RYH Newsletter 7.21.21 | Boletín de RYH
Our weekly newsletter is now available in Spanish! | Subscribe.
Image: Jennie, 9.11.19, TIF Litigation Press Conference
Greetings from Jennie, RYH’s Communications & Outreach Director, and author of these newsletters for the past 2 years! I am sad to say that I am leaving Raise Your Hand. But I am excited (and super nervous!) to tell you that I am returning to teaching- I have accepted a position in the science department of a south suburban high school.
It has been a great honor and privilege to work at RYH and with each and every one of you! RYH is in a phenomenal place with great leadership and with a great team. While I am sad to leave, I think now is a good time for me to do so. I am super confident that RYH will continue to grow stronger and will continue to produce outstanding resources and support for parents.
As I transition out of my RYH responsibilities, you will see a pause in RYH Newsletters and RYH will not be as active on our social media channels during the month of August. Stay tuned for more details. Thanks for your patience and thanks for your continued advocacy! ~ Jennie
Looking for “Virtual Academy” info for SY2021-22?
Email address for questions: virtualenrollment@cps.edu
Find out more at the CPS webpage here: Virtual Academy. Your student must meet medical fragility requirements. You must apply by July 23. A licensed medical provider must submit the COVID-19 Health Eligibility Form.
Summer Meal Sites
USDA: Find Meals for Kids When Schools are Closed
CPS Grab-and-Go Summer Meal Sites
CPS FY22 Budget + BOE Meets Next Week
You can find the budget here. Scroll down for upcoming hearings. You can go here to submit written comments. CPS is live streaming these meetings on their YouTube channel.
Chicago Tribune: How will Chicago Public Schools spend its billions in COVID relief?
The monthly meeting of the CPS Board of Ed is Wed, July 28, 10:30AM. The meeting will live stream on the CPS YouTube channel. Online registration to speak begins Mon, July 26, 10:30AM, and the agenda for the meeting will post at 10AM.
Healing To Action’s #SexEdWorks Town Hall TODAY
TODAY! Healing to Action is hosting Sex Ed Works Town Hall | Wed, July 21 | 12PM
“#SexEdWorks is a campaign led by survivors of gender-based violence that is advocating for fully funded and fairly implemented comprehensive sexual health education in Chicago Public Schools. We see sex education as a tool for young people to learn healthy relationships, boundaries and self-advocacy.”
Find out more & register here.
Local School Council (LSC): SRO News
Chalkbeat Chicago has two informative articles about what is happening with LSCs and SROs/Whole School Safety Committees:
WTTW interviews a student: As Local School Councils Vote on Keeping Police in Schools, Some Advocates Push for Alternative Models
SpEd: COMMENT | #NoGoCPS | SSCA/UER Resources | FRDC
Thanks to @ChicagoSpedPAC for sharing this on Twitter:
“Find the proposed ODLSS "recovery services" policy here - and add public comment. This is Covid related comp ed for students with disabilities. What CPS has proposed is no different than the existing broken comp ed process, and will delay/deny needed services. Please provide public comment and express why the proposed policy is inequitable, inaccessible and discriminatory- CPS intends to leave students with disabilities behind. We can’t allow this.”
At RYH we’ve been pointing out the discrimination in the HS application process for students with disabilities and have been talking to CPS about this for some time. Now it’s time for collective action. Email your alderperson.
If you have an 8th Grader with an IEP in CPS who you believe was denied opportunity for appropriate High School programs due to NWEA and grade cut scores (for either application or acceptance), we want to hear from you at bit.ly/NoGoCPS. More on this issue here.
We launched a new website in April and it is still a work in progress. Our most recent RYH SpEd Resources are here!
RYH teamed up with Equip for Equality for two information sessions (one in English and one in Spanish) on UER (Universal Enrichment Remedy) and SSCA (Student Specific Corrective Action). Free extra special ed services or reimbursement for extra services you already paid for?!? Yes! And did you know CPS has identified over 10,000 students to automatically get extra services to make up for their illegal special education actions in school years 2016-17 & 2017-18? It’s true! All of the resources from both events are here.
For parents looking for an advocate, we recommend the Family Resource Center on Disabilities. It is a federally funded not-for-profit organization that has a core mission to support people with disabilities and their families. They have special education advocates who will answer your questions, review your documents, even attend IEP meetings with you - all for FREE. The only thing that they ask is that you first attend one of their know your rights trainings, as that is the most efficient way to ensure parents are exposed to the basics. Their advocates are experienced and knowledgeable. The website is www.frcd.org.
Worth A Read
Read these two together:
Sun-Times: The demolition of a CPS school and July 4th violence is related. | Evan F. Moore
Letter to the Editor from Julie Woestehoff, former ED, Parents United for Responsible Education: Parents and activists warned for years about the violence that would erupt after school closings
Chalkbeat Chicago: In Chicago, data shows pandemic fallout for Black and Latino boys (Part 2 of a 3 part must read series.)
WTTW: Ex-CPS Principal Hit With Federal Charges Over Alleged Overtime Scheme
Chalkbeat Chicago: Illinois expels fewer preschoolers, but still excludes children
WBEZ: Reimagine Chicago: Breaking The School To Prison Pipeline By 'Rethinking Schools'
BooksFirst! Chicago Looking For A School or Schools To Adopt
BooksFirst! is a collaboration of 5 Chicago area moms. For the last 8 years they have been delivering donated kids' books to underserved Chicago public schools. With no funding & no structure they’ve provided 75,000 kids' books to 53 Chicago Public Schools!
They are assembling their recipient school list for the forthcoming school year. Unfortunately, they do not have people to take books to schools, so educators/staff or parents would have to pick them up from their Northside drop off locations.
A BooksFirst! recipient school needs to have a minimum of 90% low income students, no library, and not enough books. If this is your school, educators or parents should send an e-mail to this address to discuss: booksfirst01@gmail.com