CHICAGO — When the students return to class in September at McCutcheon Elementary, they'll be greeted by the bright colors of a fresh paint job in their classrooms.
And they can thank — in part — their buddies to the north at Goudy Technology Academy. Teachers, faculty, families and a host of volunteers from both schools partnered to give 13 classrooms at McCutcheon, 4865 N. Sheridan Road, a fresh coat of teal, mint green, bright blue or sunshine yellow paint Thursday.
"We did a fantastic job," said Jacoby Warren, a parent with two returning students and a son who recently graduated from the school. The students "are going to be like, 'Seriously, look at all these colors.' They'll definitely know their colors next year."
Warren said it was exciting to see both communities come out and support each other.
"It's great to have all this togetherness in one place," he said.
About 50 people including Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) and his staff rolled up their sleeves and got dirty at McCutcheon Thursday morning and they planned to head to Goudy Friday morning to do the same.
"The work going on today and tomorrow exemplify the spirit of cooperation between McCutcheon and Goudy and the commitment of people in our community who want to find ways to support their neighborhood schools," Osterman said. "This will really help the schools as they prepare for students to return in September. I hope to see these partnerships continue into the school year."
Jenna Farrell, principal of McCutcheon, said the idea stemmed from a conversation about uniting the schools together with Pamela Brandt, principal of Goudy, 5120 N. Winthrop Ave.
"It was Pam's idea. It was a great way to kind of bring both communities together. It was such a great feeling of camaraderie in the air. There was a lot of joy here," Farrell said. "We wanted the kids to be proud of the classrooms and see that we really care about them."
But Farrell said the project wasn't about recent CPS budget cuts.
"We see the needs, so we decided to do it as opposed to just waiting," Farrell said.
When CPS announced cuts, McCutcheon's budget was cut by more than 20 percent. It was hit hardest among Uptown schools. Facing a 27-pupil drop, the school stood to lose $611,150, a 20.6 percent decrease from last year, according to CPS data.
But through Ald. James Cappleman (46th), whose ward includes the school, as well as state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), the school was able to recover $250,000.
"Principal [Jenna] Farrell notified me that as a result of my push and the push from state Rep. Greg Harris [that] $250,000 of their $611,150 cut was restored. This means that they will not have to lay off three teachers and combine classrooms," Cappleman said in an email to constituents in July.
Cappleman admitted that "there is more work to do" despite the victory.
Among the volunteers Thursday was a small group representing Working in the Schools, a literacy advocacy group that serves about 8,500 students including several classrooms at McCutcheon.
"It's crazy. The money that's supposed to be here isn't here. And the teachers and families came together and they're not letting the budget cuts affect them," said Matt Smrekar, 25, an employee for WITS. "This one-off day is a little bit different, but I thought it was a great experiment."
The staff was happy to continue building their relationship through the service opportunity along with the various literacy programs, which includes sending older children to DePaul to work with mentors and reading to the younger children at the school, Smrekar said.
"It felt nice to get our hands a little dirty and do something especially with all the budget cuts," said 17-year-old Leslie Reyes, an intern with the program.
Volunteers who want to help Friday at Goudy should bring their own painting supplies marked with their names. Painting will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Staff from McCutcheon Elementary School and Goudy Technology Academy are banding together to prepare their schools for the start of school. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
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