CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A group of Chicago Public Schools parents, students and community members gathered outside CPS headquarters hoping to convince officials to help boost enrollment at Uplift Community High School in Uptown.
The ask: For CPS to designate Uplift as the neighborhood's open-enrollment high school.
"We know from our community's experience that when you have young people from all over the community going to the same school, that that's a violence prevention program," said Marc Kaplan, with Uplift's Local School Council. "Absolutely is."
Carla Langston, with Northside Action for Justice, said most high school students in the area are steered to other schools.
"CPS is actually letting us down on two promises," Langston said. "The promise to make Uplift a community school and the promise of having sustainable community schools, which Uplift is."
Angela Clay, who was part of Uplift's first graduating class in 2009, called Uplift a "pillar."
"It is a voice for all of our young people and our families, who need the resources the most," Clay said.
Jackson Potter, Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union, also supports the move.
"Here at Uplift, we have a shining example of what we should be doing instead, which is a sustainable community school with parents, teachers who grew up in the neighborhood, who work with parents and community groups," Potter said.
Supporters said they fear without the new designation, enrollment at Uplift will decline — and it could end up on the CPS chopping block.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
