CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
For parents, Sunday was a moment to relax after a week filled with intense negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools forced families to make arrangements for children.
"We had a very educational week last week and we made best use of our time visiting all the great museums of Chicago but I'm glad the teachers are almost done," said Brenda Als.
Als is a mother of three CPS students and says a bigger lesson was learned beyond the classroom.
"If you need to stand up for your rights, this was a great experience for my third grader in her social science study and I think it's a learning opportunity to see how we can come to an honest compromise and if it means getting a little bit uncomfortable then that would be what compromise means," said Als.
Als and plenty of parents understand why the CTU is striking but what they don't understand is why the strike happened now, during the school year.
Other parents agree with what the teachers want, they just don't think Chicago public school students should be put in the middle of the debate.
"I'm frustrasted for the kids. They need to
be in school and parents have to work," said CPS parent Erica Westmore.
Most of the parents interviewed by Fox Chicago News say all parties involved had plenty of time over the summer to resolve their issues before school started.
"They had all summer and this could have been worked out earlier," said Karin Pass, a mother of two CPS students.
"They should have did this when school was out. They should have went and did all of this before it was time for these kids to start school," said Antwana Bell, a mother of a CPS student.
The newly formed Chicago Students First, a grassroots organization founded by two mothers of CPS students, had a news conference outside the CTU House of Delegates discussed the fine print of a potential contract.
"Until now, no city wide network of CPS parents existed to survey, to poll or to provide opinion," said Christina Shaver, co-founder of Chicago Students First.
Chicago Students First hopes to change that and says it takes no sides.
"Regularly polling and surveying parents for their input on educational decisions that affect all of our children and providing data regarding parent sentiment," said Shaver.
The group encourages parents to get involved and stay informed.
From the North Side
to the South Side, parents on all sides of the city say the school bells should
be ringing on Wednesday.
Monday evening, dozens of parents and
Chicago pastors
got together in the loop, calling for an end to the strike. They
say instead of hearing from teachers, it's time for parents to show their
power. They say they want a fair contract for CTU members--but it's time to get
back to the books.
"We need our children back in school---we can't go forward without
an education," said Reverand Larry Barnes of the Temple of the Living Word.
Black Star project members had some demands of
their own.
"We do not want the mayor to sue the
teachers union," said Phillip Jackson of the Black Star project. "We do not want the teachers unions to have anymore massive
marchers we want all sides to put their energy towards getting our children
back in school now."
