(CHICAGO) — Chicago Public Schools has agreed to declare May 1st a day of civic action. The announcement from the Chicago Teachers Union says in part that CPS is “joining CTU in our efforts to transform the school day to one focused on civic engagement, student voice, and standing up to the White House’s attacks targeting our school communities.”
CTU says the agreement includes CPS providing buses for a field trip for students and teachers to attend a 1 p.m. rally in Union Park.
School will be in session on May 1 but the school day will look like this:
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. civic engagement lessons and activities
1:00 p.m. rally at Union Park
In a press release Friday morning, CTU says, “We’re grateful to have a Mayor who puts working people front and center in his agenda who brought all parties together to find agreement. And we’re proud to be part of a school district that recognizes the responsibility of educators to stand up for our students, support them in finding their voice, and to not sit on the sidelines of history when the people of this country finally say “enough” to the abuses from the White House.
A day earlier, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked about the then pending day off.
“I think we need to make sure that our kids are getting every day of education that they deserve and that parents demand, and so speaking as to which days are on and off, that’s nothing I want to opine about, but I can say that political operators trying to determine what the calendar should be for kids seems inappropriate,” Pritzker said.
The CTU says additional details on the May 1 schedule will be released soon.
