CAUSE Meeting Today May Tuesday May 29, 2012 Operation PUSH Every Tuesday @ 6:00 p.m. .

CAUSE Meeting Today May Tuesday May 29, 2012 Operation PUSH Every Tuesday @ 6:00 p.m. .950 East 50th Street. Chicago, Illinois

TEACHING WHILE BLACK

                         Teaching While Black

I spoke at the BOE , Board of Education Meeting May 23, 2011. I was the last speaker and the program will air Saturday May 26, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.. channel 21 CAN TV. We have an influx of teachers that were once superior and excellent who are now being given E-3s, unsatisfactory ratings. Of course over 75% are in African American communities. I requested a FOIA into the actual numbers from CPS in terms of a breakdown by age, race, tenure and seniority and gender. Of course they'll give me some bogas information and not the accurate information. However, we have other sources of information gathering.

I also talked about the situation at CVS. CVCA , where teachers at that school worked under the leadership of one of our most dynamic principals in South Shore Doug Maclin. Upon his arrival four months into the school year, the school was in chaos because of the previous administrator who bullied and harassed teachers. Upon his removal, the teachers were motivated and inspired by the new leadership so they pulled together and literally lifted the school out of the dismal state it was in. The principal was recognized for his accomplishments but 80% of the teachers will be fired. Many will go home with unsatisfactory rating s that will end their professional careers. Thanks for all the hard work teachers!

In addition, schools like Julian High School, where teachers who were once superior and excellent are now being given unsatisfactory, E-3 ratings by an interim principal, once fired by CPS are just another example of the injustice and inequity that permeates the system.  Principals, many of them African American schools are encouraged and applauded as they pass out unsatisfactory ratings to young teachers in their early thirties virtually destroying their careers. In the community, we call this a “Willie Lynch” styled approach used by corporate America. Having another Black used as a “whipping boy” to brutalize those who were chosen arbitrarily for punishment.

 Therefore,   I am totally convinced that there will be no justice for teachers who work at CPS. Because of the privatization model being force upon the public sector, we know that traditionally private companies have seen minority workers as inferior workers and systems where African Americans in particular flourished under their own leadership have found now that workers once rated superior and excellent are now “unsatisfactory”. This rating is basically subjective and has no real quantitative or measurable substance. Therefore union grievances are generally lost because of the vague and unverifiable nature of the charge. Basically, we could say that these teachers were caught “Teaching While Black”.

The result of this exercise in institutional racism, the African American teaching force will have lost 80% of it's teaching force by the end of  2012. A reminder that the job of racial cleansing and purging of minorities  was earmarked to be finished by  the end of  Renaissance   2010 for elementary schools and 2012 for high schools.  Since the late 90's when Jackie Vaughn was president, there were almost 17,000 African American teachers now we have about 4,630 with 16 schools closing in the African American community this year. Also of the 100 schools closed 97 are in our community. Basically what that says is , Black people you just don’t measure up!  Now that REN 2010 is officially over, we are a deaths door.

In Chicago, the goal of racial cleansing has gotten off to a great start with the implementation of the Chicago model as the national model for school reform across the nation, we can look forward to this happening in every urban school district across the country. Unfortunately no one cares. There hasn't been a single significant campaign to defend the rights of these teachers by their unions or anyone else. The teachers inability to solidify and organize themselves has been the greatest weapon sued against them. In Illinois legislation called Senate Bill 7 , targeted Chicago teachers for  an anti-large urban school district legislative initiative that stripped teachers of seniority and forced a longer unfunded school day with no significant compensation for teachers in Chicago. This bill was signed with the all Illinois unions sitting at the table. That includes the IEA, (Illinois Education Association), IFT , Illinois federation of Teachers and the CTU, Chicago Teachers Union. The impact of this legislation will further weaken the public school infrastructure and strengthen the traditionally racially biased corporate takeover of public education.  

The impact of the corporate takeover of public education is particularaly damaging to African Americans because of the important role that educators have played in the upward mobility of our people. The stripping away of these role models, moving us back 100 years when our children and people were used as merchandise for corporate America, will have long reaching implications that will erode and stagnate our social, psychological and economic progress for generations to come. 

South Side NAACP Action

  Education Partners and Colleagues 

The Time to ACT is NOW!! 

As we come the close of another school year ... 

More schools in 2011 phased out, or consolidated without parent, staff, student, and community consideration!

CPS has already suspended or expelled 2,500 students this year alone! 

The number of Displaced and Dismissed Teachers has increased! 

  WE NEED YOU AND MANY MORE! 

EDUCATION IS AN ACTION! THE NAACP SOUTHSIDE BRANCH EDUCATION COMMITTEE INVITES YOU TO HELP OUR STUDENTS SUCCEED!

THE NAACP SOUTH SIDE BRANCH EDUCATION COMMITTEE IS WORKING TO:

·      Receive, Review and Take Action on Parent, Teacher, and Community School Complaints

·      Get Signatures for a Referendum to Establish an Elected School Board

·      Stop CPS from closing, phasing out, turning around schools without public participation, transparency, and appropriate equitable resources

·      Help Displaced & Dismissed Teachers with Legal and Financial Resources

·      Prevent Student Violence/Address Suspensions and Expulsions

THE NAACP SOUTH SIDE BRANCH EDUCATION COMMITTEE INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR MONTHLY MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012 @ 6 – 8 PM 7854 S. STATE STREET  (Northern Trust Bank Community Room) JOIN THE “RIGHT FIGHT” TO SAVE OUR STUDENTS, OUR SCHOOLS, OUR LIVES AND OUR COMMUNITIES!              Parents, Teachers, Students, Community Residents & Administrators Welcome!

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT -

 Valencia Rias-Winstead @ 312-848-3381 (Chair) OR Rosita Chatonda @ 773-419-7417

       NAACP SOUTHSIDE BRANCH EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT

May 17, 2012

Membership:                                       NAACP Committee Members = Seven(7)  = Valencia Rias-Winstead - Chair; Dr. Trina Hollingsworth - V.Chair; Secretary - Open (Pratt Resigned); Sgt. At Arms - J. Burnett    New NAACP Members = Three(3)  = Barbara Pritchett, Ronald Jackson, Bertram Gray

Committee meetings held:                       2 -  Displaced Teachers  & Elected School Board

Activities Participated/ Attended:        Organized and led Walk for Peace in the South East on May 11, from 75^th -79^th & Jeffrey

Attended Chicago Board of Education Meeting   

                                                                                          Ongoing –

Attending Monday Nite Meetings @ Chgo Sate for Elected School Board

Collaborating with attorney on LSC lawsuit

                                                                                          Collaborating with PUSH on school actions

                                                                                          Teach-Ins  held on:

Held workshop on Senate Bill 7

Held workshop NAACP Complaint Form

NAACP Complaint Forms Collected  = 4 (More Pending)

Petition Drive for Elected School Board                                      

                                                           Political Action Committee Voter Registration 

Activities towards Proposed Goals:                 

1. Support for a referendum to establish an Elected School Board

 (Need 100,000 signatures.)

                                                            2. Dismantling the Pipeline from Schools to Prison

                                                            3. CTU Displaced Teachers Lawsuit

4. CPS School Actions /School Closings, Phase- Outs, Turnarounds, Construction

Upcoming Activities/Events:                MAY 18 – Tuley Park  Petition Drive for Elected School Board

May 19 - NATO Petition Drive for Elected School Board

                                                            May 21 - New Organizations recruited for Elected School Board

                                                            May 24 – C.A.U.S.E.Parent and Community Protest@Julian H.S.

                                                           June 5  - LSC Traning @ Northern Trust Bank

Next Meeting Date, Time & Location:                  Thursday, May 24, 2012 @ 6:30 -8:30 pm (Northern Trust Bank  Community Room 7851 S. Sate Street) 

Charter Schools, Hidden Agenda

Written by Rosita Chatonda

The truth of the matter is that there is a national hidden agenda related to the purge of minority communities from large urban school districts. This has nothing to do with improving education for scores of minority students who have been so egregiously undeserved in the public education system in large urban districts in America. The data constantly reveal no improvement in academic achievement but CPS continues to implement failed strategies designed specifically to undermine the integrity of school communities that serve minorities by implementing cheap education through charters. (Notice how all the charters are in minority communities). Communities that they feel deserve low quality, cheap education dressed up with an abundance of resources and little or no improvement in education.  This is a move to purge and cleanse the school system of people that those in the system feel are undeserving. That includes minority students, teachers and a few administrators who will not participate and help facilitate the demise of their own communities. The evidence of this attack on minority communities culminates with data.
In Chicago since REN 2010 there has been a purge of 200,000 African Americans, 50,000 African American Students and the loss of over 50% of African American Teachers, dropping from 40.6 to 19.5 today. Since the late 90's , when Jackie Vaughn was president, African American teachers were 54% of an over 30,000 member union, approximately 17,000 strong. Now we are down to 4,600 with 16 schools closing in the African American community this year. If we are blessed at the end of the year, we may have 2,500 teachers servicing the needs of a 45% African American student population. The irony is that all other minority teacher and student populations have increased population except African Americans. Although white veteran teachers are under attack as well , their teacher population remains stable.
With Chicago being the model for school reform, this agenda has been implemented nationally via Race Too The Top and Arne Duncan. The impact of all of this educational upheaval has caused African American communities to suffer with horrific consequences. Since teachers are the largest number of professionals in the community and generally are the foundation for upward mobility in there families, joblessness, foreclosures, homelessness, suicide, death from having inadequate insurance, children having to return from college are consequences to this hate filled agenda and much more. Community, please wake up. This is our Selma, It's our Birmingham.

Chicago Alliance of Urban School Educators & South-Side NAACP - Tell CPS NO MORE E’3’s

Do You Know a Teacher Who Has an E-3?      

Tell Them They are Not Alone!  CPS has given out 200 E-3’s this year and  are still giving out more!

 

Do you know a teacher who has been terminated by CPS due to E’3s  and Charges?

Do you know of a teacher that has lost their union membership and needs help

Did you know that over 4,000 teachers were terminated during 2011?

Let’s UNITE To File an Age/ Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against CPS For teachers E’3^rd and fired on trumped up charges- These teachers no longer have union representation  JOIN C.A.U.S.E. Meet with C.A.U.S.E. every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.- Visit Our C.A.U.S.E. Blog - http://causeillinois.blogspot.com

 

Let’s Fight This Together With the Help of the NAACP  and CAUSE—Chicago Alliance of Urban School Educators.

WHERE:  Operation PUSH 530 EAST 50th Street  “Home of the Displaced Teacher”

WHEN:      Every Tuesday @6:00 p.m.

Earn College Credit and CPDU’s While Fighting For your rights!

CAUSE– Organizing teachers, (both union and non-union teachers) parents and community members .

Contact:

Rosita Chatonda

Phone: 773-419-7417
Fax:    773-902-7140
E-mail: cause.alliance@yahoo.com

                

Quality Education Bills You Should Know About:

 --Class size Bill – SB3362 (Sen Lightford), HB4455 (Colvin) Reduces class size

-- Recess Bill –SB636 (Sen Lightford) – requires a 20 minute reces for all Ilinois prek-5^th graders

--Do not cut appropriations that impact school and community school funding!

--Early Childhood Care and Education – protect the Childhood Block grant and more

--School Moratorium Bill SB3239 (Martinez) HB4487 (Soto) stops school actions for school year 2012-2013 while districts establish better policies

--Anti-bullying bill – HB5290 (Rep Cassidy) Requires ISBE to develop a model bullying prevention policy

We will provide more information on these bills to those who sign up to attend. Email us at wendy@ilraiseyourhand.org. Going to Springfield is a rewarding and important experience!