Dozens of Hyde Park Academy students walked out of class Thursday and lined the sidewalk outside their South Side campus, protesting the abrupt removal of two community groups that ran the school’s Peace Room. Students say those adults have been a lifeline during a brutal spring, and their sudden absence has left many teens feeling exposed and unheard. Teen leaders held handwritten signs and spoke at a brief press conference, saying the demonstration was the latest act of grief and frustration after multiple classmates died in recent weeks.
According to the Chicago Sun‑Times, the two organizations, Good Kids Mad City and Southside Together, were removed from Hyde Park Academy earlier this month. Organizers say staffers were even escorted off campus. Southside Together has worked inside the school for about 15 years, helping lead peace circles and other restorative practices, they said. Students told reporters they believe the groups were pushed out after town hall meetings where teens had pressed school leaders for more mental health support.
District rules and paperwork
The district’s own guidance on background checks says vendor staff must complete fingerprinting and disclosure forms before working with students, and that principals may require additional screenings for those employees, according to Chicago Public Schools. Those onboarding steps are meant to protect students even as schools lean on outside partners for counseling, de-escalation, and restorative work. District and school leaders say following those rules is a basic condition for keeping any partnership in place.
Students say the peace room is closed
Students told the Chicago Sun‑Times the once-busy Peace Room, known for its beanbags, quiet corners, and trusted adults, is now “locked and dark,” and the familiar faces who staffed it are gone. “They were the only ones in the building helping to calm me down,” one student said. Another asked reporters, “How are we as teenagers supposed to do work after we just got through a traumatic experience?” Protest organizers said students want a concrete plan for who will now provide immediate emotional support during the school day.
A traumatic spring for students
The protest follows what many at the school describe as an agonizing month. In early April, 18-year-old Hyde Park Academy student Lania Smith was killed in a hit-and-run in Dolton, a case covered by CBS Chicago. Days later, 16-year-old student Eric Billups was fatally shot at a bus stop near the campus in mid-April. NBC Chicago reported that Billups was shot on the 6300 block of South Stony Island Avenue after an earlier fight. In response, families and students have organized vigils and balloon releases as the community tries to process the loss.
Organizers demand answers
Organizers at Thursday’s protest called on Hyde Park Academy administrators to either reverse the decision or clearly explain how students will be supported without the two community partners inside the building. Southside Together lists Hyde Park Academy as one of the sites where it runs youth programming, and Chicago Public Schools has publicly named Good Kids Mad City as a district partner for community events, which organizers say shows how embedded the groups had become in campus life. Student leaders say they plan to keep pushing for meetings with administrators and are demanding a written plan that spells out who will staff the Peace Room and how quickly that support will return.
