CAUSE MEETING

We had a powerful CAUSE meeting last night . We had several teachers come out and I even referred one of them to seek help with one of the best Chicago Teachers Union Field Reps I know, John Kugler. At CAUSE we offer support to teachers being attacked by principals who are in turn being attacked if they don't continue to purge the system of veteran teachers. We have a variety of solutions that allow teachers time to gather the resources to protect themselves when under attack.

Also, although all veterans are under attack, the problem is that in many of the Hispanic and White schools, the principals will not target superior, excellent highly qualified teachers for dismissal. However, with the Black on Black hate and rage, our young Black principals pride themselves with the ability to ruthlessly destroy the lives of Black teachers.

One teacher came with her mother, who was a power house of knowledge after raising ten children. She was awesome. This teacher has superior ratings but the principal wants her gone because she makes too much money with years of service and seniority. The teacher is recently divorced with 4 children, one with special needs.

In spite of that, she was embraced, supported and cared for by our CAUSE members. She embraced me when she left saying that I was a God Send for her. I responded, " I know that's why I come here every Tuesday without pay to help teachers like you. It;s something God has put in my heart to do." That's what CAUSE is about. WE MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS BUT WE ARE NOT GOING TO ABANDON OUR FALLEN COLLEAGUES, who do so much, you can't even imagine, for our children .

Even after closing 50 schools in the African American community, turning around 6 schools by firing the 80% Black staff at the schools. That isn't enough. Now as I was told by a principal friend of mine, principals are ordered like hit men to target teachers with seniority of 12+ - 19 years of service. This is to insure that they will not have an adequate pension when they retire.

CAUSE Meets Tomorrow @ 6:00 p.m. Operation PUSH Headquarters

DEAR CAUSE SUPPORTERS

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE SIGNED THIS PETITION.

Want to share your press advisory with Spanish-language media? A team of MoveOn members can translate your press advisory and return it to you within ten days—all it takes is a few minutes to fill out this form. Click here for translation.

Dear MoveOn member,

To maximize the impact of your petition, you should notify the local news media and ask them to write about it.

Getting local news coverage is really simple. All you have to do is email a written notice called a news advisory to The Chicago Tribune at bdold@tribune.com. Then, call the paper at (312) 222-3232 and ask if they're interested in writing a story about your petition. 

To get you started immediately, a sample news advisory—just for your petition—is below. For more local news media contacts, go to http://www.usnpl.com.

If you have any questions, just click reply to this email. And thanks again for your leadership.

–Stefanie, Steven, Carrie, Anna, and the rest of the team

P.S. If you'd like to get even more media attention, you and your signers can use this nifty tool to submit letters to the editor: http://civ.moveon.org/lte/index.html?lte_campaign_id=132.

NEWS ADVISORY

For Immediate Release: October 26th
Contact: Rosita Chatonda, PHONE NUMBER

66 Concerned Citizens Sign "Illinois Pension Reform" petition

On October 26th, residents from Chicago will deliver a petition to The Illinois State Senate signed by 66 people.

The petition was created on MoveOn's petition site and states, " Senator 13th District 111 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 Chicago Alliance of Urban School Educators Dear Senator Raoul , My name is Rosita Chatonda and I am the Founding President of an upstart organization called C.A.U.S.E.., Chicago Alliance of Urban School Educators. CAUSE organizers teachers that are non-union and union members as well as parents and community. Since you are Senator of the 13th District and Pension Reform Sub-Committee Chair, I am contacting you with a pressing and urgent problem due to pension reform. Please find enclosed information regarding the crisis facing many veteran teachers. In the last year there have been over 3,000 veteran teachers terminated. Many of these teachers pay into the pension system. Of the over 50 schools closed and 6 turn-arounds, 90% of the schools closed last year and 99% of the schools closed in previous years have been in the African American communities on the South and West Sides. In the last 4 years at least 6,000 African American teachers have lost employment. In addition, since these firings were spontaneous many teachers were left with the only option of survival, pulling their pensions down. Most of these teachers were near retirement will never be able to accumulate substantial years of service again. Hardest hit by this crisis are single parent educators. The option for paying back into the pension fund and buying back years of services is that teachers will work in reciprocal systems in the State of Illinois for two years to buy their pensions back. Many teachers have reported trying to get jobs but cannot be rehired by CPS or any other reciprocal system. Many have the money to pay back but cannot find work for two years to fill the requirement under the pension contract. We at CAUSE have been asked to bring this matter to the attention of the Illinois General Assembly and the Chicago Teachers Fund. We would like the two year restriction for buy-back of service to be lifted. We are asking that if teachers have the monies and are able to pay back, that they would be allowed to do so without working in a reciprocal system for two years. We would like teachers to have that option of buying back their pension since jobs in these reciprocal systems are virtually non-existent for thousands of veteran teachers. As I have stated above, the African American Community has lost many teachers, since the late nineties, when Jackie Vaughn was CTU President, we have lost over 12,000 teaching slots. Our community has suffered a tremendous economic loss and well as the cost of human dignity. Please consider amending the pension reform laws to include a buy back for teachers needing to recover their pensions. Please call Senator Kwame Raoul Springfield Office: Senator 13th District 111 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-5338 District Office: 1509 E. 53rd Street 2nd Floor Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 363-1996 (773) 681-7166 FAX Raoul staff@gmail.com Sincerely, Rosita Chatonda Founding President of C.A.U.S.E. rcchatonda@yahoo.com "

In the last year there have been over 3,000 veteran teachers terminated. Many of these teachers pay into the pension system. Of the over 50 schools closed and 6 turn-arounds, 90% of the schools closed last year and 99% of the schools closed in previous years have been in the African American communities on the South and West Sides. In the last 4 years at least 6,000 African American teachers have lost employment. In addition, since these firings were spontaneous many teachers were left with the only option of survival, pulling their pensions down. Most of these teachers were near retirement will never be able to accumulate substantial years of service again. Hardest hit by this crisis are single parent educators. The option for paying back into the pension fund and buying back years of services is that teachers will work in reciprocal systems in the State of Illinois for two years to buy their pensions back. Many teachers have reported trying to get jobs but cannot be rehired by CPS or any other reciprocal system. Many have the money to pay back but cannot find work for two years to fill the requirement under the pension contract. We are asking that if teachers have the monies and are able to pay back, that they would be allowed to do so without working in a reciprocal system for two years. We would like teachers to have that option of buying back their pension since jobs in these reciprocal systems are virtually non-existent for thousands of veteran teachers.

To read the petition go to: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/iliionis-pension-reform

MoveOn's online organizing platform was created to allow progressive individuals and organizations to run their own online campaigns.

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This email was sent to Rosita Chatonda on October 23, 2013. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

CPS Proposed School Action Guidelines

October 19, 2013

Dear Supporters of Great Neighborhood Public Schools for ALL STUDENTS:

...  jackie L here once more - sharing reminders of important upcoming DEADLINES and events, and links to news stories that you may or may not have seen . . .

DEADLINE:  COMMENT NOW on CPS' PROPOSED "SCHOOL ACTION GUIDELINES" !!
If you haven't already "weighed in" on the latest Proposed School Action Guidelines from CPS. . .
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY 5:00 PM - MONDAY, OCTOBER 21st!

These Guidelines are notable for vagueness, undefined terms, and back-pedaling from CPS so-called "Moratorium" on school closures - which now clearly applies ONLY to "under-enrolled" schools. The Draft Guidelines are available online at:  www.cps.edu/guidelines
SEND YOUR COMMENTS! 
BY EMAIL:                          CEOGuidelines@cps.edu
BY FAX:                              773-553-5345

OR, if you want to drop off a LETTER, it should be addressed to:
Chicago Public Schools - CEO's Office
RE:  Draft Guidelines
c/o Patrick Payne
125 S. Clark, 10th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603
   
The General Assembly Chicago Ed Facilities Task Force told CPS officials that the language on facility conditions is MUCH TOO VAGUE, and creates a de facto "loophole" for more school closures: The CEO is reserving the right to CLOSE SCHOOLS IF . . .

"... the cost to repair safety hazards and make structural changes necessary to ensure compiance with all city, state and federal laws, MAKES THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF THE SITE COST-PROHIBITIVE OR CONTINUED OCCUPANCY OF THE SITE UNSAFE OR IMPRACTICAL."   Note that the Draft Guidelines fail to define any of these terms. 

More "wiggle room" on new closures??  Read Page 3 of the Draft very carefully: " ... in determining whether to propose a closure, consolidation, or phase-out,the CEO may consider other information . . . "  This language is a catch-all statement of a million different variables - is about as clear as mud -- and does NOT provide any objective, system-wide or specific measures that explain to the public why an individual school could be subject to any of these School Actions.

Then, there's Co-Locations - Again the CEO wants to preserve her "flexibility" - and whether a school building can accommodate a co-location is based on - you guessed it! - the widely criticized and fatally flawed Space Utilization formula that CPS used to justify mass school closures this year. And don't overlook this statement in the Draft: "We may have new school options that will require co-locations."

And don't forget about Attendance Boundary Changes:  Again, notably vague language abounds in this section (see page 2), but again, CPS continues to rely on its flawed Space Utilization formula.

TIME TO PUT ANY SCHOOL ACTIONS, and also TURNAROUNDS, "ON HOLD"?  Tell CPS if this is how you feel. After a year-and-a-half of turmoil, with CPS policies in upheaval across the board, and thousands of children inadequately tracked in their "transitions" from shuttered neighborhood schools - should CPS make any more changes? 

Many parent, community, and educator activists also strongly advocate for changing the state law to define "Opening of New Schools" and "Turnarounds" as School Actions.  If you agree, then be sure to tell CPS and your lawmakers how YOU feel. A brutal reminder:  The Chicago Plan Commission just approved a zoning change that paves the way for a NEW Noble St CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL to be built right across the street from Prosser HS!

SPEAK OUT on the Guidelines - Register your concerns by MONDAY, AUG. 21st at 5 PM!

BAD BILL SNEAKING ITS WAY THROUGH IN VETO SESSION?
Do you think it's important the CPS should have to disclose to the public and the State Board of Ed, its HS Dropout Rate and Graduation Rates?  How many students are taking Advanced Placement Classes?  How many students are enrolled in community colleges?  If you think this is important, then you need to know about Senate Bill 578!

SB 578 WOULD REVOKE the REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS on all this important data and more!
See the attachment for details - thanks to Jim Broadway of the State School News Service for bringing attention to this bill!

TUESDAY, OCT. 22nd - 2 PM in Springfield:  There will be a Hearing on SB 578in the House Elementary and Secondary Ed Committee.  If you can't be in Springfield, you can still sign on to the General Assembly website and file your "Appearance" online, to weigh in on this bill! Go to www.ilga.gov Tuesday morning (10/22) for instructions to register your position on this bill.

COMING UP:  IMPORTANT EVENTS

IL General Assembly Veto Session:  Oct. 22, 23, and 24; and Nov. 5, 6 and 7
Be sure to contact your state lawmakers BEFORE, DURING, IN BETWEEN, and AFTER the Veto Session about your top concerns on education issues!  Go to www.ilga.gov to get their contact information, and to track what legislation is up for debate!

LESSONS FROM THE 1963 Boycott:
Last-Minute Reminder (sorry!) 
SUNDAY, OCT. 20TH: 1:30 - 4 PM     Interactive "Teach-In" on Lessons from the 1963 Boycott at Lawndale Community Church,
                                                       3827 W. Ogden Avenue

Tuesday, October 22nd, 6 - 8 PM     "Lessons from the 1963 Boycott: THE STRUGGLE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION THEN AND NOW"
                                                       DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place

The announcements - with links to register/RSVP - for these events will be forwarded to you.


HOW'S THAT SCHOOL TRANSITION GOIN' FOR YOU?
If you have concerns about what's happened since YOUR student had to change schools, please let the CEFTF know: You can submit your comments at any time to the Task Force at:  ceftf.ilga@gmail.com

How is "Safe Passage" working?  Do your children feel safe going to their new school?  Were the promised "goodies" and facility improvements ready and on hand on "DAY ONE" of the new school year?  Did your children and families lose access to programs when schools were closed and consolidated? The CEFTF's School Actions Subcommittee wants your feedback! If you chose to send your child to a different school - not a Designated "Welcoming School" - and it looks like many of you did - WHAT RESOURCES is that de facto "Receiving School" getting from CPS? 

Safe Passage worker shot at on Page 14 of Thursday, October 10, 2013 issue of Chicago Tribune

For residents, vacant homes move beyond empty threats on Page 1 of Tuesday, October 08, 2013 issue of Chicago Tribune

The Tribune reported that "kids shun schools picked by CPS":  www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-cps-school-closings-1015-20131015,0,3482536.story

Catalyst Chicago reported on the Oct. 7th CEFTF meeting - their coverage is attached. CPS' report to the CEFTF on School Transitions provided numbers that do NOT align with what the media is reporting, and instead try to make it appear that more students went to the designated Welcoming Schools than show up in the figures reporters got from CPS. The Catalyst story also reports that CEFTF members have grave concerns about the flawed and incomplete "Master Plan" that the BOE adopted in September, and have critiques of the Draft School Action Guidelines.

And WBEZ's coverage: 
http://www.wbez.org/news/only-60-percent-students-chicagos-closed-schools-turn-welcoming-schools-108907


CPS' "NEW" versus "OLD" Accountability Metrics: Lakeview HS PUNISHED??
Did you know, CPS is proposing a new "Promotion" Policy?
As if CPS was not already in upheaval, the district is introducing even MORE critical policy changes this school year:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20131007/lakeview/lake-view-high-school-on-probation-despite-academic-achievement-principal

Lake View High School on Probation Despite Academic Achievement: Principal
By Serena Dai on October 7, 2013 7:12am | Updated on October 7, 2013 7:12am



And a new "promotion" policy can be found at:  http://cps.edu/About_CPS/Departments/Pages/TeachingLearning.aspx





Now is the time for everyone who cares about the future of Chicago's public schools to stay alert, tuned in, active, and united for reforms that 

truly put our children first.



--  more updates later this week . . . 



-- j

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/4322638

Cornel West on the "shameless silence" of progressives about Obama and education reform

Clipped from:Tavis Smiley Presents Poverty in America
Jan 17, 2013

"PUBLIC EDUCATION IS PREDICATED ON THE NOTION YOU ARE FOCUSED ON OTHER KIDS -- YOU HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT ALL CHILDREN....NOT ANY LONGER -- ALL THIS PRIVATIZING PROFIT OBSESSION, THIS PREOCCUPATION WITH THIS SHORT-TERM GAIN AS OPPOSED TO LONG-TERM INTEGRITY, IS BEING PUSHED TO THE SIDE."

Study finds high-achieving minorities shun teachingStudy finds high-achieving minorities shun teaching

October 18, 2013

By: Odette Yousef

WBEZ/Odette Yousef

Minority students should be recruited into the teaching profession at a much younger age, according to a study that finds few high-achieving minority students opt to teach in Illinois public schools.

A decade-long study of more than 225,000 Illinois public high school graduates finds many reasons that minorities are not becoming teachers. The Illinois Education Research Council at Southeastern Illinois University in Edwardsville tracked the classes of 2002 and 2003 as they moved beyond high school and into their careers. The study sheds light on where students, including African-American and Latino graduates, drop out of that pipeline.
Illinois education officials have been wrestling with a significant mismatch between the number of minority teachers and the number of minority students in the state’s public schools. While almost half of students are non-white, more than 80 percent of their teachers are Caucasian. A recent push to increase teacher quality standards threatens to exacerbate the difference.
The Illinois Education Research Council study, meanwhile, finds that while roughly one-third of Illinois public high school graduates earned a Bachelor’s degree, only 3 percent became teachers. Within the pool of 4-year college degree earners, minorities went on to become teachers in Illinois public schools at a noticeably lower rate than their white counterparts.
“The minority numbers were actually surprising to me,” said Brad White, lead researcher on the study. “I sort of went into the study thinking that a lot of that story could be told simply by looking at different rates of enrollment and graduation from college. And that wasn’t the case at all.”

• Push for teacher quality in Illinois takes toll on minority candidates

White said minority graduates with Bachelor’s degrees, and particularly those who fell into the top third of ACT scores, opted to earn teaching certificates at lower rates than similarly qualified white students. And beyond that, African-Americans who did receive teaching certificates were less likely to get teaching positions in Illinois public schools.
White suggested that the state could increase its pool of minority teachers by recruiting promising students into the profession as early as high school. He said the state could also focus on improving educational opportunities for minority students before they get to college.
“We might be able to see changes in the number of those students that are interested in pursuing teaching as a career if the career is perceived as more prestigious and more difficult to enter,” White added. This is an approach state officials say they are trying to take, by increasing testing standards required to enter the profession.
A spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education noted that the state encourages colleges and universities to partner with local school districts to recruit diverse students into the teaching profession, and that the state has expanded funding for Teach for America recruitment. The study found that alternative certification programs such as TFA appear to be good pathways for academically gifted minorities into the teaching profession.
Odette Yousef is WBEZ’s North Side Bureau reporter. Follow her at @oyousef.

Illinois Pension Reform Petition

CAUSE is looking for teachers who have had to pull their pensions down due to massive teacher layoffs in Illinois . Please inbox me if this applies to you or someone you know.


 I am posting this petition again. This is an extremely urgent issue involving pension for many dedicated veteran teachers of all races. African American teachers have been hit very hard by layoff and loss of pensions. Please help by signing this petition. Help us right some wrongs done to our teachers Chicago. This is a CAUSE , Chicago Alliance of Urban School Educators. initiative.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/iliionis-pension-reform.fb40?source=c.fb&r_by=4604809

CAUSE MEETS TODAY @ 6:00 Operation PUSH Headquarters 50th and Drexel. CAUSE MEETS THE SECOND AND FOURTH TUESDAYS OF EACH MONTH.

Teachers have marched, and the CTU has gone on strike.  In spite of that, over 3,000 teachers were terminated and 50 schools closed last year. This has directly impacted the African American School communities since 99 of the schools closing were in the AA community. Over 8,000 AA teachers have been terminated in the last 3 years. It's time for teachers to stop waiting on someone else to defend you. Join CAUSE to defend your constitutional rights.



Recently this year over 3,000 teachers in Schools were terminated . The number of South Side teachers were impacted greatly. The African American teacher population is projected to drop between 10-12% this year. Come to CAUSE to come up with solutions to counteract the attack on veteran teachers. CPDU's are given for seminars.

 

 

CAUSE MEETS TODAY @ 6:00 Operation PUSH Headquarters 50th and Drexel. CAUSE MEETS THE SECOND AND FOURTH TUESDAYS OF EACH MONTH.

Rosita Chatonda

I am doing a workshop here and will be a panelist. Please join us on this important date.

Natasha Dunn

Black Parent Expo: Parenting for the 21st Century.
Saturday November 2, 2013
Spencer Technology Elementary School 214 N. Lavernge
9 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Join Black Parents from across the City of Chicago for a Day of Purpose, Inspiration, and Empowerment to increase academic achievement, cultural awareness and gain tools to create a home and community that supports African American Children and their overall success.

With Keynote Speaker Dr. Umar Johnson Nationally Certified School Psychologist, Motivational Speaker and Relative of Fredrick Douglas.

Panel Discussion Featuring: Brother Shaheed The Math Doctor, Phillp Jackson Founder of the Black Star Project, Rosita Chatonda Activist/Founder of the Chicago Alliance of Urban Educators.

Empowering Workshops

Parenting from the Inside
Alternatives: Changing behavior without Violence.
Understanding Learning Disabilities and Special Education.
Culturally Relevant Math.

Vendors and Lunch will be provided

For more information contact: Natasha Dunn or Francis Newman at (773) 285-9600

This event is sponsored by the Black Star Project

In April of 2002, on a regular school day, I was teaching in my classroom when about administrators and security , many wearing dark suits stormed our building. Simultaneously, a fellow colleague ( We will call her Mrs. ran up to me an said, "Something is wrong, there are about 100 Chicago Public School officials in the school , they are going in everyone's classroom. I had no idea what was going on. I looked out the window of my third floor classroom, only to find 3 Prison buses lined up outside the building. I was concerned because this was shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center. Shortly after that I. could hear our principal's voice over the intercom calling teachers from classrooms K-9. We had no idea what was happening.

Eventually we were called one by one to the auditorium and given letters to our students that for the first time in the history of public education, a public school would be closed. I looked at my colleagues and said, "They are going to use these "so called" failing test scores to close down every school in this city. " They are trying to gentrify this city and this is the way they have decided to do it. To use a criteria created through years of underfunding, injustice and inequitable education to shut down schools was the Chicago Plan. After years of teacher bashing in the media, the community was ready for something new. They were ripe for the introduction of new school models which in most cases left schools void of any semblance of cultural identity and diversity. Inner -city schools would become the target of one of the greatest master schemes of betrayal, economic loss, racism and gentrification. A scheme that would sweep the nation like wild fire resulting in the destruction of a great American Institution, Public Education.

The consequence of the Chicago Plan would result in nation-wide mass job loss for African American educators, who by profession are the largest group of profession African Americans. This initiative would eradicate economic security in African American communities, minimize the number of college bound African American youth, add to the impending housing crisis and Create the loss of cultural identity and within 10 years a complete reversal of everything gained since the 1954 case of brown Vs, the Board of education. http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/federal-court-activities/brown-board-education-re-enactment/history.aspx.

This would be done without resistance and with complete acceptance and cooperation by our own communities, our parents, communities, students and even teachers would applaud the take-down of this great African American institution, not realizing that they have just turned back the hands of time and reduced our people to a status similar to that of 1954 when in most African American schools had few African American teachers to serve as role models. Within a few years, the number of African American teachers will drop to the lowest it's been since the early sixties. This initiative," The Chicago Plan". has swept the nation with the appointment of Arne Duncan as head of Education for the US government. This Plan was about gentrifying communities in an effort to take back large major urban school districts by reducing the number of African Americans living, working and going to school in those districts.

History of Brown v. Board of Education