Macquline King was a young principal working hard at a small South Side elementary when she got word that her school was slated to close.
Teacher Claire Brandon remembers watching King fight to keep Dumas Technology Academy open “to the bitter end” alongside parents and staff.
“It was a hurtful time,” she says, remembering the many protests and hearings where King and parents begged school district officials for a reprieve, to no avail.
Not long after she hugged the students at Dumas goodbye, King was thrust into another tense situation. She became principal of Courtenay Language Arts Center on the North Side, which was designated to take in children grieving their own closed school.
Parents Felicia Suggs and Yolanda Harris spoke out against the closing of Dumas Elementary in March 2013. Dumas staff remember how King fought alongside them and parents to try and keep the school open.
John H. White/Sun-Times file
King says it was “horrible” watching one community lose its school and then difficult to bring together two schools that had different needs and demographics. At Courtenay, she says, she “began to really understand how policy played a large role in what happened in the day-to-day activities at a school.”
Those experiences propelled her to seek out a broader leadership position. It's also why some see her as uniquely qualified to lead the district as it grapples with a big drop in enrollment and current and future budget deficits.
She says the experiences taught her the importance of listening and not trying to tackle problems alone.
“I really believe in shared leadership,” she says. “Chicago is so big and it's so diverse, and so going around having round tables, having learning sessions, that's really important to me. Because I can't bring all of the families and the students into the building, but I can go out into the community to elevate their voices.”
The Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter says students need King t
