RYH Newsletter 2.23.21
Did you miss TLC week? We hosted 3 Teach-Ins on the Trust Learning Care (TLC) Demands. You can watch each of them here: Trust | Learning | Care
Over the past month, parents and youth have gathered to craft these demands.
Read the TLC Demands: English | Spanish
Support Our TLC Demands By Signing Our Petition here.
Please share with 5 other CPS parents and/or youth + share on social media. Thank you!
WBEZ: Distrust In CPS Keeps Some Families From Returning In-Person
FOX 32: CPS parent group calls for more support for remote learners from the district
CPS Parent Action TOMORROW - Join Us In Person or Virtually!
On Wed, Feb 24, several organizations, including RYH, are hosting a socially distanced and masked press conference, march, and Teach-In as we deliver the TLC Demands to both Mayor Lightfoot and CEO Jackson. We have received no response from our initial email of the TLC Demands sent Feb 11. You can watch on our FB page starting around 9:30AM or if you’d like to join us downtown, sign up here. Parents are meeting at City Hall, 121 N LaSalle, at 9:15AM. Hosted by Raise Your Hand, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Northside Action for Justice, Parents 4 Teachers, Illinois Families for Public Schools, Chicago Teachers Union, Southwest Organizing Project, Enlace.
CPS Board of Ed Meets Tomorrow, Too
We will live tweet all of tomorrow's action. Our statements from the CPS BOE meeting will be posted on our website here later Wednesday morning; we will update this webpage with press coverage of the day. The CPS BOE monthly meeting starts at 10:30AM and is streamed live on the CPS YouTube channel. You can submit written comments to the CPS BOE now through Thursday, Feb 25, 5PM. Go to www.cpsboe.org and scroll down to “Board meeting Feb 24 Form”, click, and this will take you to a Google form.
Elected Representative School Board
We have until the end of May to win an elected representative school board. We have upcoming actions and meetings ahead - please sign up here to take action! Questions? Email Jianan at jianan@ilraiseyourhand.org.
Sun-Times: Lightfoot says lack of parental involvement is another reason to block elected CPS board
Special Education News
¡Su hijo puede ser elegible para servicios de educación especial adicionales GRATIS! Acompáñenos para obtener más información en esta sesión de información en línea.
FECHA: MIÉRCOLES, 24 DE FEBRERO DE 2021
HORA: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Equip for Equality held a webinar on the long-awaited rollout of CPS’ SSCA (Student Specific Corrective Action) and UER (Universal Enrichment Remedy). Here is a UER Fact Sheet and a UER Checklist with calculator, which should help you with any UER calls.
If you or anyone you know has an adult child who has aged out of (or will soon age out of) CPS Transition Programs (or any IL school district transition program) at age 22 -- especially those who missed out on vital vocational training out in the Community due to Covid -- please give us your contact information via this form and we'll be in touch.
A Series of Reimagining School Safety Workshops
We are hosting a series of workshops and meetups during Feb and March- join Chicago's Youth and Adult Allies! Please complete this form to register for any of the upcoming workshops.
In this email we are highlighting the next three workshops in our series:
Exploring Restorative and Transformative Practices
Th, Feb 25 | 7 - 8:15PM | Register on Zoom
Teachers & Educators w/ CPS Youth Leaders Workshop: Reimagining What Safety Looks Like In Our Schools
Sat, March 6 | 10 - 11:15AM | Register on Zoom
LSC, CPS Parents & Caregivers Chat & Workshop: Reimagining Safety In CPS
Sat, March 6 | 11AM - 12:15PM | Register on Zoom
LSC Summit 2021
The LSCs.4.ALL coalition is hosting our annual LSC summit on Sat, Feb 27, 10AM-3PM. Please note that we are adding additional time to the end of our Summit for an organizing plenary.
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) | Food Benefits For Families With School Aged Children
P-EBT is back. We recommend the following resources to learn more:
The Southwest Collective has this FB post which summarizes the program.
Greater Chicago Food Depository has a helpful FAQ webpage here.
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless hosted a webinar on P-EBT.
We have a webpage here about CPS Meal Sites.
Chicago Public Schools: Reopening Facilities News, Plus Upcoming Meetings
Facilities Reopening Resources & News
As CPS facilities begin to reopen to educators and students, here are a few CPS resources that you may need:
CPS Online Reopening Guide - Lots of info here plus emails and phone numbers for inquiries.
We’d recommend watching out for emails from your school(s) and following your school social media accounts. And here's some recent news:
Chicago Tribune: CPS high schools still have no reopening date. Here’s how one principal is helping her students cope in the meantime.
Chalkbeat Chicago:
“Ask The Expert” Sessions Continue
CPS FACE YouTube Channel- Ask The Expert session videos are here.
From CPS’ Family & Community Engagement (FACE):
Th, Feb 25 | 4-5PM
The Expert: Hellen Antonpoulos, Executive Director of the Office of Social and Emotional Learning
Topic: Supporting students' social learning needs
RSVP Here (required in order to receive the invitation)
2021 Community Budget Meetings
Email sent to parents on Fri, Feb 12. Remaining meetings:
SQRP (School Quality Rating Policy) Town Halls
Email sent to parents on Feb 17. Town Halls:
IL State Board of Education (ISBE) News
ISBE hosted its monthly meeting last week. Here are a few things that happened:
The Pantagraph: Illinois legislative panel approves ‘culturally responsive’ teaching standards
Chalkbeat Chicago:
In Other News
Chalkbeat: Schools must still give standardized tests this year, Biden administration says
Los Angeles Times: LAUSD diverting school police funds to support Black students
Petition To Consider
This snow though! We are thinking about families walking to school and being able to access school buildings safely during the Chicago winters. This petition calls on Chicago to prioritize pedestrians as much as cars and create a plan for clearing snow from sidewalks courtesy of Better Streets Chicago.