GAGE PARK — Teachers at one Southwest Side Chicago Public School have found a small but impactful way to help minority students reeling after Donald Trump's victory.
A group of teachers at Hernandez Middle School at 3510 W. 55th St. wrote more than 1,000 Post-It notes and stuck them to students' lockers, days after some of its minority students said they were in fear of Trump's presidency, students said Tuesday.
Each of Hernandez's 1,048 students came to school Monday to see a specialized note left on his or her locker, students said.
"You are respected here!" and "I support you," are some of the many messages left for kids, students said.
At Hernandez Middle School on Chicago's SW side, teachers left notes on over 1,000 lockers @CPSuccessCHI @ChiPubSchools @CTULocal1 pic.twitter.com/0SKC1ZjvFs
— Ray Salazar (@WhiteRhinoRay) November 14, 2016
Neftali Lopez, a sixth-grader at Hernandez, said his locker had a Post-It that said "I support you." It was made by one of his teachers, though he said he isn't sure exactly who left it.
"I thanked them," he said of his teachers. "It was good. It made me feel happy."
School administrators could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Many of Chicago's minority and immigrant populations say they are afraid of their futures under a Trump administration. After the Republican won the presidential election last week, Trump vowed to deport as many as 3 million undocumented immigrants as one of his first acts.
Calls to crisis hotlines and suicide prevention services have spiked by 200 percent in Illinois since the election, health officials said. Trump's presidency is a "public health crisis" to the communities that have drawn his ire, officials said.
CPS teachers have also reported tears in their classrooms, as students worry about their families facing deportation.
The crisis especially impacts minority kids, who are unsure of their families status in the United States. Reports of race-based bullying in schools nationwide have spiked since Trump's victory.
Nearly 97 percent of Hernandez's student population in Hispanic, according to CPS.
The school district has already announced more resources for these populations, and state legislators are seeking funds for the overwhelmed crisis hotlines.
Lopez said he was sad that Trump won but was not overly fearful.
"I wanted Hillary to win," he said.
Some of his classmates were scared, however.
"It was so scary," said Jonathan Rodriguez, a Hernandez seventh-grader, said of Trump's win.
Rodriguez said many kids felt like him, and the Post-It notes left by teachers were meant as a boost of confidence for what has been a rough stretch for some students.
"They're being nice, trying to help us," he said. "I like it."
Rodriguez's older sister, Amerita, said the Post-It notes were news to her and a nice gesture to the confused and anxious student population.
"I had no idea about that," she said. "That's really nice."
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