Both George Washington Elementary School (GWES) and George Washington High School (GWHS) on Chicago's Southeast Side have outdated buildings with poor ventilation, limited space for athletics and assemblies, and represent a lack of care from the City of Chicago and the Board of Education for achieving equity for our neighborhood schools. While the Board has invested over $100 million for Jones College Prep, $50 million for John Hancock College Prep, and a promised $120 million for a new high school in Chinatown, the two neighborhood school buildings for the 10th Ward both require updated ventilation, working windows, new tiles, faucets not containing lead, and an environment to overcome the higher rates of asthma on the Southeast Side. 

The 10th Ward has typically been the dumping ground of the city, and pollution from over 100 years of industry has left us with poor land, water, and air quality. Meanwhile Chicago Public Schools and the City of Chicago vow to take action on global warming by creating new buildings that are carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly. Now is the time to honor that commitment to a more healthy world by investing in two new school buildings and athletic facilities for the 10th Ward.

We are at an unprecedented moment where CPS has billions of dollars from the federal government to deal with the challenges we have faced from the pandemic. Why not use just a part of that money to construct two new school buildings that will both be environmentally friendly and benefit the Southeast Side for generations to come?

Both schools are exemplary for their academic achievement, strong sense of community, extracurricular activities, and preparing students for post-secondary success and civic engagement.  For example, the high school has a top ranked International Baccalaureate program and Dual Credit and Advanced Placement courses where many students earn college credit before graduation. The on-track rates for students are the highest in their CPS network as well. Meanwhile the McCormick Foundation recognized GWHS as a Democracy School in 2017 for its commitment to education about government, civics, and history, service learning opportunities, connection to community, and involvement of student voice in school-wide decision-making. GWHS' soccer teams have performed well at the state level, where the boys have finished in the top 4 three times over the past decade. For this reason the teams need their own turf field for practice and games, so that the school will not have to pay to reserve space at Calumet Park which is over three miles away. The E-Sports, Volleyball, Softball, and Baseball teams have also seen many recent successes at competition.

Both schools are at or above capacity, and GWHS's enrollment has grown significantly by a couple hundred students over the past few years. This is in stark contrast to declining enrollment in many Chicago Public Schools. They both utilize mobile classrooms, where students have to walk outside during all kinds of weather and also risk security concerns going to and from class. So merely adding annexes to the buildings would be insufficient. New buildings are needed by both schools for the health and safety of their students. 

GWES lacks an auditorium to hold assemblies, and utilizes the lunchroom for gatherings. GWHS cannot accommodate its student population for pep rallies and assemblies in its gymnasium and auditorium. Without central air the hallways, lunchroom and auditorium are considerably uncomfortable to be in during the school year.

Now is the moment for Chicago Public Schools, the Board of Education, and the City of Chicago to invest more in its neighborhoods, overcome inequity, and consider its impact on reversing global warming by building two new green, carbon-neutral buildings for the Southeast Side and the 10th Ward.