s “response will continuously evolve in response to the activity.”
Thus far, King has stressed the importance of having students in school in person and has repeated that said the safest place for children to be is in school.