When it comes to education priorities in the Windy City, I think it is fair to say that the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Teachers Union, and Mayor Brandon Johnson are all woefully out of touch.
Chicago parents are rightfully up in arms over the latest political stunt engineered by Johnson and so-called city education leaders, who have declared that May 1, aka May Day, be a “day of civic action.”
“We are pleased all parties are working together to ensure school communities can participate in commemorating International Workers Day,” Johnson said in a press release on April 17.
“Multiple opportunities will be provided for those who wish to participate in this day of civic action both inside and outside of the classroom,” he emphasized.
Unsurprisingly, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), which is more of a left-wing activist group than ever these days, fully supports “a day of youth civic engagement” on May Day. Incredibly, the CTU proudly admits that it “bargained with CPS to make May Day a day of civic action in our contract, ratified last year.”
According to CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, “Throwaway lines about the importance of ‘every minute in the classroom’ will not win the funding to keep those schools open, keep students safe, or protect our rights. It fails to provide families with the information they need to adequately plan for their participation in this historic day.”
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That is an outrageous statement considering that most CPS students can't read or perform basic math at grade level.
“The most recent test scores for Chicago Public Schools show fewer than 1-in-3 students could read at grade level. Fewer than 1-in-5 could do math at grade level,” notes the Illinois Policy Institute.
What’s more, chronic absenteeism is a major problem for CPS students. Per the Chicago Sun Times, in 2025, “about 30% of middle school students were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days of school, according to CPS data.” That same year, 57 percent of “ninth through 12th grades were chronically absent.”
As a former public high school teacher, I can tell you that every minute a student is not in the classroom, the more difficult it is for them to stay on track. I can also tell you that when a student misses multiple days, the odds of them falling so far behind that they never recover are a massive problem. There is certainly some truth to the Woody Allen quote that 80 percent of success is showing up when it comes to the classroom.
Of course, Mayor Johnson, CTU President Gates, and their comrades have a blatant political and ideological agenda they seek to imprint upon the 325,000 CPS students come May Day.
“Encouraging participation allows Chicagoans to honor our history while advocating for our future. We look forward to a day of meaningful solidarity and community resistance to the forces trying to tear us apart,” Johnson said.
The CTU claimed the day of civic action is warranted because “We are not living through ordinary times. Trump’s military is starting to automatically register young people for the draft, and his agents are tear-gassing our neighbors and students at dismissal after kidnapping their classmates’ parents as they are being dropped off at school. All of this chaos is happening as federal agencies are taking away their health care, SNAP benefits, and civil rights protections.”
“On March 11th, CTU’s House of Delegates voted to join dozens of cities and millions of people across the country in making May 1st a day of civic education and action, and a day of ‘no school, no work, no shopping’ to turn back the authoritarianism threatening us all,” said the CTU.
You may be wondering where Chicago parents, at least those who are stuck in CPS schools because they cannot afford to send their kids to one of Chicago’s non-public schools, stand on this matter.
The answer to that is simple: CPS parents overwhelmingly reject the political objectification of their children. ABC 7 reports that “CPS parents threaten legal action as confusion abounds over May Day plans.” A WGN headline reads, “CPS May 1 compromise draws criticism from parents and reform groups.” “Parents, attorneys weigh legal action after CPS, CTU's ‘May Day' deal,” notes NBC 5.
Generally, among CPS parents, the message is: “Our children are not anyone’s political pawns.”
I could not have said it any better myself. I just hope that CTU, CPS, and Mayor Johnson learn a big lesson from this affair. However, I doubt that. I bet the education industrial complex that has ruined CPS will not change its tactics because, sadly, they are more concerned with indoctrination than education. This is why Chicago needs school choice more than ever!
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
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