The city`s Department of Human Services, the Chicago Public Library and Operation PUSH are among public and private agencies offering public school children alternatives to classes, which were canceled for Wednesday because of the strike by teachers.
”The bottom line is that we cannot let our children`s minds lay bare in the fields of `do nothing` until big businesses make up their minds,” said Rev. Willie Barrow, national executive director of Operation PUSH.
Judith Walker, city commissioner of human services, said Tuesday that more than 40 social agencies will provide alternatives to Chicago`s 430,000 public school students.
”We are not creating an alternative school service,” Walker said. ”But rather a safe environment for schoolchildren during a strike.”
Other organizations, including public library branches and the Chicago Park District, also will provide educational activities.
During the strike in December, 1984, PUSH offered informal lessons and day care in churches and community centers.
This year PUSH`s approach will be a little more sophisticated, with the help of local radio stations, Barrow said.
”We will issue an emergency call to every radio station to set up study hours Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to noon and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
”Most parents have to work,” she said. ”This leaves the children at home all day long. What is it that they are asking for? An inferno. Any good thinking leader is not going to let that happen because when that happens to the children, it happens to the nation.”
Walker said the Chicago Cable Commission will run educational programs on WCTV (Channel 23) and the Chicago Access Channel (Channel 49) beginning Wednesday afternoon.
Chicago Public Library Commissioner John Duff said the library system, through its branches, would provide space for anyone wishing to operate an alternative school.
Radio station WBEZ-FM, which is licensed to the Board of Education, plans to pre-empt its regular daytime programming in favor of educational broadcasts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., said program director Ken Davis.
Davis added that Chicago City Colleges will begin a two-week mini class for high school juniors and seniors on Sept. 14. The course will teach the students how to take the ACT and SAT tests.
During the morning, the station has scheduled science, mathematics, reading and other basic subjects for primary grade students. After an hourlong break at noon, the station will broadcast geography, history, English as a second language, world literature and chemistry at the junior high and high school level.
WHERE ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES ARE OFFERED
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The following public and private agencies plan to offer alternative educational and recreational programs for public school students affected by the strike:
HUMAN SERVICES
The social service agencies identified by the city Department of Human Services as offering alternative educational and recreational programs include:
Near West Side: Newberry Center, 1073 W. Maxwell St.; Pilsen YWCA-Juarez Drop-out Task Force, 1608 W. 21st Pl.; Concerned Hispanics, 1427 W. Flournoy St.; Youth Service Committee/West Side, 120 N. Wood St.; Midwest Women`s Center, 53 W. Jackson Blvd.; Chicago Youth Centers, 231 S. Jefferson St.; Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, 1207 W. Taylor St.; Duncan YMCA, 1001 W. Roosevelt Rd.; Henry Horner Boys and Girls Club, 1832 W. Washington Blvd.; Rockwell Center, 2540 W. Jackson Blvd.; Ashland Center, 1440 S. Ashland Ave.
Far West Side: Marcy Center, 1539 S. Springfield Ave.; Urban Programs West, 3600 W. Ogden Ave.; Little Village Unit, 2801 S. Ridgeway Ave.; ABC/BBR Youth Centers, 1530 S. Hamlin Ave.; Lawndale People Planning Action Conference, 3200 W. Roosevelt Rd.; Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center, 9 S. Kedzie Ave.; Austin YMCA, 501 N. Central Ave.;
Marcy O`Quinn Outpost, 1218 S. Central Park Ave.
North Side: Lower North Centers, 1000 N. Sedgwick St.; Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut St.; Network For Youth Servies, 3600 W. Fullerton Ave.; Community Human Services Inc., 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave.; Isham- Sedgewick YMCA, 1404 N. Sedgwick St.; Korean American Community Services, 4300 N. California Ave.; Lower North Center/Chicago Youth Centers, 1000 N. Sedgwick St.; Near North Health Service, 923 N. Sedgwick St.; Chicago Urban League, 920 N. Franklin St.; Demicco Youth Services, Inc., 825 N. Hudson Ave.; Seward Park, 375 W. Elm St., B.U.I.L.D. Inc., 1223 N. Milwaukee Ave.; New City Y, 1515 N. Halsted St.
South Side: Centers for New Horizons, 4150 S. King Dr.; Developing Communities Project, 351 E. 113th St.; Abraham Lincoln Centre, 3858 S. Cottage Grove Ave.; Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, 1236 E. 46th St.; Tapestry Youth Center, 950 E. 61st St.; Chicago Urban League, 4510 S. Michigan Ave.;
St. Luke United Methodist Church, 55 E. 50th St.; Bible Holiness Mission, 8219 S. Marquette Rd.; Peace Lutheran Church, 4300 S. Mozart St.; Roseland Adolescent Parent Project, 11200 S. State St.; Pullman Library, 113th Street and Indiana Avenue; Catholic Charities, 110th Street and Indiana Avenue;
Centers for New Horizons, 3950 S. State St. and 4120 S. Prairie Ave.;
Southwest Women Working Together, 3201 W. 63d St.; R.H. Hillard-L.A.C., 2030 S. State St.
CHICAGO PARKS
The Chicago Park District will open 14 Lake Michigan beaches, 11 indoor pools, six outdoor pools and two lagoons to help students fill their idle hours.
The swimming sites, which normally close after Labor Day, will be open until Sept. 15 or the end of the strike, whichever comes first, said district consultant William A. Geller.
The beaches, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., are at Loyola, Albion, Ardmore, Foster, Montrose and North Avenues; Oak, 12th, 31st, 57th, 64th, 75th and 79th Streets and Avenue G.
Outdoor pools at Columbus Park, 500 S. Central Ave., and Dvorak Park, 1119 W. Cullerton St., will be open from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Other outdoor pools-at McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Road; Mt. Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111th St.; Stateway Gardens, 3658 S. State St.; and Robert Taylor Homes, 47th and Federal Streets-will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The 11 indoor pools will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sunday. They are at Beilfuss Park, 1725 N. Springfield Ave.; Clemente Park, 2334 W. Division St.; Curie Park, 4959 S. Archer Ave.; Foster Park, 1440 W. 84th St.; Block Park, 346 W. 104th St.; Jackson Park, 3506 W. Fillmore St.; Kosciuszko Park, 2732 N. Avers Ave; Mann Park, 130th Street and Carondolet Ave.; McGuane Park, 2901 S. Poplar Ave.; Orr Park, 744 N. Pulaski Rd.; and Portage Park, 4100 N. Long Ave. PRIVATE AGENCIES
Other private agencies offering alternative programs include:
The Ramp, a reading and math tutoring program at 5052 S. Calumet Ave., will be open to public school students for general instruction Wednesday, said director Michael Brownstein.
Instruction will be available for students in kindergarten through 12th grade from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Parents seeking information can call Brownstein at 285-7972.
The Art Resource Studio, located in the lower level of the Century Shopping Center, 2828 N. Clark St., will be open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and offer arts and crafts activities for children. The cost will be $5 an hour and children can come for a half day or the entire day, said director Janina Schneider.
Children staying the entire day should bring a sack lunch and a drink. Schneider said parents should call her at 975-1671 to make a reservation.
The Chicago Academy of Sciences, a museum of natural history located at 2001 N. Clark St., will offer educational activities and programs for children between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Sunday. Admission is $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. Children under six will be admitted free.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago will open Wednesday, a week early, for fall programming and change its operating hours, according to Michael Stirdivant, executive director.
The 14 boys and girls clubs, located in inner-city neighborhoods, will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday throughout the strike. For information, call 648-1666.