Paul Vallas: Hunger strike saved school, but academic neglect starves students – Illinois Policy

The Chicago Teachers Union recently marked the 10th anniversary of the celebrated “hunger strike” victory that prevented the closure of the nearly empty Dyett High School. Lost on the CTU is the harsh reality that despite Dyett boasting an 87 percent graduation rate and winning a 2A state boys basketball championship, only 2 percent of its graduates are proficient in reading. None are proficient in math. An alarming 75 percent of Dyett students were chronically absent – missing more than 10 percent of the school year.