Crumbling Schools? Emanuel Says Sullivan High Grads Represent 'Strong, Promising Future'
WBBM's Bob Roberts
(CBS) -- When Mayor Emanuel addressed graduating seniors at Sullivan High School's commencement Saturday, he was speaking to Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislators as much as the students.
Emanuel said detractors of the Chicago Public Schools should take a closer look at Sullivan High School and its graduating class. Look in their eyes, the mayor said, and you can see a better tomorrow.
"I see a strong and promising future," he said. "I want Springfield to hear this: Of the graduates of Sullivan High School this year, 100 per cent are college-accepted."
A spokesperson for Emanuel said Sullivan, on Chicago's North Side, is Chicago's most diverse high school, with 43 percent of students Hispanic; 39 percent black and 13 percent Asian-American.
A full 93 percent of Sullivan students are classified as low-income and 34 percent are learning English while enrolled. The students represent 35 countries and speak 20 languages. At commencement Saturday, the greeting was given in four languages: English, Spanish, Urdu and Nepalese.
Emanuel said Chicago leads the state in academic improvement, and said it would be unfair to penalize students from low-income and minority backgrounds when a good education is their ticket out.
The mayor's remarks come in the wake of a spat with the governor over school funding. Rauner recently likened some of Chicago's public schools to crumbling prisons.
