The president of the Chicago Teachers Union has sent her eldest son to a private school in the city, it appears — a month after she called those who supported school choice “fascists.”
Stacy Davis Gates, who tweeted in 2018 that private schools were “segregation academies,” enrolled her son Kevin in Catholic school this semester. Her youngest two children attend a public elementary school in Chicago.
When critics accused her of hypocrisy, she said she was doing what was best for her son because the public schools in her neighborhood were of poor quality.
She said Kevin was an aspiring football player, and that she and her husband were “forced” to send him “to a private high school so that he could fulfill his dream of becoming a football player while also having a curriculum that would meet his social and social skills. emotional needs.’
Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, last month called private school advocates “fascists.” Now it appears that she sent her son to a private school
Her son Kevin now attends a private Catholic school: her two youngest daughters remain in public schools
She said there was no doubt her district’s public schools were inferior, and she would like to see more investment in them, but her son’s education came first.
“Unfortunately, whether you are a staunch supporter of building and investing in more high-quality public schools in your area or believe in ‘school choice,’ we can all agree that the options for Black students, their families, and entire Black communities in the south of this city West Sides are limited,” she wrote in an email obtained by The Chicago Tribune.
“Public and community high schools in our Black and brown neighborhoods are living and breathing examples of inequality.
“Nearly all are missing the thriving extracurricular activities, sports programs, wrap-around services or other ingredients that make for a high-quality public school.”
Davis Gates’ local high school is Harlan Community Academy, which occupies 437 of Illinois’ 664 high schools, according to NBC Chicago.
Davis Gates has made her children’s education a talking point and used it to emphasize her opposition to private schools.
In an August 2022 interview with South side weeklyshe was asked, “Are you concerned about proponents of school choice and privatization running for school board, and a strategy to oppose them?”
Davis responded, “Yes, we are concerned about the rise of fascists in Chicago.”
Davis Gates has long been an opponent of private schools. She is pictured at a downtown rally in support of the Chicago teachers strike on October 23, 2019
That same month, she wrote on X: “*School choice* was actually the choice of racists. It was created to prevent the integration of schools with black children. Now it’s the civil rights struggle of our generation?’
In March 2022, she stated, “I’m a mother too. My children attend Chicago Public Schools. These are the things that legitimize my space within the coalition.’
Last year in an article in Chicago Magazine, quoted by NBC ChicagoDavis Gates said, “I cannot advocate for public education without it taking root in my own household.”
Her opposition to private schools is longstanding: In 2018, she wrote that private schools were “segregation academies.”
“Call them private schools supported by taxpayer money – vouchers – so your northern cousins understand better,” she said.
Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, shared Fox news that Davis Gates was a “school choice hypocrite.”
“I’m glad she has educational options for her family, but she shouldn’t fight against school choice for others,” he said.
“Based on her own argument last year that she was a legitimate representative of public schools because she sent her own children to public schools, she should resign in disgrace.
“That, or she can stop being a hypocrite and support educational freedom for families who don’t make as much money as she does.”