Imagine how you’d feel if your elementary school permanently closed its doors in the summer between your 2nd and 3rd grades, severing your relationship with friends, teachers and an entire community. For tens of thousands of Chicago students, that kind of situation was a reality in 2013, when then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Board of Education closed 50 schools in one fell swoop. Ten years later, WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times analyzed why that decision was made and how it affected students, families and communities. Sun-Times investigative reporter Lauren FitzPatrick and WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp explain their findings.
