RYH Newsletter 8.26.20
TODAY, Wed, Aug 26 | 10:30AM | CPS, 42 W. Madison
Hosted by #PoliceFreeSchools youth
Wear a mask. Plan to physically distance. Bring water.
Canât make it but want to support? Consider one or more of the following:
Submit written comments. Go to www.cpsboe.org. Scroll down a little bit until you see "Written Comments." There's a link to a Google form for the Aug 26 meeting.
Watch the meeting. It is live streamed on the CPS YouTube channel.
Tweet. Use the hashtag #CopsOutCPS. Search this hashtag to find the youth & their action(s). You can also retweet the youth who are leading this rally & this movement.
(Much more news on #PoliceFreeSchools below.)
Speaking of the CPS Board of EdâŚ
There is a âHoliday Waiverâ hearing at 9:30AM. The Sun-Times covers it here: CPS proposes holding classes on Veterans Day instead of Election Day.
The monthly meeting starts at 10:30AM and the agenda is packed: FY21 Budget and Capital Plan, School Resource Officers (SROs), and Remote Learning. We will post our speakersâ statements plus press coverage here when they are available. Our live tweets are here and we recommend following todayâs #ChiDocumenter for every bit of board action. (Read more about City Bureauâs Documenters here.) Both of these meetings will be live streamed on the CPS YouTube channel.
Do You Need Child Supervision Assistance During Remote Learning?
CPS sent an email to parents on Friday. You can read the full CPS email here. Direct link to the survey: Survey for Need: Supervision of Children During Remote Learning/ Encuesta: SupervisiĂłn de niĂąos durante el aprendizaje remoto. If you are interested in potential assistance, the survey is due Fri, Aug 28, at 5PM.
CTU Panel Discussion: High Stakes Testing in the Pandemic
Th, Aug 27 | 4:30-5:30PM | Register & more info here
Join teachers and parents as a panel discusses the current state of standardized testing in the midst of the pandemic.
#PoliceFreeSchools Letter, Public Comment Infographics, and News
Read the letter sent Monday from adult ally organizations, including RYH, to the city and CPS: Chicago Community Groups Condemn Cityâs SRO âReformsâ, Demand IGA Not Be Renewed and Dollars Invested Back into Local Schools.
We have been releasing infographics this week which contain powerful quotes from the over 730 pages of comments submitted to the CPS Board of Ed June 24th meeting which included discussion about the CPS CPD School Resource Officer (SRO) program. We are uplifting specific quotes, experiences and facts that stood out. You can find our overview of these public comments here. You can find the 1200+ comments submitted here. RYH infographics posts on Instagram here, here, and here.
Student actions which always include dance, joy, and games as well as chants & song: On Monday, Chicago youth occupied the space in front of the CPS Board of Ed for hours in a #CopsOutCPS action. The Sun-Times covers it here and the Chicago Tribune covers it here. On Saturday, at Whitney Young HS, youth spoke out & marched in the #BreakThePiggyBank action, covered by The Triibe here. Youth have also been demonstrating in front of CPS BOE membersâ houses. Hereâs one covered by the Sun-Times.
Data in the news: A couple of articles worth a read and some deep thought...
The pending vote in the news:
Local School Council (LSC) Resources & Save The Date
Slides- Aug 20, OLSCR Bi-weekly Chat- LSC Elections & Guidance for CPS FOIA Request
OLSCR = Office of Local School Council Relations | FOIA = Freedom of Information Act
The next OLSCR Bi-weekly Chat is Th, Sept 3, 4-5PM.
Chicago Connected Slides from OLSCR Bi-weekly Chat
Special Education Upcoming Zoom and Resources
We heard you. Many working parents asked for an evening RYH Special Ed Community Zoom, so Save the Date for Wed, Sept 2, at 6:00 - 7:45PM, for a special presentation from the Loyola Law Schoolâs SUFEO project team, with a focus on Special Education Rights and Remote Learning Plans. Register on Zoom in advance here.
Legal Council for Health Justice created this FAQ for CPS Special Ed Remote Learning.
Get to Know My Child Draft Letter to Teacher Re Remote Learning
Access Livingâs annual review of the CPS special education budget for FY21 can be found here.
Remote Learning
IL State Board of Ed (ISBE) released the following on Aug 14:
LSNA + RYH + GEM Remote Learning Event Recap
On Saturday, we hosted a webinar with Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) and Grassroots Education Movement (GEM). We examined the wonderful LSNA Remote Learning Statement which was written by parent and youth leaders. You can find slides & small group discussion reports from the event here. We hope you can and will take some of these ideas back to your own school and community!
Parents! The Press Wants To Hear From You!
WBEZ's Curious City is looking for parents, students, and educators in the Chicagoland area to share a voice memo (no more than 1 minute) expressing your thoughts, concerns, and feelings about the coming school year. You can find some prompts, instructions, and guidelines here if you'd like to participate.
RYHâs Annual Fundraiser: Volunteers Wanted
Raise Your Hand is gearing up to host our annual fundraiser, Raise a Glass, in mid-October. Instead of a traditional 1-night event, we are hosting family-friendly events over 10 days (10 days for 10 years of RYH). Raise a Glass will be from October 13th to the 23rd - save the date! We are looking for volunteers who want to donate their time leading up to the event to help us plan. We need a variety of support; from soliciting ads, sponsors and tickets to creating fun programs to designing art and media for the event. If you are interested or have any questions, please email Jianan at jianan@ilraiseyourhand.org - no amount of support is too little!
Early Childhood Advocacy Opportunity for Parents
Recruitment efforts are currently underway for the Family Advisory Committee, a newly formed, parent-led committee of the Illinois Early Learning Council. The Family Advisory Committee is a great opportunity for parents who want to give parent voice to early childhood policy development and work to increase family engagement in early learning systems across the state. They are looking for parents all across Illinois to apply to be a representative on the committee. The application is live and open until September 8th. Flyers in both English and Spanish provide more information regarding the Committee and the application process.
A Few RYH Webpages
CPS Grab & Go Meal Sites Summer 2020: The Basics | COVID-19
Parent Survey Results: CPS Remote Learning & Back to School Plan Recommendations
Summer 2020: COVID-19 Resources We are updating this weekly with the most recent releases from the IL State Board of Education (ISBE; state level guidance) and CPS.
A Few CPS Webpages
CPS Academic Calendar (download it here)
The calendar will be amended at the CPS BOE hearing today. The proposed change calls for Nov 3 to be a non attendance day for students. Nov 11 will be a student attendance day. Read more here.
School Reopening 2020-21 (updates posted here & many links to follow)
We want to highlight the COVID-19 FAQ doc from CPS, updated yesterday. On p.2: âAre families expected to pay school fees this year? No student fees should be collected unless vital to the facilitation of remote learning until further notice.â
Remote Learning Resources⌠if you have them, send them!
Weâd like to create a webpage offering links for parents regarding remote learning- tips, guides, survival mechanisms, resources for their children, etc. If you have something youâd recommend, please send it to Jennie at jennie@ilraiseyourhand.org. Thank you!
In Other News
Chicago Tribune: Longtime Chicago Public Schools educator writes book about return to school amid COVID-19 #cpsuccess
Chicago Tribune: CPS parents paying tuition for pre-kindergarten will still be charged, even though this fall it's virtual
Chalkbeat Chicago: Un dĂa escolar de seis horas con mĂĄs instrucciĂłn en vivo: Chicago presenta su plan final para el otoĂąo
Chalkbeat Chicago: Test cancellations will leave a big hole in Illinoisâ scorecard for schools
Upcoming Event
âĄď¸ Fair Tax: Learn, Share, Vote
Hosted by Illinois Families for Public Schools
Virtual Info Session + Phone Banking | Various Dates, 6-8PM
Sun, Aug 30
Wed,Sept 16
Sun, Sept 27