RYH Newsletter 12.21.20
Happy Holidays and welcome to Winter Break! We have lots of resources and news to share below. We'd recommend skimming the below now, then saving this webpage so you have the links for viewing or reading when you are ready to digest.
A RYH programming note… We will be taking a few breaks during the next few weeks to rest, reflect, and recharge. Please be patient with delays in responses. Our social media will also be a bit quieter than usual.
CPS Meal Sites have changed for the break. Please see this tweet with flyers & pass it on. A Spanish language tweet on CPS Meal Sites via our friends at BPNC is here.
Wishing you peace and rest during this holiday season!
Air Filtration Q & A: Recording Available + Resources
We hosted an informative event last week with Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) and Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). We’d recommend watching and trying to determine what questions you need to ask at your school. No question is too basic right now.
Air filtration is NOT in our wheelhouse here at RYH. Sterling Laylock & Carl Tutt are very knowledgeable, experienced, and really give a hoot about this issue and getting it right. It's pretty easy to listen to them and folks were asking some great questions. If you have further questions on this topic, please send them to info@ilraiseyourhand.org. We'll do our best to get them answered.
Watch: Facebook Live | YouTube (Resources & links below are in the description of the video.)
More Resources:
ASHRAE : ASHRAE was formed as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers by the merger in 1959 of American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHAE) founded in 1894 and The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (ASRE) founded in 1904.
We’re Hiring!
Join our amazing RYH team! We are hiring a full time parent organizer. You can find the job description and how to apply here. Please share this widely.
ERSB Town Hall
Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) hosted a town hall meeting last week on the elected representative school board (ERSB) fight- the history and where we are at now.
Watch: Facebook Live | YouTube link (Action Steps below are in the description of the video.)
Action Steps:
Write to your senator and Sen President Don Harmon asking them to support and pass the elected school board bill HB2267. Send an email via this page.
Call your Senator and Sen Harmon’s office and ask them to get HB2267 passed in January during Lame Duck session. Script here. Find your Senator & their contact info here. Call Senator Harmon too (he’s the Senate President): (708) 848-2002.
Speaking of a need for an ERSB:
Chalkbeat Chicago: Chicago schools watchdog to review computer deal with Lightfoot donor
ALSO, read this… Sun-Times: CPS’ new sex ed policy doesn’t address important needs, advocates say
#CPSFalseChoice #CPSTalkToUs #RealCPSEquity
Last Wednesday, GEM hosted an hour-long action on Twitter. Over 200 tweets were sent resulting in thousands of engagements. The tweets included 30 videos, almost all from parents. You can check out the tweets by searching any of the hashtags or all three together on Twitter.
LSC Election Report + CPS Board of Ed Meeting
At this RYH webpage you can find a link to the LSC Election 2020: Community Feedback and Recommendations report prepared by RYH and Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, our statement to the CPS Board of Ed about this report (folks who took our LSC Elections survey gave CPS a D+ for their administration of the process), 2 other statements from parents, and press coverage of the meeting and it’s topics.
Chalkbeat Chicago: 2020 LSC election participation plummets, nearly 1000 seats unfilled
More LSC News: Vacancies & Background Check Deferment
Check to see the list of schools with potential vacancies: Fill Your School's Vacancy! Uncertified LSC Election Results by Type (RYH).
The completion of background checks has been deferred since LSC meetings will continue to be virtual. You can find communication from CPS on that here.
Pandemic Schooling Updates
The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association (CPAA) hosted an informative webinar with medical professionals as panelists. You can watch the Facebook Live stream here.
The IL Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) denied CTU's request for a preliminary injunction against CPS' plan to begin in-person learning on Jan 4. The matter will now go to court.
Press coverage from WBEZ: Labor Board Rejects Union Effort To Stop Chicago Public Schools From Reopening
CTU has a webpage here where you can send a letter to your elected officials
CPS is hosting an “Ask the Expert” series of talks. Honestly, we are having a hard time finding where this information is housed in one place by CPS. Here’s a slide from the CPS Board of Ed meeting which has the dates, times, and topics.
Standardized Testing Update
The IL State Board of Ed (ISBE) is delaying the start of the 2021 Spring Assessment Window to March 15. This most directly impacts the ACCESS testing as that was scheduled to start on Jan 4. You can read more from ISBE here and for greater context and an action step, please see this from IL Families for Public Schools.
Please Consider RYH In Your End of Year Giving!
We are within $5K of our goal of raising $15K during the month of December. Can you help us reach our goal? Donate here- thank you!!!
Save The Date!
Sat, Jan 23, 2021 - RYH Webinar | Alternatives Safety Plans for Schools, Reimagining Safety in Schools
Sat, Jan 30, 2021 - LSC Summit 2021 | 10AM-2PM | Virtual | FB post with flyer