Thousands of migrant families have moved to Chicago seeking better opportunities, but many children are not receiving the education they deserve due to decades of disinvestment in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and neighborhoods. Data indicates that most migrant families are resettling in historically neglected neighborhoods with schools that do not serve many English language learners. At Ward Elementary School on the West Side, a kindergarten teacher and two custodians are translating for the entire building. The surge of new students has exposed the cracks in a school system that has long struggled to comply with state and federal bilingual education laws. The lack of bilingual teachers has left migrant children behind, with some schools relying on Spanish-speaking janitors to get by. Two years after busloads of migrant children began arriving in Chicago, many have landed in schools where most do not speak Spanish. This situation highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive plan to address the educational needs of these students. The story was reported by Block Club, Chalkbeat, Reema Amin, and Mina Bloom.
A frustrating look at how Chicago schools are failing to provided resettled students with bilingual programs and sometimes relying on a couple custodians to translate for the whole building. Must read from @reemadamin & @mina_bloom_ https://t.co/nZj0mNNwqr
Can you imagine your child spending a year in a classroom where they can't understand the language? In a school where the custodian is the only one who can translate for them? It's happening to tons of migrant kids in our Chicago schools right now. https://t.co/T5QJ7NhisR
🧵This story started with a couple of questions, as many do. I kept hearing about a school on the West Side that had an influx of migrant students — but no resources to teach them. https://t.co/r3oml3oKQU
w/ @BlockClubCHI: Two years after busloads of migrant children began arriving in #Chicago, many have landed in schools where most don’t speak Spanish. @mina_bloom_ + Chalkbeat's @reemadamin took a look at what migrant students are facing in #CPS. https://t.co/yfX8tJdwaU
2 years after busloads of migrant children began arriving in Chicago, many have landed in schools where most don’t speak Spanish. Block Club’s @mina_bloom_+ @chalkbeatchi’s @reemadamin took a look at what migrant students are facing in CPS: https://t.co/wWBr006KIK https://t.co/I3hA8ri2ZX
Chicago migrant families are moving out of shelters & into more stable homes. But these homes are often in segregated "language deserts" where schools can't meet their needs. Definitive deep dive from @reemadamin & @mina_bloom_ https://t.co/t7ZoC1FS93
‘There should’ve been a plan.’ A great read about the lack of bilingual teachers in #Chicago, leaving migrant children behind. One school relies on Spanish-speaking janitors to get by. ⬇️ via @reemadamin @mina_bloom_ https://t.co/XdYDTQaUia
A surge of new students is exposing the cracks in a school system that has for years struggled to fully comply with state and federal laws around bilingual education. @reemadamin @chalkbeatCHI & @mina_bloom_ @BlockClubCHI https://t.co/fgJS2STVpI
before diving into this story, I wondered: where are migrant families resettling? we got the data, which shows most are ending up in historically neglected n'hoods with schools that don’t serve many English language learners @BlockClubCHI @reemadamin https://t.co/r3oml3oKQU
At Ward Elementary School on the West Side, which has gained dozens of English learners, a kindergarten teacher and two custodians are translating for the whole building. https://t.co/VuB3rfIHCD via @BlockClubChi
NEW: thousands of migrant families came to chicago for better opportunities. but many children aren't getting the education they deserve because of decades of disinvestment in CPS and our neighborhoods. my latest with the brilliant @reemadamin https://t.co/r3oml3oKQU