Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates told a radio news host that conservatives don’t want black children to read, adding that it’s “part of their oath to be right-wing.”
In an interview published on the WBBM Newsradio website on Sunday, the station’s political editor, Craig Dellimore, spoke with Davis-Gates on “At Issue” about the union’s contract demands.
Among the demands were social justice issues.
During the interview, Dellimore asked Davis-Gates about the proposed teachers union contract, which has been criticized by conservatives as being “too big” and raising concerns that it includes too many elements not directly related to education.
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Stacey Davis Gates, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said in an interview that conservatives don’t want black children to be able to read and write. (Reuters/Max Hermann)
“Conservatives don’t even want black kids to be able to read and write,” Davis Gates said. “And remember, these are conservatives who would have likely defended black norms during Reconstruction and beyond. So forgive me again if my anxiety doesn’t increase because conservatives are resistant to educating immigrant kids, black kids, poor kids. Here’s what they have to say. It’s literally part of the oath they take to be right-wing.”
Teachers unions are negotiating new teacher contracts with public school systems and are seeking an additional $50 billion in funding. The big increase is proposed to cover wage increases and other demands. For example, the money would go toward full-fee abortion for union members, new immigrant services and facilities, and LGBTQ-related requirements and training in schools.
Last year, Illinois’ total tax revenue was $50.7 billion.
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CTU President Stacey Davis Gates (center right) argued that conservatives are opposed to education for immigrant children, black children and poor children. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
These incredible demands are being met with disappointing results from schools: Only 21 percent of the city’s eighth graders are proficient in reading, according to the Nation’s Report Card, a national report on student achievement.
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project and a conservative advocate on school choice and education, told Fox News Digital that if conservatives didn’t want minority children to learn to read and write, they wouldn’t be protesting.
“They will recognize and support the teachers union and give them everything they want, because right now in Chicago public schools, only 20 percent of minority students are reading and writing at grade level,” he said. “Whatever the conservative’s goal is, I disagree with her. I want every child to be able to read and write. I think this country would be a better place if everyone could read and everyone could do math.”
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Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital that she wants all children to be able to read and write. (Fox News)
Schilling is a father of seven who lives in Fairfax, Virginia. He pulled all of his children out of public school during the pandemic because he felt their academic performance was terrible.
He explained that he saw firsthand what his children were learning and found that only about 36 percent of Fairfax County Public Schools students could read and write at grade level.
So when he looked at one of the wealthiest, best-funded schools in the country and found that fewer than half of the students could read and write at grade level, “it was a no-brainer,” he said.
David Gates touted sending her children to public school in 2022. She said it helps “justify” her position within the union and that she couldn’t defend public schools if she didn’t. According to NBC Chicago.
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Students arrive for class at AN Pritzker Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois on January 12, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
But in 2023, Davis Gates enrolled her teenage son in a private Catholic high school in the city.
“She’s the poster child for what it means to be a member of a teachers union,” Schilling said. “They’re all hypocritical. The leaders of the teachers union, almost none of them send their kids to public school. They know that public schools aren’t working, and if you send your kids to these schools, they’re not going to be as smart. They want the best for their kids, but not for our kids.”
He went on to say that district leadership is important and who the leader is communicates to everyone below.
“When the leadership at the top is corrupt, it follows suit all the way down,” he said. “That’s exactly what we’re experiencing in Chicago Public Schools. It’s corrupt from top to bottom.”
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Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates (left) stands with Mayor Brandon Johnson. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Davis-Gates did not respond to a request from Fox News Digital seeking an explanation or statement about his comments to the radio host.
Schilling pointed to a variety of other reasons why school districts are failing.
The Illinois Report Card recently released a report stating that Chicago Public Schools spends $29,000 per student, making the district’s teacher salaries among the highest of any large city.
But despite the high salaries, the report found that 43 percent of the district’s teachers are chronically absent each school year.
“That means they’re missing more than 10 days of school per year. The reason this is important is because … the Illinois State Board of Education has said teacher absence is significant and has a huge, negative impact on student achievement,” Schilling said. “Almost half of our teachers are chronically absent? This is a recipe for failure. What is the administration doing to crack down on this?”
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Davis-Gates’ comments about conservatives aren’t far removed from those of other teachers union leaders, but Schilling said her comments are more direct than what the union is accustomed to.
“They all think we’re the enemy and they won’t admit they’ve failed,” he said. “But the thing is, it’s not the Republicans in these schools that are failing to educate our kids. It’s not the right-wingers with the big salaries. It’s not the people that are getting paid $29,000 per kid. This is terrible. They need to be held accountable.”
― Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
