CHICAGO – From the South Side of Chicago, Pastor Corey Brooks has watched Americans debate the merits of school choice, a deeply personal issue that affects his community. On the 65th day of his 100-day rooftop vigil to build a community center, he wished to share his views with his audience.
What follows has been lightly edited. We strongly encourage you to watch the accompanying video so you may hear the pastor in his own words.
I am a true believer in school choice.
Our kids should not have to attend the local school, which is absolutely failing our kids, just because they were born in the wrong zip code. The school is only two blocks away from where I sit on this rooftop.
Now, I'm not one to bad mouth folks or talk ill about individuals, especially school teachers. I support and love teachers. I believe good teachers are the best hope for our kids. But we must have some accountability here.
There are about 700 kids that attend this elementary school. There is one teacher for every 21 kids. 100% of these kids are economically disadvantaged, according to the school standards.
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Now, here is the hard truth. Only 4% of the students are proficient in math. For reading, only 6% of the kids are proficient in reading. This means that 96% of the kids are not proficient in math and 94% are not proficient in reading. Let that sink in. That means that nearly all the kids are behind, and it's only elementary school that I'm talking about.
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How is this acceptable in America, one of the richest countries in the world? And this is the year 2022.
What chance do our kids have in this neighborhood? We're failing them in every way. Our government — local, state and federal — they know this is happening, and yet, they do nothing about it.
Worse, they block our efforts to pursue one of the biggest civil rights issue of our time: school choice. How can they in good conscience tell parents that they must send their kids to a failing school, yet, they do it year after year?
I know this is something that I shouldn't say, but I'm going to say it because it needs to be said. How are the people who block school choice any different than George Wallace, when he stood at the door and banned blacks from attending the university? How is it any different?
Kids, especially poor black kids, are being denied their right to a good and free public education. This issue has bothered me for so long. The kids that attend the local elementary are my kids.
I have long wanted to open a charter school within my Project HOOD community center, as a way to offer parents and their kids a choice in their education. I believe school choice is one of the best expressions of free market capitalism, especially because it gets power to those who come from lesser means. This empowers them. We should not have bad schools being propped up by the union. We need to empower parents so that they may choose the best education for their child.
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The reason why I never announced [my dream to open a charter school] is because our city has a moratorium against charter schools. I feared it may never become a reality. But I decided to tell you my longstanding plans tonight, because I feel that I owe it to you. To be fully transparent about all my goals for this community center, even if they may not come to fruition. And that goal of opening a charter school is one that we must accomplish, is one that we must fight for.
We are in a local and national crisis right now, and I've seen how successful charter schools can send off children to better lives. Opening a charter school has and will always be one of our goals for this community.
And I know we will make that into a reality. It won't be easy. The political powers are strong. But with our neighborhood school, where 96% of the kids are not proficient in math and 94% are not proficient in reading, we have no choice. I know we can do better than that. Far better. We will, and I will fight until we win the battle of free school choice.
Follow along as Fox News checks in Pastor Corey Brooks each day with a new Rooftop Revelation.
For more information, please visit Project H.O.O.D.
Eli Steele is a documentary filmmaker and writer. His latest film is "What Killed Michael Brown?" Twitter: @Hebro_Steele.
Camera by Terrell Allen.
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