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    Balancing Act: At People's Music School, parents clean toilets, repair leaks, work security — all for a shot at a world-class education for their kids

    by Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune Jun 03, 2019 4 minutes

    CHICAGO - When Lilly Torres showed up for her first day of work at The People's Music School, her boss directed her to the bathrooms, which needed cleaning.

    Scrubbing toilets wasn't listed in the job description, but Torres set to work on them.

    "At the end of the day, Rita told me, 'I wanted you to clean the bathrooms because that's what you're going to have the parents do,' " Torres said. " 'Everybody does it.' "

    Torres is the associate director of students, families and alumni at the music school in Uptown. Rita is Rita Simo, who founded the school in 1976 with a donated piano and $625.

    Simo grew up in the

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