BOE Charter Crzy

Charter Schools Crowd Out Others at Chicago Board of Education Meetings

By Jim Vail

Disgraced Charter school boosters Rangel & Emanuel

At the December Chicago Board of Education Meeting the charter schools that replaced public schools take up a good part of the public participation period by pleading to extend their contracts because they are doing such wonderful things.

Each charter school that asked to renew their contract had several representatives speak about how well they serve their students. This has prevented other people from being able to sign up to speak at the meetings because the charter people take up most of the time slots.

Not to mention that there are serious problems they leave out.

On the CTU FB page many teachers complained recently that charter schools dump their problem students back into the public schools in the middle of the year.

"When will CTU do something about the way Charter Schools take in ALL of our students in North Lawndale and then kick them back out EVERY SINGLE JANUARY???" wrote Honesty D'or. "I'm tired of supporting charters and they don't live by the same rules as everybody else. Once they take in a student with promises of a better school system they should be required to keep that student for that school year!"

D'or said her school just received eight student transfer from KIPP Charter Academy on the West Side.

Another asked if the union could require the charters to give CPS some or all of the money for the students if they are kicked out and leave the charter school.

Washington High School teacher and delegate Frank McDonald has repeatedly asked at delegates meetings and on the teachers social media pages that the CTU sponsor a resolution that would determine a timeline to transform all the charter schools back into CPS public schools.

Richard Berg, a CTU organizer, wrote that the union is ready to hold the charter schools accountable with a possible upcoming strike now that all the charter contracts are up.

"If they are going to take public money they need to provide the services to the students and wages to their educators," Berg wrote. "We, all CTU members, need to hold them accountable."

A particular problem with charter schools is working with special education students who have an Individual Education Plan. Many of these students who should be provided extra services due to their plans are pushed out of the charters because of the extra cost and extra burden. 

"When I worked at a charter I was shocked at how many SPED laws they knowingly broke," wrote Sara Lynn. "Many of the teachers and even the parents reported it to the CEO and ISBE. Nothing happened. No one cared."

Charter schools were once the darling of education reform. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and President Barack Obama pushed charter schools as the answer to public school woes until too much corruption and lies were exposed to make them a hot potato. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke out against charter schools during her election and the Democrats have embraced this position after the unions led by the Chicago Teachers Union fought back. CORE supported a charter school moratorium in the last teachers contract. Before CORE, the CTU had tacitly supported charter schools by saying they should just unionize the teachers.

Charter schools were set up to privatize education by promoting an alternative to neighborhood schools in rough neighborhoods with empty promises. The business elite love them because they replaced unionized teachers and drained students from the public schools. 

Today about a quarter of the city's charter schools have unionized teachers. About 20 percent of CPS high schools and 10 percent of elementary schools are charter.

Skyline

Skyline, Lori Lightfoot and a Mayoral Election

By Jim Vail

The Skyline Curriculum in CPS features a lesson on our all mighty Mayor Lori Lightfoot!

Mayor Lori Lightfoot made headlines recently after she apologized for recruiting Chicago public school students to work on her reelection campaign and earn class credit in return.

Lightfoot's deputy campaign manager had reached out to Chicago Teachers Union members at their work addresses asking educators to line up student 'volunteers' who would give at least 12 hours each week to the campaign. 

The teachers union and the media called out the Mayor for her unethical behavior to get re-elected.  

But the Mayor's political actions, which hark back to the good old days of the Chicago Machine which tied city jobs to getting democrats elected, continue in the schools via its controversial curriculum called Skyline which was rolled out last year.

The whopping $135 million curriculum that was developed with Covid money features lessons that compare Mayor Lori Lightfoot to Katherine Johnson, the African-American NASA scientist who helped land the first man on the Moon.

In other words, she's a hero who overcame the odds to become our first African American lesbian female elected Mayor of Chicago!

Students watch a NY Times video entitled "Who is Lori Lightfoot?" that states she made history in Chicago by being the first black woman and first openly gay woman to be mayor who sold herself as a political outsider (funny since a lot of money that supported Mayor Richard Daley was funneled into her campaign). She was hired by the former mayor to investigate the Laquan McDonald police shooting and promised to reform the police dept. and put a freeze on new charter schools. 

"Lightfoot's platform of beating the machine and cracking down on gun violence seems to have paid off," the video stated, "but will she deliver on her promises that have plagued Chicago for decades?"

The Skyline lesson says the teacher should ask students if they know who Lori Lightfoot is. The teacher should also say that Lightfoot was a lawyer who investigated police behavior in Chicago and found that many people here had negative experiences with the police and believed they were racist and she wants to reform the department. 

The students should note that both Katherine Johnson and Lori Lightfoot experienced racism and they were the first African American women to do what they did.

The lesson on Lori Lightfoot comes at a time when her re-election is right around the corner.

The Chicago Public Schools sends out an email every year to its employees entitled Political Activity in an Election Season and Compliance with the Chicago Board of Education's Code of Ethics. It states what CPS employees can and cannot do during election time. 

"Political activities must not result in the misuse of Board personnel, time or resources or create an impression that the Board supports particular candidates. The Code of Ethics is meant to preserve the independence of the school system and avoid any appearance of impropriety. Violations of the Code of Ethics can result in disciplinary action, including dismissal for Board employees."

Does this include lessons about the Mayor?

Skyline is a new curriculum that has been criticized by many teachers on social media. While it has a focus on social justice, and stories about black civil rights heroes abound, the pedagogy behind it has been blasted by educators who note the lessons do not address special needs students and the skills are taught in a haphazard fashion.

But perhaps most significant of all, Skyline was sold to the City of Chicago with Mayor Lightfoot at the helm. While Second City Teachers does not have the resources to investigate if the Skyline publishers poured money into Lightfoot's first election, a former CPS principal wrote on Chicago Educator's FB Page that the person who spearheaded the $135 million project took a promotion to be superintendent in another district the year Skyline was implemented.

Jan HOD

Report of the Meeting of the House of Delegates, January 11, 2023

By George Milkowski

I. Officers Reports

A.  Recording Secretary - Christel Williams-Hayes – Christel’s report was very brief.  She announced that the CTU will be hosting a rally for Brandon Johnson on Monday, January 16, at the CTU building.  The building will open at 9:00 a.m. and a continental breakfast will be provided.  The rally will start at 10:00 a.m. and at 11:00 participants will engage in door knocking and phone banking.  To register, go to: www.ctulocal1.org/mlk

B. Organizing report –Chris Baehrend – Chris urged the delegates to set up union meetings in their schools.  They can contact the CTU to ask Union organizers to attend those meetings.

Chris said the CTU has been supportive of the three day strike by health care workers at Howard Brown Services.  He also mentioned the UIC workers may be on the picket lines next week and we will be backing them, too.  He also said that CPS has billions of unspent dollars that are available for school repairs and we need to be vigilant in pressuring the Board with our Green Schools campaign to use them.

Chris reported that the Grassroots Collaborative is planning a mayoral forum at the New Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, 4301 W. Washington on January 26.  This is a Peoples’ Unity Platform event. To register to attend and to be a part of the CTU contingent, go to: www.ctulocal1.org/pup.

C. Financial Report – Kurt Hilgendorf – Kurt said that we are now getting a steady revenue stream and that an unexpected deficit of just over $389,000 is due to a problem in getting some money rebated from the AFT and the IFT.  This should be corrected by next month.

D.  Financial Secretary – Maria Moreno - Union membership is at 28,783, up over last month and retiree membership is up to 1,691.

Maria announced there are some vacancies in Citywide positions and there will be a Zoom meeting on February 22 for members in the various Citywide groups to nominate members to fill those positions.

The Executive Board Retiree Vice President’s position will be filled by an election by retirees.  Ballots will be mailed to your home starting January 17 and need to be returned by February 14.

E. Charter Division – Stacy Davis Gates – Due to an illness Stacy Davis Gates and Jen Johnson made the report.  They lauded the involvement of charter teachers in a tailgate party before a Bears game in December.   They also said that bargaining sessions with the different unionized charter schools is increasing as their contracts will be expiring soon.  They are seeking improved pay and benefits but also more special ed teachers and 12 weeks of paid family leave.  The paid leave was something the CPS was planning on giving to everyone but apparently Lori Lightfoot stepped in and put a kibosh on it.  Remember, the charter school accomplishments will be a precedent for our bargaining that will begin next year.

F.  Vice-President – Jackson Potter – Jackson lauded the teachers at McClellan School who refused to back down when they discovered lead in paint that was chipping in many parts of their building.  They were able to compel the CPS to spend $35,000 to take care of the problem over the winter break.  It is estimated that about 80% of the schools have this problem and problems with asbestos, leaking water pipes and so on.  The CTU will distribute Lead Testing Kits on January 19 thanks to the work of the CTU Climate Justice Committee.  As mentioned earlier, the CPS has billions of dollars in money available for the remediation of problems like this.

Jackson said the CTU is working to get students involved in violence prevention.

Regarding 12 weeks paid family leave Jackson gave details on the turn of events that has temporarily stopped the CPS from extending this benefit to everyone.  The Mayor had unilaterally extended it to City workers, 25% of whom are women, but she said the CTU, which has about 75% of its members being female and in more need of this perk, has to bargain for it.  

Since the CPS doesn’t always live up to the law regarding special ed students, the CTU will conduct a training session on January 12 on how to file a complaint with the Illinois Board of Education on this issue.

We still need to be aware of the COVID pandemic.  A new, more transmissible variant, XBB1.5, is on the East Coast and so far has not appeared in Chicago but that will only be a matter of time.  

G. Political/Legislative – Hilario Dominguez – CTU member said endorsed mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson is tied for first in the most recent polls.  He and two other CTU members/candidates, Liz Torres (36th Ward) and Muize Bawamy (50th Ward) were on the CTU’s recent podcast. Go to; www.ctulocal1.org/podcast to hear what they had to say.  Early voting at the supersite begins January 19 and in the Wards it begins February 13.

H. Grievance – Jim Staros – More than a year and a half ago the CPS ordered school clerks to go into their buildings while teachers stayed out.  Some refused to do so and lost pay.  The CTU took their cases to arbitration and the arbitrator ruled that they are to be treated equally as teachers.  Those who had been penalized where made whole.  One received a check for $32,000

I. Honoring Teachers – Georgia Wallace – The CTU honored two guest teachers; Sir Daniel Lee of Hammond School and Letitia Salamone of Sauganash School.

II. President’s Report –Stacy Davis Gates– Stacy spoke about the National Board Certified Teachers program.  She said about half of the current enrollees in the program are people of color.

Stacy spoke at length of the need for everyone to get Brandon Johnson elected to the Mayor’s office.

III. Items for Action

A.  The CTU endorsed four more people for alderperson.  They are: Victoria Alvarez (15th Ward), Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward), Denali Dusgupta (39th ward) and Nick ward (48th Ward).  I voted “yes” on this

B.  The House voted to approve a “Resolution in Support of National Paid Family Leave”.  It passed 99%-1%.  I voted “yes” on this, too.

        C.   The Executive Board proposed a change in the schedule for the upcoming House meetings.  In August we approved a proposal to meet in-person except in January, February, and March.  The E Board proposal would have us meet in-person in February and March and via computer in May and June.  The rationale given was that we need to be in-person for our meetings around the City elections.  (Eboard members) Karen Soto (Waters School) and Bessie Tsitsopoulus (Citywide) argued in favor of this.  Marissa Sidler, Beth Eisenhower (Citywide) and Doris Zughoul, an immuno-compromised delegate, argued against it.  I also had a chance to speak and I argued against it, also.  Besides the obvious arguments about the generally bad weather in the winter and the increased contact with COVID, flu, and RSV still a being problem I pointed out that CTU budget is presented in May and then voted on in June.  It would be difficult to approve a budget if delegates could not meet face to face a to discuss aspects of it.  It is true that we have approved previous budgets via computer in the past few years, but that was because we faced the emergency of the COVID pandemic and that situation has improved.  I voted “no” and the measure failed 60%-40%;

IV. New Business/Questions and Answers

Jasmine Eisner (Armstrong School) motioned to have the March meeting be in-person.  One delegate, Natasha Carlson, (Cameron School) argued against it preferring that we have a hybrid meeting.  I voted in favor of this amendment, but it failed 56%-44%.

Natasha Carlson also expressed concern over the elimination of sanitation wipes  from the schools that occurred over the winter break.  This was an issue the CTU is aware of and has already approached the Board about it.  They expect to receive an answer as to why this happened tomorrow.

The meeting adjourned at 7:39 p.m..

HOD Defeat

Safety Trumps Politics in Rare CTU HOD Defeat

By Jim Vail 

VP Jackson Potter skillfully ended a contentious debate on virtual HOD meetings.

It is rare when the Chicago Teachers Union President and Vice President support a resolution that goes down to defeat in the House of Delegates.

But such was the case when safety trumped politics in Wednesday's  House of Delegates Jan. 11, 2023 meeting. The delegates defeated a motion to change the next two meetings to in person versus virtual despite pleas from their top two union leaders.

The CTU made a strong defense of teachers' safety during the Covid period the last two years when we voted to teach remote and not go back into the schools. They decided for this year to hold the January, February and March House of Delegates meetings virtual because Covid was known to spread rapidly during the holiday season.

However, despite the union sending out emails to its members to be careful with the deadly virus still raging throughout the country, the leaders proposed to change the next two HOD meetings to in-person because of important events coming up, including a possible Charter School Strike and the Mayoral Election in which CTU organizer/Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson is a candidate. 

The Executive Board proposal was to switch the Feb. and March meetings to in-person and the May and June meetings via computer.

A couple of delegates who sit on the Executive Board spoke out in support of their decision to hold the next meetings in person because of the election. 

However, more delegates spoke against the resolution expressing safety concerns about meetings with Covid and the Flu still in high transmission. Delegate Doris Zughoul spoke passionately about being immuno-compromised and that it was unfair as a delegate to not be present at the meetings to vote on important matters. Other delegates complained that they had already arranged child care and one said the parking is especially difficult during the winter months.

President Stacy Davis Gates countered each speech by stating during the virtual meeting that child care would be provided at the union headquarters and teachers attend super spreader buildings everyday. She said that the union enforces masking so the delegates would be better protected.

The measure failed 60 - 40 percent.

But that did not stop the leadership and their supportive delegates from still trying to do an end run around the decision. A delegate from Armstrong Elementary School made a motion during the New Business/Q&A period at the end of a long meeting to have the March meeting be in-in person. 

That measure too failed 56 - 44 percent.

It is rare that the powerful CTU leadership does not get its way when it comes to counting votes in the House of Delegates. 

Contract votes, strike votes and budget votes have all passed due to the leaders skillful organization. 

The CTU leadership does listen to its members when they hear grumbling. VP Jackson Potter saw that there were many delegates against their switch to in-person meetings so he called the question so that the vote could go forward even though it would likely not yield the outcome he wanted.

The relationship with the Chicago Board of Education has also shifted after the last CTU election in which CORE won with a majority of about 58 percent, their lowest vote total in the last ten years. About 40 percent of the vote went to Members First and REAL. MF complained that the CTU had a too toxic relationship with City Hall.

The CTU has since had a more peaceful relationship with the new Chicago Public Schools CEO Chief Pedro Martinez, in stark contrast to their very toxic relationship with former Schools Chief Janice Jackson.

However, the fight with Mayor Lori Lightfoot is racketing up with her re-election Feb. 28. And this was what led to a brief battle in the recent House of Delegates meeting and the CTU's rare defeat.

Froy Jimenez

CTU Covid Remote Action Impacts Teacher Endorsement in Upcoming Election

By Jim Vail

Hancock Teacher Froy Jimenez is running for 11th Ward Alderman. 

*Correction: This updated version reflects changes in certain words to describe Froylan Jimenez's decision.

When Mary Usterbowski made a motion at the December House of Delegates Meeting for Froy Jimenez to be endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union for Alderman, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said no because he went back into the school when we voted to stay out during Covid. 

But the next day the CTU Political Action Committee called Jimenez to ask if he would like to be interviewed for a possible endorsement.

"After the December HOD, Hilario Dominguez, with CTU PAC reached out to me to ask me if I wanted an interview with CTU PAC Committee," Jimenez told Second City Teachers. "I agreed and since meeting in December was last minute, he agreed to call me in January with more meeting dates for scheduling."

Crossing a picket line is considered an act of treason in the world of unions. The CTU made a decision to only teach remote because of safety concerns with Covid-19 still raging two years ago. Some teachers like Jimenez decided to not honor the union's collective action and instead went into their school buildings to teach.

Jimenez defended his decision to not teach remote. He said he has always honored CTU strikes in the past, and even served as a strike coordinator, but this time was different.

"The last time all CTU union rank-file members were asked to vote was specifically on 'whether we should teach remotely' after winter break safety negotiations," Jimenez wrote in an email. "It's disingenuous to call that vote on teaching remotely, a vote to go on STRIKE and it unfairly conflates two different circumstances."

One high school delegate who wished to remain anonymous said the January action was not planned as a Strike, but effectively turned into one. 

"We did vote for it, and so if he crossed, he was breaking union discipline."

Jimenez said the union action to only teach remote was poorly executed and put CTU members and CPS parents in a "huge bind", resulting in a large pay loss for CTU members and "only a couple of K95 masks in return" while hundreds of clerks and other CTU members were forced to come in.

"January's action was quite messy for reasons brother Froy points out," the delegate said, "but I still think crossing that picket line is a bad look."

Froy Jimenez and the CTU leadership have had a tenuous relationship. He was furious when the CTU revoked a PAC decision to endorse his first run for state senator in order to not upset the incumbent who had ties to the Chicago Machine. The CTU Executive Board chose to follow political recommendation of the leadership and stayed neutral in the race. 

One thing the CTU likes is a winner. Jimenez served as chief of staff to Congressman Chuy Garcia before he was endorsed for Mayor against Rahm Emanuel. He earned over 40 percent of the vote in his first run for state senator, but was knocked out of the recent race after his signatures were challenged by his opponent.

Jimenez is running for the 11th Ward Alderman against the incumbent Nicole Lee who was appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. They both supported building a high school in Chinatown, which the CTU and others were against because it will be built on public housing land.

Froy said he's a big proponent of expanding trade schools in Chicago's high schools so they will have union jobs and less college debt. He noted that Dunbar High School is the only current city high school that offers a comprehensive citywide trades program which includes general construction, carpentry, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), welding and electricity. He said he would expand the "Construction Trades Campus" at Dunbar to other areas of the city where there is low enrollment. He said the Board of Ed should plan a CPS campus for a proposed Discovery Partners Institute that would be dedicated to teaching STEM students.

Jimenez is against using TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money for a Red Line Train extension that his opponent supports. 

"I'm against the Red line TIF that drains our tax dollars without helping our local economy," Jimenez said. "I also want to hold the Cook County State Attorney's office accountable for prosecuting criminal activity in our area."

Froy said he was upset that CPS delayed responding to the lead contamination safeguards at McClellan Elementary School and said each CPS school should have testing for lead exposure which should in turn be coordinated and publicized by the school administrators and Local School Council and safety courses in lead exposure should be available as part of professional development.

Jimenez is a civics teacher at Hancock High School.