RYH Statement | Nov 2019 CPS BOE
RYH spoke at and live tweeted the November 20, 2019 monthly meeting of the mayor appointed CPS Board of Education meeting. Our statement is below. You can also find the statement from Maguerite Baran, parent rep on the Hitch ES LSC as well as elected rep for the Northwest Region for the Local School Council Advisory Board, or LSCAB, here. You can find video of the full meeting here on the CPS YouTube channel where the meeting is now live streamed. The strike make up days were approved. Find the revised CPS calendar here.
Please note that December's meeting of the CPS BOE has been changed to Wed, Dec 11, 5pm, Curie High School, 4959 S. Archer. On this same day, there will be a BOE Workforce Committee hearing on teacher recruitment and development and on how to hire 3,000 teachers of color. Board member Todd-Breland said it will be an informational meeting. Keep your eye on the CPS Board of Ed website for details.
ACTION ALERT: At the CPS Board of Ed website, you can find links to provide feedback on upcoming CPS policy and rule changes (direct link) and to provide feedback on the CPS School Quality Rating Policy (SQRP) (direct link).
Deb Hass, parent of CPS graduates and board member of Raise Your Hand
Video of Deb's comments here. CPS video of the full meeting is here on the CPS YouTube channel; Deb begins speaking around 1:42.
Dozens of schools will soon enter the CPS Hunger Games for a chance to win a new academic program.
Honestly -- the words compete and win keep coming up -- even though public education is a public good and children should not have to rely on funding games and equity grants to get the basic resources they need and deserve.
No large-scale, publicly-informed discussion took place to determine we should be a “portfolio district” or a “choice district,” and now that framework continues to fail us.
The current process exacerbates the competition mindset. It shows the downsides to under-funding schools through student-based budgeting and admits that SBB has also failed.
Parent and community voice has largely gone unheard. At the ARA meeting I attended last Fall, parents wanted well-resourced schools. They wanted science materials and laboratories and access to rigorous programming in all schools,..counselors, nurses, social workers, librarians.
If there is an extra $150- or $200,000 around, they want to determine how to use it. They shouldn’t have to apply to get their school’s public tax dollars -- or be constrained by a narrow set of program options.
Meanwhile, the legally mandated Education Facilities Master Plan update from 2018 -- still marked draft -- sits on a metaphorical shelf on the CPS website. State law requires you to support under-enrolled schools. Instead of working with ALL such communities, you took a top-down approach and instituted an RFP process.
Why are you making children depend on school-by-school applications for the resources they desperately need? A truly equitable approach -- one that follows the law -- provides resources for those in most need; it doesn’t require individual schools to apply for them.
Schools shouldn’t have to compete. Families shouldn’t have to choose. Your responsibility is to provide a sound, well-resourced education for ALL children. Instead, you set up the Hunger Games.
Chalkbeat Chicago: Chicago schools to compete again for special program funding, with revised rules for 2020
Press from the #cpsboard meeting & from topics raised at the meeting
Sun-Times: Months of labor strife come to an end as CPS board OKs contracts with teachers, support staff
Chalkbeat Chicago: Chicago school board greenlights strike makeup days, but principals raise concerns
Chicago Tribune: ‘No ideal solution’ to make up days lost to Chicago teachers strike as Board of Ed approves new calendar, union contracts
Chalkbeat Chicago: After prolonged labor battle, Chicago school board approves union deals in closed session
Sun-Times: CPS watchdog fielding 3 complaints of adult sex misconduct per school day
Chicago Tribune: Hundreds of new sex abuse or misconduct allegations involving CPS students reported since September. ‘What can we do to prevent this?’
WBEZ: Alarms Raised Over Possibility Of Capping Enrollment At Top Chicago Schools
Chalkbeat Chicago: In a move that has families on edge, Chicago is exploring enrollment caps at some popular schools
Sun-Times: CPS extends deadline to apply to selective enrollment high schools, other programs
Press leading up to the #cpsboard meeting
Sun-Times: CPS watchdog wants outside firm to review mishandling of sex abuse investigations
WTTW: Board of Education to Vote on New Budget, Strike Make-Up Days
Appreciate that we are at every #cpsboard meeting?
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