Success! Chicago Moms And Schools Reach Compromise

They went to bat for their children, fought for a library and won. After more than a month of camping out in a field house next to the neighborhood elementary school, a group of South Side mothers have reached a preliminary compromise with Chicago Public Schools.

The school system will build a library inside Whittier Elementary School in Pilsen, a largely Hispanic Chicago neighborhood. And instead of demolishing the field house the moms are using as an informal community center, the school district will leave it intact and lease it to the moms' group.

The sit-in isn't over yet, though; the moms say they'll stay until the School Board officially votes on the plan, on October 27.

Since September 15, moms have been camping out in the old field house to demand a library for their children. Chicago Public Schools had planned to demolish the field house to create green space, but moms and their children wanted a library of their own. They named the little building "La Casita," and as word spread of their fight with Chicago's school district, donations of books poured in. Now more than 1,000 titles are on the shelves of the makeshift library.

The tentative victory won by the Whittier mothers is an inspiring example of parents working to achieve positive change in the schools. Not only has a small group of South Side moms convinced one of the country's largest school districts to change its plans, they've called national attention to the shortage of libraries at Chicago's public schools, the strength of the Hispanic community in Pilsen and the fact that peaceful protests, social networking and media coverage can transform a tiny current into a roaring wave of change.

It's easy to throw up your hands at the failures and systemic problems of our education system, but the story of "La Casita" shows that communities can transform their schools in tangible ways. Parents and school officials are still on icy terms, but here's to the women of Whittier, and to the Change.org members who have signed the petition to stand with them and demand a library for their children.

Photo credit: Solidarity with Whittier Parents' struggle