A Tale of Three Cities

American Greatness ^ | Sept 15 2026 | Larry Sand

[texas booster]

Chicago, the so-called Second City, is the third-most populous city in the U.S., but its school district is currently the fourth-largest. (Miami is now third.)

The city’s schools are in disarray, and students are abandoning them. Enrollment has fallen sharply over the past 15 years, from nearly 403,000 students in 2010–11 to just over 316,000 in 2025–26. This decline has left about 150 of the city’s schools half-empty, and 47 are operating at less than one-third capacity, driving up costs and limiting course options.

Stunningly, the Frederick Douglass Academy, with 47 classrooms built to accommodate 1,000 students, has only 27 students. Yet the school has 28 full-time staff members. As a result, in 2023–24, Douglass spent $93,000 per pupil.

Students who remain in Chicago public schools don’t receive an adequate education. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows that only 26 percent of the city’s 8th graders are proficient in reading and 22 percent in math.

At more than 50 Chicago schools, not one pupil is proficient in math. The 20 lowest-enrollment schools, which spend $33,500 per student, have an average reading proficiency of 11 percent.

Additionally, Chicago is home to what is probably the most detestable teachers’ union in the country, and its membership is quite costly, with dues totaling $1,476 per year.

And exactly how are those dues being used?

According to the union’s own accounting, only 18 percent of its budget goes to “representational activities,” while most of its funds go to leftist political causes.

In its latest gambit, the CTU’s House of Delegates voted to celebrate this year’s May Day as a time for “civic education and action,” designating May 1 a “day of no school, no work, no shopping to turn back the authoritarianism threatening us all.”

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: unions

[texas booster]

Since 2022, the union has been led by Stacy Davis Gates, who Chicago Magazine ranks as the city’s fifth most powerful person, one spot ahead of Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former CTU organizer.

Among other things, Gates is a world-class hypocrite for sending her own son to private school after calling them “segregation academies” and labeling school-choice supporters as fascists.

In 2024, Gates bizarrely told a Chicago radio station that standardized testing “at best is junk science rooted in white supremacy” and that “you can’t test black children with an instrument that was born to prove their inferiority.”

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the country, is also embattled and has seen many of its students leave.

LAUSD’s enrollment peaked in the 2002–03 school year at 724,113 pupils but has since plummeted. Projected enrollment for 2027–28 is 375,661 students.

Students in LAUSD are poorly educated. The 2024 NAEP revealed that only 21 percent of 8th graders are proficient in reading and 19 percent in math.

The already struggling school district is facing severe financial challenges due to declining enrollment, the expiration of COVID-19 relief funding, and rising operating costs.

The district will face many difficult fiscal decisions over the next several months. Schools will receive their 2027–28 budget allocations this fall, and the board will discuss the workforce reductions required to balance the budget.

Looking beyond the immediate budget crisis, school consolidation is likely unavoidable as enrollment continues to tumble. ...

[texas booster]

As in Chicago, the teachers’ union, the United Teachers of Los Angeles, is more focused on politics than on education. In fact, UTLA considers itself a foreign policy authority. In October 2024, its governing body voted to support a congressional effort to block the sale of more than $20 billion in U.S. weaponry to Israel, arguing that American-supplied arms were being used against civilians. Because of UTLA leadership’s pro-Palestinian stance, teachers who do not want to be represented by the union filed a lawsuit in October 2024 after UTLA called for the destruction of the plaintiffs’ religious homeland and promoted “animosity and violence towards people of Jewish descent.” This past May, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights also launched an inquiry into LAUSD policies. Federal officials said that district agreements with the teachers’ union appeared to automatically reassign—rather than terminate or remove—teachers accused of sexual harassment, abuse, or possession of child pornography, instead of removing them from the classroom. Then there is New York City, home to the largest school district in the U.S. It once served a million students but now serves about 781,000. Estimates suggest that number will fall further by the 2034–35 school year, with projections indicating that just 628,000 K–12 students will be enrolled. ...

[texas booster]

As in Chicago, the teachers’ union, the United Teachers of Los Angeles, is more focused on politics than on education.

In fact, UTLA considers itself a foreign policy authority. In October 2024, its governing body voted to support a congressional effort to block the sale of more than $20 billion in U.S. weaponry to Israel, arguing that American-supplied arms were being used against civilians.

Because of UTLA leadership’s pro-Palestinian stance, teachers who do not want to be represented by the union filed a lawsuit in October 2024 after UTLA called for the destruction of the plaintiffs’ religious homeland and promoted “animosity and violence towards people of Jewish descent.”

This past May, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights also launched an inquiry into LAUSD policies. Federal officials said that district agreements with the teachers’ union appeared to automatically reassign—rather than terminate or remove—teachers accused of sexual harassment, abuse, or possession of child pornography, instead of removing them from the classroom.

Then there is New York City, home to the largest school district in the U.S. It once served a million students but now serves about 781,000. Estimates suggest that number will fall further by the 2034–35 school year, with projections indicating that just 628,000 K–12 students will be enrolled. ...

[texas booster]

Reading scores in New York City fell last school year, according to recently released data. Among students in grades 3–8, about half were proficient in reading, a 6 percent decrease.

The downturn in reading proficiency was most pronounced in grades 3–5, with a nearly 14 percent decline among third graders. Fourth-grade scores fell by nearly 6 percent, and 5th-grade scores by 13 percent.

A major issue in New York is chronic absenteeism—defined as missing 10 percent or more of school days in a year. In the 2018–19 academic year, the rate was 26.5 percent, and it rose to 34.8 percent five years later. These habits start early, as 37.8 percent of kindergartners were chronically absent during the 2024–25 school year.

Educating children in New York City is expensive. The NYC Department of Education will spend more than $42,000 per pupil this school year.

As in Chicago and Los Angeles, New York’s teachers’ union, the United Federation of Teachers, once led by teacher-union godfather Albert Shanker, remains highly influential, prioritizing political influence over student performance and teacher accountability.

As is typical of teachers’ unions, the UFT’s strict tenure rules and lengthy disciplinary processes make it costly and nearly impossible to fire underperforming or incompetent educators. This, of course, directly harms student learning outcomes, especially in low-income communities.

Additionally, the union charges teachers more than $1,700 per year in dues.

Ultimately, in this tale of three cities, unlike the fabled Dickens story, there is no “best of times,” only the worst of times, with no end in sight.

[ClearCase_guy]

The school with 27 students and 28 staff members?

Imagine a world where students had a 1-on-1 personal tutor ... and still couldn’t read or do basic math.

[alexander_busek]

In its latest gambit, the CTU’s House of Delegates voted to celebrate this year’s May Day as a time for “civic education and action,” designating May 1 a “day of no school, no work, no shopping to turn back the authoritarianism threatening us all.”

Except for online shopping, of course!

[/sarcasm]

Regards,

[mewzilla]

If there is a ghost student issue, and I'm betting their is even will illegals, enrollment has likely really been an issue for a very long time.

Every publik skrewl district accepting any federal funds should be audited annually by the Feds.

That would go a long way to fixing publik skrewls.

[redfreedom]

This is a combination of you get what you vote for and the schools are turning out exactly what they want: dumb students. The clueless kids then become reliant on the democrat party and then vote for more stupidity. It’s a vicious cycle, dumb down the kids who in turn perpetuate this by voting for their communist masters.

There is this myth that Elliot Ness cleaned up Shitcago. I don’t believe it. The feds of his era did nab a few, but the smarter ones simply hung on. City officials were paid off and then it gradually morphed into commie city.

[ComputerGuy]

promoted “animosity and violence towards people of Jewish descent.”

They've got to sneak that one in there somewhere.

[volare737]

The democrats and the unions do an absolutely incredible job of taking care of each other in Chicago …/s

[texas booster]

Exactly what does May 1 have to do with readin’, writin’ and math?

The teachers union started (supposedly) to protect teachers from the administrations.

Now it protects the school administration from the parents.

After the elections, try to decertify a national union.

[Red Badger]

It is the worst of times...............

[quantim]

These kids can’t even read at a 2nd grade level when graduating so instead they go out in the streets and shoot and kill each other on the weekends. Perhaps make it a sport and play laser tag in Hussein’s library parking lot and charge admission and the losers get a child’s coloring book, you have to start somewhere.

[silverleaf]

Most of the tutors prob cant read or do maff, either

[silverleaf]

Most of the tutors prob cant read or do maff, either

[ClearCase_guy]

I imagine that, of the 28 staff members, 27 of them are probably Administrative, leaving just 1 person to teach.

Also, as far as I can tell, the “Education majors” in this country mostly learn how to create “lesson plans” and “critical race theory” and how to do paperwork in response to parental complaints of one sort or another. I don’t think that Education majors are expected to know anything about reading, math, history or anything else. Transmitting knowledge? That’s not what they do for a living.

[dynachrome]

These illiterate ‘students’ will be the new Brown Shirts for the islamo-communists.

[MrBambaLaMamba]

The evil White man is to blame.

[bk1000]

“Gates is a world-class hypocrite for sending her own son to private school after calling them “segregation academies” and labeling school-choice supporters as fascists.”

OMG, I am so sick of hearing blacks blame everything on skin color. There will come a point when everyone else is sick and tired of it too. People will cease to care. What happens then should come as no surprise to anyone.

[bert]

There is no cure for inequality