“…Notably, the effects of the district's “Renaissance 2010” initiative, which included turnaround efforts and the closure of over 80 public schools serving majority Black and Latinx communities, culminated in the 2012 strike for educational equity (Lipman 2013a, 2013b). More recently, the 2019 strike, similarly spearheaded by key militant Black teachers within the Chicago Teachers Union, waged a concerted social justice agenda to demand smaller class sizes, guarantee adequate staffing of Paraprofessional and School-Related Personnel, and provide wraparound services for students with economic need (Lyon 2022). Despite these efforts, however, some suggest the devaluation of unions and the loss of teacher employment protections across all school sectors in the U.S. and other countries have discouraged potential candidates from entering the profession or have motivated exit as many no longer view teaching as a relatively low-risk, stable, and lifelong profession (Fitzgerald et al 2019; Kirk 2019; Lincove, Barrett, and Strunk 2018).…”