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Education is an important tool for self-empowerment and future success, however overcrowding in many of Chicago’s Latino neighborhood schools leaves students in precarious situations. Overcrowding has been a long-standing problem for the city’s Latino community, and as a recent UNO study makes clear, it continues to disproportionately shortchange Latino students, limiting their full potential.

In overcrowded schools, closets and hallways become classrooms, students are denied one-on-one attention from school staff, and many educational opportunities are lost due to a lack of space. It becomes easier for students in these environments to lose interest and fall through the cracks.

We have to do better for the future of the City of Chicago and the future of its Latino communities. Doing nothing about overcrowding in Chicago Public Schools will continue to guarantee a high dropout rate and a low level workforce for a major segment of our city’s population.

We join UNO in calling on our state legislators to provide funding for new schools in overburdened Latino neighborhoods and we support its initiative for public/private partnerships to build new UNO schools.

Visit www.endschoolovercrowding.org.

Aldermen who signed this letter:

Edward M. Burke, 14th Ward

Richard Mell, 33rd Ward

Ray Suarez, 31st Ward

Daniel Solis, 25th Ward

George Cardenas, 12th Ward

Arial Reboyras, 30th Ward

Manuel Flores, 1st Ward

Walter Burnett, 27th Ward