Two insightful pieces of media that explore school closings in Chicago are Eve Ewing's book Ghosts in the Schoolyard and the 2024 documentary Beyond Closure.
Beyond Closure
Following the closure of 50 Chicago public schools in 2013, this documentary explores a pivotal moment in U.S. history, addressing issues of inequity and injustice. Through the stories of #Emmet, #Woods and #Overton schools, it highlights community self-determination and the journey of redevelopment. Join us in reflecting on the impact and resilience of these communities.
The film focuses on Emmet Elementary in Austin, Woods Academy in Englewood, and Overton Elementary in Bronzeville, highlighting how the communities around these former institutions have banded together to transform these spaces into community powerhouses. Featuring insights from local experts like WBEZ's Sarah Karp, Alden Loury, and racial justice advocate Niketa Brar, "Beyond Closure" chronicles the innovative and resilient spirit of residents who are redefining the purpose of these buildings to serve new roles in their communities. For educators, policymakers, students, and members of the South and West side communities, the "Beyond Closure" documentary provides a profound look into the collective efforts driving these transformations.
Ghosts in the Schoolyard
Dr. Eve Ewing is a sociologist at the University of Chicago. Her book, Ghosts in the School Yard details the closing of Chicago Public schools and the effect on their communities. Ewing is able to convey both the meaning and function of these institutions in their communities, as well as the role that racism plays in closing them.
Her book is from the University of Chicago Press,
Ewing knows Chicago Public Schools from the inside: as a student, then a teacher, and now a scholar who studies them. And that perspective has shown her that public schools are not buildings full of failures—they’re an integral part of their neighborhoods, at the heart of their communities, storehouses of history and memory that bring people together.
Never was that role more apparent than in 2013 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an unprecedented wave of school closings. Pitched simultaneously as a solution to a budget problem, a response to declining enrollments, and a chance to purge bad schools that were dragging down the whole system, the plan was met with a roar of protest from parents, students, and teachers. But if these schools were so bad, why did people care so much about keeping them open, to the point that some would even go on a hunger strike?
Ewing’s answer begins with a story of systemic racism, inequality, bad faith, and distrust that stretches deep into Chicago history. Rooting her exploration in the historic African American neighborhood of Bronzeville, Ewing reveals that this issue is about much more than just schools. Black communities see the closing of their schools—schools that are certainly less than perfect but that are theirs—as one more in a long line of racist policies.
The fight to keep them open is yet another front in the ongoing struggle of black people in America to build successful lives and achieve true self-determination.
Dr. Ewing's website.
From Goodreads.
Preview the book at Amazon.
Also, from Propublica, The Unequal Effects of School Closings,
- Enrollment Plunging: Since the pandemic began, public school enrollment has declined by a million students nationwide, as many have switched to private schools and homeschooling.
- City Schools Are Closing: Rochester, New York, is shutting 11 of its 45 schools. In Seattle, parents expect 20 elementary schools will close. In Columbus, Ohio, nine schools may cease to operate.
- Unequal Effects: Closings fall especially on majority-Black schools. As top students move to private and suburban schools, special-needs students are left behind in fewer city facilities.
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