Watching her 5-year-old daughter make friends on a bouncy castle at a block party in North Lawndale on Saturday, Briana Louis savored the last taste of summer before her daughter starts kindergarten on Monday at Lowell Elementary School in Humboldt Park. For much of their summer, Louis and her daughter spent time at the beach.
“I’m nervous, but I’m like, OK, go for it. She loved (preschool). She’s ready,” said Louis, 24, as others danced, listened to music and watched an enthusiastic breakdancing competition at the Firehouse Community Arts Center.
Before the start of the new year in Chicago Public Schools, students and their families took advantage of their last weekend of summer vacation by hosting various neighborhood gatherings and back-to-school parties, many of which offered free school supplies and backpacks.
“We are excited to work with our school leaders, educators and parents to continue to prioritize the needs of our students and continue our academic growth over the past two school years,” the district said.
While fun was at the forefront, some parents shared short- and long-term goals. concerns about the upcoming school year, from what will likely be a scorching first week back to contract negotiations underway with the Chicago Teachers Union at a Shortage of bus drivers.
The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning from Monday afternoon through Tuesday evening, warning of extreme heat and humidity that will “significantly increase the risk of heat-related illness.” letter Parents are advised to have students bring full water bottles to school to stay hydrated and wear loose, lightweight clothing.
Heat index expected to exceed 100 degrees Monday as CPS students return to class
Maricela Carrillo sat in a folding chair waiting for her children to perform folk dances at a back-to-school event on the Lower West Side Friday. Her youngest son, who will start kindergarten on Monday, was bent over a coloring sheet at a nearby table.
Carrillo, 46, has three other children enrolled in CPS who will be starting seventh, fifth and third grades. She was grateful that her children could attend Cooper Dual Language Academy because she wanted them to “know how to write and understand our language, a very good Spanish” even though they were born in the United States.
The need for bilingual or dual-language programs across the city has grown as the district has welcomed thousands of migrant students over the past year — and has become a point of friction as part of contract negotiations with the district and the teachers union.
Carrillo’s children loved the dance program they were involved in — a collaboration between their school and the nonprofit Frida Community Organization — which had them performing that day, she said. She wished CPS would expand its after-school options for its younger students.
Carrillo also said she takes classes at CPS Parent University and would like to see that programming continue and expand.
Inside the school building, Raquel Mendez listened to the click of dancers’ shoes on the linoleum. Girls in lime green, pink, turquoise and yellow dresses with ruffled skirts and flowers in their hair rushed to take a few more steps.
Mendez, 39, had a 12-year-old daughter who performed with the troupe. She has two other daughters in high school. Mendez said she would like CPS schools to model themselves after her oldest daughter’s school, a public charter school.
“They don’t let students use their phones,” she said. “I think every high school should do that for every student.”
Mendez also said she would like to see school uniforms at CPS, like her oldest daughter’s school does, and she would like to be able to find a reading group for her youngest daughter, a second-grader who is not athletic but loves books. Mendez said she has few concerns about her children returning to the classroom, other than “gangs with guns and all that.”
Ahead of elections for the new, hybrid In November, at the Chicago Board of Education, Mendez and Carrillo both said they had heard about an elected representative school board, but knew little more than that “there are a lot of changes coming,” as Carrillo put it.
Other Chicago-area students have already returned to school, including Brandi Wiley’s 12-year-old daughter Kalia, who started seventh grade at Eisenhower Junior High School in Darien last week.
Wiley, who watched Kalia perform with her dance group at the North Lawndale block party, said the start of the year always comes with mixed emotions. While middle school is tough for many kids, she hopes her daughter is prepared for success with a good class schedule and extracurricular activities like dance and cheerleading.
“We’re half relieved but at the same time we’re nervous. She’s in fifth grade, and I drop her off and I’m still crying. I can’t help it,” Wiley said. “Every time you drop them off at school, it’s like you’re one less.”
rjohnson@chicagotribune.com
ckubzansky@chicagotribune.com
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