It’s so crowded at the Gale grade school in Rogers Park that three classes have to meet in the cafeteria. At the Clinton grade school in West Rogers Park two classes are housed in a converted teachers’ lounge. Some students at the George Armstrong grade school in Rogers Park have to take their lessons in the hallways or under the stairs. And at the Hayt school in Edgewater, several classes must meet in the basement near the boiler.
Nonetheless, school officials have been slow to acknowledge the problem, which can only get worse with the archdiocese planning to close more Catholic schools. “We’re built for about 700 children, and my last count had us at 890 and rising,” says Arline Hersh, principal at George Armstrong. “Education is going on–our teachers are doing a great job. But imagine how much better it would be if we weren’t so crowded.”
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Ironically, it wasn’t long ago that many north-side schools were underused. Until the last decade the area was populated by older whites whose children had graduated. In the early 80s, in fact, the Board of Education was under court order to desegregate several north-side schools by busing in black students.
The school system has demographers who keep track of these trends. But the north side’s problems have been overshadowed by overcrowded conditions in Little Village, West Town, and other near south- and west-side Hispanic communities. For years activists in these communities–led by the United Neighborhood Organization, a group based in Pilsen–lobbied for new schools. Recently their efforts began to pay off.
Under such conditions it’s harder for teachers to maintain order or offer individualized instruction. Few schools can use their lunchrooms. And all must adhere to the “closed campus” schedule–a torturous arrangement in which teachers and students remain confined to their classrooms all day without break, not even for recess.
A few low-ranking school bureaucrats have suggested that Rogers Park youngsters be bused to underused schools in Uptown or Lincoln Park. It’s an idea no community supports. “I didn’t run for the local council at Armstrong to have my daughter bused to Lincoln Park,” says Hank Rubin, a community representative at Armstrong. “Busing goes against the whole spirit of local school reform, which was to put schools under the control of people who use them.”
It’s reached the point where local councils waste their limited time devising strategies that might get board officials to return their phone calls. “It’s unusual for a board member to respond to calls from us,” says one north-side principal. “Why should Jim Compton return my phone call? I’m just a principal.”
