Things didn’t go quite as planned at a Chicago Public Schools community hearing last Friday.

The idea was to hold a community input session at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side on the proposed closing of Richard T. Crane High School. Following a PowerPoint presentation, community residents would speak one at a time for two minutes each and no more.

Things went relatively smoothly through the presentation, as the head of West Side high schools, Theresa A. Plascencia, haltingly read from the slides verbatim.

But as soon as the audience got their turn, things went downhill quickly in a rather unexpected fashion.

Aston Coleman, Crane’s dean of students, took to the microphone and delivered a simple statement.

“I’m here in support of Crane High School,” he said. “Today I cannot speak because in all fairness, the Crane coalition presentation was not allowed to be presented tonight.”

Coleman clasped his hands and stood still, in silence. The meeting’s master of ceremonies, CPS Chief School Improvement Officer Don Fraynd, began to move on — but a few plaintive cries from other members of the coalition in the audience made it clear that Coleman intended to stand in silence at the microphone for his entire two minutes.

“Oh, I see,” Fraynd murmured.

One after one, teachers, parents and community activists took the microphone and repeated that simple statement. By the fourth speaker, some in the packed house of hundreds grew irate.

“Is this a CPS trick?” one man said. “Y’all are taking up all the time! Let someone who wants to talk up to the mic!”

But Cindy Fullilove-Adeagbo, a teacher waiting in line for her turn to speak, quickly explained.

“We have a presentation, they just won’t let us show it!” she cried out.

With that, the audience was on the teachers’ side. Raucous chants quickly rose: “Show the presentation now.”

As the meeting spiraled out of control, CPS officials huddled together, and school board Vice President Jesse Ruiz made the executive decision: let the Crane team show their presentation.

After the meeting, Ruiz said they hadn’t initially planned to let the team speak because they wanted to allow every person an equal opportunity to speak. But they decided to change course to keep the meeting on track, he said.

“The decision was made in order to be productive,” said Ruiz.

The presentation itself refuted some of CPS’ numbers that the school was chronically failing, using a different set of numbers they contended that, in recent years, the school had been improving its results.

The presentation engendered cheers from the crowd, but it lacked what many of the community activists said months ago that they wanted to present: a different plan for turning Crane around.

After the meeting, Chicago Teachers Union organizer Martin Ritter said they’re working on a “best practices-based plan” that would turn around the school without spending any extra money, but he didn’t say when or how they would communicate that plan to CPS officials.

Crane supporters weren’t the only people in the packed auditorium at Malcolm X, though. At least three busloads of people were transported in from Englewood and other South Side communities just to support Crane’s closing.

They waved marker-written signs saying “Business as usual is not an option!!” and handed out bright orange flyers asking, “Why are CTU and its friends supporting failing schools and not Chicago children?”

Many said they came with the Rev. Roosevelt Watkins, pastor at Burnside’s Bethlehem Star M.B. Church. But when approached at the meeting and asked if he brought the people, Watkins first assailed the credibility of the people who said he had led the charge, then said people were giving him too much credit.

But person after person who was getting onto one of the three buses said they had come to the rally at Watkins’ behest — though they denied they were being paid, as some Crane supporters had claimed.

After the meeting, when asked if he heard anything that would change his mind at the meeting, Ruiz said he had taken in a good deal but declined to say much more. “You always glean something from any public forum,” Ruiz said. “I’m here to listen and I’m here to learn.”

CPS is hosting another community meeting on Crane at Malcolm X, 1900 W. Van Buren St., on Friday, Jan. 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. The school board is holding a hearing in its chambers at 125 S. Clark St. on Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

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By Sandra from Garfield Park
Posted: 01/17/2012 1:18 PM

In regards to the charter school that may move in, it's important to note that the charter school has not graduated any students yet because they just opened 3 years ago and have not had a senior class yet. Eventually CPS would move another school in with the charter if Crane is phased out because the building is so large. Don't pit Crane against the charter school, they have nothing to do with CPS selecting to phase them out.Crane would not be closing because the charter school was moving in.

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By ClassroomSooth from Chinatown
Posted: 01/12/2012 4:05 PM

All the next hearings are on Fri. Jan. 20th! It's a family event!

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By Crane Neighbor
Posted: 01/12/2012 1:30 AM

It's also worth mentioning that CPS did not say a single thing about the proposed charter school they want to move in. It has not graduated a single student and is dedicated to students who have fallen way behind.

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By Martin Ritter from west loop
Posted: 01/11/2012 10:49 PM

Also worth noting that the following elected officials made official comments to CPS and the public opposing the phase out of Crane HS: Congressman Danny Davis (7th), IL State Senator Annazette Collins (5th), 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti (whose ward Crane HS is in), and 28th Ward Democratic Committeeman and former Alderman Ed Smith. Expect more at the next hearing!