'We are failing them': Detroit teachers demand fix to 'hazardous' school
Spain Elementary-Middle School the temperature quickly changes. A musty smell wafts through the air as a draft comes from the direction of the gym.
But there are no children playing inside. The wooden floors are warped from rain damage because roof repairs weren't made. Basketballs lie on the floor untouched. On one side of the gym, the wood has been torn up, but that's as far as things have gotten.
For now the children here play in the hallway; running up and down, bouncing balls. Even if the weather weren't in the 20s, the playground wouldn't be an option either. Clouds of steam pour into the playground and it was deemed unsafe.
Detroit teachers stage 'sick-out,' force school closures 01:13
Workers at the school say this cycle of neglect is having a devastating effect on the children's future and they are fed up -- with the Detroit Public Schools, the local government and the state. It is why many of the teachers staged a sickout, forcing the school to close for two days.
"We are losing generations of children because we are failing them. We are failing them because we are not able to provide everything that they need: textbooks, programming and even the facilities," says Lakia Wilson, the school's counselor and union representative. "And that is criminal. And those are just the basics, that's the necessities."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/15/health/detroit-school-teacher-frustrations/index.html