Board of Education
Chicago Public Schools
Education
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Live reporting by
William Garcia
Fall return, Moving Forward Together, Student Code of Conduct updates
Bill Garcia
@BillGDocumenter
Hi, I'll be live-tweeting this morning's @ChiPubSchools Board of Education meeting for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters
10:01 AM Jun 23, 2021 CDT
Miguel del Valle says that some board members are present in the board room. Per Governor's orders, no more than 10 people may be physically present in the board room.
A recorded statement from Mayor Lightfoot plays. Lightfoot thanks the outgoing Janice Jackson for her leadership, support, and friendship. https://t.co/y25UaIcht6
A copy of the resolution is being handed to Jackson, who is present in the board room. Board members applaud.
Jackson thanks the board for their support, saying the past two years have been wacky. https://t.co/8dqB9au82r
Rev. Dr. Janette C. Wilson speaks on behalf of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. regarding Janice Jackson, saying "She will be missed."
Alderman Michael Scott says it's been a pleasure watching Janice Jackson blossom as a leader.
Alderman Sophia King says the departure of Jackson is "bittersweet" and calls Jackson "an extraordinary person." She refers to a Ying Yang Twins song, saying "Ain't no swagger like your swagger."
Maurice Swinney, Chief Equity Officer, reads a statement from Senator Dick Durbin congratulating and thanking Jackson.
A video statement from Congressman Danny Davis plays. Davis congratulates and thanks Jackson. https://t.co/jp49nw1GlL
A recorded statement plays from former mayor Rahm Emanuel. He says from the first time he met Jackson he saw "greatness in making." https://t.co/jntloGiAc6
A video montage plays, showing highlights from Jackson's @ChiPubSchools career. https://t.co/7NhEEPpGNr
@ChiPubSchools David Moore says, "It is always good to leave when people still want you to stay." Moore wishes Jackson success, saying he doesn't think anyone can fill her shoes. https://t.co/AFO5z7lJhH
Jackson says it's been a blessing to work with people who are committed to the children.
Alderman Stephanie Coleman says Jackson is "the epitome of Black Girl Magic."
Alderman Pat Dowell thanks Jackson for her leadership with the community action councils.
del Valle reads a resolution honoring the outgoing Yolanda Alonzo.
Isabel Marroquin has been chosen as the honorary student board member for the next year. Marroquin says that the board must listen to the students to improve CPS. https://t.co/wYBtmwoPbT
Maurice Swinney provides the "honoring excellence" statement. Swinney notes there are two student 2021 State Seal of Biliteracy recipients. Each student achieved this in four different languages. The students read statements accepting the honors. Their primary language is Polish.
Swinney reads a statement regarding CPS teachers who have achieved National Board Certification. Jesse Sharkey congratulates teaches, saying education is not an individual effort. https://t.co/VQELfghMYP
Lynn Cherkasky-Davis of CTU says she is proud of the @ChiPubSchools teachers who have obtained board certification. There are 104 recipients.
Jeremy Rowland discusses his experience in becoming board certified, saying the program has greatly benefited his music students.
Leslie Perez, 1st grade and board-certified teacher, says the National Board support program helped her students to learn from each other rather than always relying on the teacher.
Board certified CPS teacher Tiffany Gore discusses her positive experience in the certification process and encourages the board and CTU to continue working together.
Miguel del Valle says CPS ranks third in the country in terms of number of board certified teachers, adding that he wants CPS to be first.
del Valle says that CPS students will be the beneficiaries of board certified teachers' commitment.
Janice Jackson congratulates all the students who have earned the state seal of biliteracy and national board certified teachers. Jackson also honors the newly appointed interim Chief Education Officer Maurice Swinney.
Jackson says she was doing a happy dance yesterday to celebrate the closing of this "challenging" school year.
Jackson says she worried about effect of pandemic of students but says this generation of students are more resilient due to the challenges they had to overcome.
Jackson discusses and says she is excited about the Moving Forward Together initiative (cps.edu/strategic-init….)
Jackson says that CPS is launching a virtual academy to support students unable to return to in-person classes due to documented health issues. More info: cps.edu/academics/virt…
Jackson celebrates the naming of Juneteenth as a holiday but she says there is much more to do to achieve equity.
No committee updates.
Next board meeting will be Wednesday, July 28.
Next board meeting will be Wednesday, July 28.
1. Maria Moreno of CTU raises concerns regarding
* BoE cuts of school personnel. Moreno says
* CPS withheld $5 million funding from athletics
* Layoffs of special education teachers ("A pattern of not supporting our special needs students")
* (continued)
* BoE cuts of school personnel. Moreno says
* CPS withheld $5 million funding from athletics
* Layoffs of special education teachers ("A pattern of not supporting our special needs students")
* (continued)
*continued: Lack of established plan from CPDH for students' safe return in the Fall.
2. A man challenges principal eligibility screening process has been discriminatory against Latino and black applicants. He refers to the defunct teacher screening process that was found to be discriminatory and asks why the same doesn't applies to principal process.
The man in #2 suggests that the "racist principal screening system" has not been shut down, because principals do not have collective bargaining rights (but teachers do).
3. Andrew Broy, President of Illinois Network of Charter Schools, honors the outgoing Janice Jackson, especially regarding funding for special needs students.
Quick note: It seems that non-CTU reps are subject to two minutes in their public comments. CTU reps are not as limited.
4. A mother of a dyslexic 7th grader thanks CPS for recent initiatives supporting dyslexic students but challenges that more must be done in early outreach.
5. The speaker discusses the CPS CEO search, highlighting literacy levels. She says literacy is at the top of the city's equity gap and says poor literacy costs the City $800 million per year.
6. Mother of a 5th grader with dyslexia discusses promising literacy efforts by Detroit Public Schools and in Atlanta.
7. Youth leader of VOYCE (voyceproject.org) discusses SROs in schools, calling for a student code of conduct that prioritizes students' mental health. He notes that students may have issues outside of school that impact their behavior in school.
8. The caller discusses and challenges the student code of conduct, saying that young people must be part of forming this policy.
9. A parent who opposes the student code of conduct. She says not all groups of students are equally protected. She says that the code is illegal and violates the Civil Rights Act and that white males particularly will be negatively impacted.
10. A CPS parent calls for an agreed-upon plan for a safe return for students post-pandemic. "Show parents that they should trust CPS again."
11. An educator whose position was cut. She advocates for reinstatement of all cut positions and calls for more arts education. She says CPS put principals in the position of choosing between school counselors and drama/arts programming. "Invest more deeply in the arts."
12. A bilingual elementary teacher whose position was cut. She says that CPS was celebrating bilingual students in this board meeting, yet bilingual educators have been cut from CPS. Speaking of students, she says, "(Re-?)Moving teachers is traumatic."
13. An instructional assistant from CCJDC whose position was reclassified. She asks CPS for what she has given in return -- respect and loyalty.
14. Parent of CPS graduate praises anti-racism initiatives at Noble schools.
15. Parent of CPS student. Two weeks ago principal cut only kindergarten teacher from Spanish gifted program. She challenges that CPS office failure lead to these cuts.
16. Humboldt part resident and CPS parent. Kindergarten/1st grade class is being combined at local school, as mentioned by the previous caller.
17. A Spanish-speaking caller discusses the combination of Kindergarten and 1st grade classes as mentioned in #15-16. She says the parents are very concerned with the cuts that have lead to this merging. (Sorry, I'm still working on my Spanish listening comprehension).
We're now listening to an English translation of #17. This is concerning Pulaski International School.
18. The speaker discusses the situation with Pulaski's combination of gifted bilingual classes due to cuts. She says this will negatively impact students emotionally and mentally. She says there will be significant gaps in reading/math skills between classes.
19. An instructional assistant whose position was cut on June 18th. She says that CPS received $2 billion in pandemic funds. She says that her cut was revenge by Principal Leonard Harris and asks for someone from CPS to contact her regarding this matter .
20. An intern talks about her positive experience as a student at and returning to Catalyst Maria Charter School.
21. Social studies teacher at Fenger Academy, where 6 positions (affecting people of color) were cut. She asks how this is possible/equitable and says CPS is attacking teachers and students of color. "Laying off teacher is the opposite of recovery."
22. CPS special-ed teacher calls for an elected school board and says CPS has not invested enough in students with special needs. She challenges Janice Jackson to make corrections prior to her departure. The speaker is cut off before she can finish.
23. CPS teacher discusses $25 million sports funding over five years. She says that $5 million was swept into general budget due to impact of the pandemic. She says that sports are why many students come to school and that sports help teach teamwork and time management.
24. Exec director of South Shore Chamber of Commerce speaks in concern for two landscaping contractors. She says numbers in recent contract bid were incorrect, but the contractors had issues raising their concerns regarding tabulation inaccuracies. Asks for board to reissue bid.
25. Rep for People for Community Recovery discusses CPS's plans to demolish historic building in Altgeld Gardens. More info: wgntv.com/news/chicago-n…
26. CPS special-ed teacher notes nearly $2 billion recovery funds received by CPS yet still positions were cut. "You are prioritizing the wrong things." She demands board agrees to reverse layoffs.
27. A Spanish-speaking teacher. I could not gather her comments, as she was speaking too quickly. There was no translator present.
Addressing comments regarding recent cuts, Matthew Lyons says %1 teachers and %2 non-teaching staff were affected by last week's cuts, which Lyons described as moving positions rather than eliminating. Lyons says CPS will be hiring to fill 2000 jobs -- he says will outweigh cuts. https://t.co/fkPgDRlNlb
We'll be seeing multiple reports. First up is Facilities Management, who is changing their organizational model (see slides). https://t.co/6iPKB5VQvR
Facilities Management slides continued. Facilities is seeking board approval for these changes. https://t.co/HfD24X9PfM
Next: BWP's report regarding search for the next @ChiPubSchools CEO. Hill, Castner, and Noland introduce themselves to the board and describe their backgrounds and experience. Slides will be publicly available. https://t.co/sepYBkcNFD
Hill says students are primary stakeholders. https://t.co/CIx5aWk3Ev
20% of survey respondents were students, 70% of which were high school students. All but two zip codes were represented in the survey. https://t.co/QWlPWzaij3
Survey results continued. Hill says concerns regarding resource allocations were not surprising. https://t.co/tIKdfGiisl
Agency Information
Chicago Public Schools
The Chicago Board of Education is charged with governing the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), setting policies, governing operations, and charting the direction of current and future programs.
A list of board members (with headshots) is here. Board members are currently appointed by the mayor. In 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law that will gradually transition to a 21-member elected school board over the course of 2024-2027.
A list of CPS executive leadership is here.