Teachers, parents and students protested plans by Chicago Public Schools to close a program for students who are deaf or hard of hearing at Logan Square's Chase Elementary School on Thursday.
The Chicago Teachers Union said the deaf and hard-of-hearing program at Chase is the third-largest in CPS.
Chase Elementary's program is among only a handful of such programs, the CTU said, and it gives students a chance to attend the same school from pre-K through eighth grade.
"The students came up to me yesterday, with confusion and with questions," said Colleen McKenna, a teacher at Chase. "One student asked, 'What if I just take my hearing aids off? They will never know, and then I can stay at Chase.'"
The program at Chase Elementary started in 2015 with a few students. Today there are 29 students, four teachers, and three interpreters. The CTU said it should be replicated, not closed.
CPS said the program is being phased out, not closed.
"That is closing the program," said CTU President Jesse Sharkey. "In order for the program to continue, we have to admit young students."
CPS administrators initially indicated they were closing the program over a busing issue, the union said. Since then, administrators have said CPS needed a deaf and hard of hearing program in another part of the city.
The teachers union said students who are deaf or hard of hearing build relationships with hearing students, the latter of whom learn to sign so they can communicate with one another.
Teachers said everyone develops empathy, maturity, and social skills .
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