CPS to remain open May 1, but agreement allows staff and students to attend rallies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nFor weeks, the Chicago Teachers Union had been pushing for May 1 to be designated as a teacher-directed professional development day \u2014 joining a national action for \u201cno school, no work, no shopping.\u201d After opposition from CPS leadership, last week\u2019s deal was seen as a compromise.<\/p>\n
But some parents are pushing back.<\/p>\n
Judy Velez, a CPS parent with a daughter in second grade, said there was a \u201cneed for transparency\u201d in the decision-making process and in what could be included in the civic engagement curriculum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t civics, this is indoctrination,\u201d Velez said, adding she would consider keeping her daughter home from school if she disagrees with any content being taught that day.<\/p>\n
When asked by the Tribune, Velez did not point to any particular curriculum content that concerned her, but rather a lack of clarity on what that content could be.<\/p>\n
The news conference, held at Cooper Dual Language Academy, was organized by the Urban Center, a pro-school choice, centrist organizing group. The nonprofit is run by Juan Rangel, the former CEO of the UNO Charter School Network, and is affiliated with Paul Vallas, a former CPS CEO who lost the 2023 Chicago mayoral race to Mayor Brandon Johnson. Both Rangel and Vallas are vocal critics of the teachers union.<\/p>\n
A CPS spokesperson said in a statement Monday that schools are not required to implement lesson plans or civic engagement activities on May 1. Any instructional activities must align with district-approved requirements and the state\u2019s learning standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool participation in any civic engagement activities is at the discretion of the school principal and individual student or staff participation is entirely voluntary,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-l-cps-mayday-parents-reax12.jpg\")
Chicago Public Schools parents and grandparents rally April 20, 2026, outside Cooper Dual Language Academy in the Pilsen neighborhood in opposition to CPS declaring May 1 as a day of civic engagement. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
As of Friday, no schools have requested transportation for civic engagement activities, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n
Velez, who is also a member of the Local School Council at Mary Lyon Elementary School in Belmont Cragin, said she plans to attend the Chicago Board of Education meeting Thursday, where she hopes to gain clarity on whether any curriculum changes geared toward May Day will occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe demand a return to core education in reading, writing, math, science and the skills our children need to succeed in life,\u201d Velez said. \u201cRight now the system is failing too many students.\u201d<\/p>\n
A group of CPS parents, including Velez, retained attorney William Quinlan of Quinlan Law Firm LLC to advise them on their rights and to explore potential legal action.<\/p>\n
Quinlan represents former district CEO Pedro Martinez, who was fired without cause in December 2024, in an ongoing lawsuit against several current and former board members. The group is not taking any concrete legal steps until they hear more about what May 1 will look like in classrooms during this Thursday\u2019s board meeting, Quinlan said in the news conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most overused, improperly used phrase of education is \u2018It\u2019s all about the kids,\u201d Quinlan told the Tribune. \u201cWhat is clear from this compromise is that it\u2019s not about the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miguel Chacon, a father of three CPS students, takes particular issue with the idea that students could miss time in the classroom by choosing to participate in the afternoon rally.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 15-year-old was excited about having a half day off, and I said, \u2018No, no, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do,\u2019\u201d Chacon told the Tribune after the news conference, adding that he was frustrated with the lack of logistical clarity from CPS.<\/p>\n
\nMayor Brandon Johnson says, \u2018May 1 is happening,\u2019 despite pushback from CPS CEO<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThough he agrees civic engagement is generally a good thing, Chacon said he objects to CTU-related events because of the union\u2019s \u201crefined political ideology,\u201d which he said prioritizes teachers\u2019 personal priorities over students\u2019 well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we should all be outraged by what\u2019s happening in the White House, but this isn\u2019t the time or the place to be doing it,\u201d Chacon said.<\/p>\n
May 1 is known as International Workers\u2019 Day, a holiday with deep ties to the progressive labor movement. Planned nationwide demonstrations aim to protest federal policies under the Trump administration and advocate for causes such as immigrant and labor rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe building block of a public school education is this idea of community and the institutions that help to anchor and fortify it,\u201d CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said at a news conference earlier this month. \u201cSo on May Day \u2026 we\u2019re going to teach people how to create community, because that is the example and the amplification and the illustration of solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than two dozen Chicago Public Schools parents and community members gathered outside a Pilsen elementary school Monday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":741765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,16742,42123,5386,1818,305886],"class_list":{"0":"post-741764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-chicago-public-schools","10":"tag-chicago-teachers-union","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-may-day"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116439532205558880","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}