Education in the U.S. is subject to huge disparities in opportunity (the “opportunity gap”): some groups of students have incredible experiences while a much larger group is subject to extremely limited in-school and life experiences. These educational opportunities are directly linked to students’ socioeconomic status, and what happens outside schools is more influential than what happens inside.
CTU members are overjoyed at the outpouring of solidarity we’ve received from groups and individuals throughout the country, and even worldwide! Connecting and taking inspiration from others who share our struggle builds our power.
You’ve heard, “It takes a village to raise a child.” SCS are the embodiment of that saying – they are community hubs designed to provide wraparound academic, health, and social support for the entire community beyond the traditional 9 am – 3 pm school day. By leveraging community assets, resources, and external partnerships to provide comprehensive community care, SCS brings students, parents, educators, school staff, community members, and service providers together in a coordinated effort to promote neighborhood health and well-being. It is a community-led, community-driven approach to educational justice and equity.
Cities across the United States, including Minneapolis, Portland, Denver, Seattle and Oakland have decided they will no longer employ police within the schools.
Chicago should join them.
On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros invite David Stovall, professor of criminology, law, and justice at the University of Illinois-Chicago, into the studio for a discussion of the outlandish things Paul Vallas has said about teaching Black history. This is an informative deep dive into the explicit and not-so-explicit appeals to white supremacy that Vallas employs and the larger meaning of these attacks on teaching Black history.
The Chicago Teachers Union is an organization of educators dedicated to advancing and promoting quality public education, improving teaching and learning conditions, and protecting members’ rights. Meet our officers, learn about our mission and learn more about how we operate on the About Us page.
The CTU has worked closely over the last three years with a committed group of advocates to demand better for our students. CPS has been forced to release more funds for special education for schools throughout the city. Use the information below to advocate for your principal to claim and properly use the funds CPS has been forced to allot.
CTU endorsed candidates have track records demonstrating that they are education champions. Your vote is your voice. Together, we build our power.
The Chicago Teachers Union exposes the falsehoods and inequities created by an education policy that, rather than being held publicly accountable, is controlled by the profit-minded corporate community.
Why do CTU members fight for students? What motivates them to prepare for a possible strike? This 2018 update to CTU’s 2012 report, The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve provides a counter-narrative to the corporate agenda on education. SCSD 2.0 highlights the many racist inequities that have continued, or in some cases worsened, since 2012. CTU has a track record of fighting for reforms to change these realities, which is why Chicagoans continue to trust the CTU more than the Board of Education, more than Mayor Emanuel and more than any “reformer” backed by billionaires and corporate foundations.
CTU members Quentin Washington, Tammie Vinson and Jeff Blackwell all taught at schools closed by Rahm Emanuel in 2013. This month, as the city marked the 10-year anniversary of the closings, they reflected on their experiences and how the disastrous decision destabilized their school communities.
On May 22, 2013, The Chicago Board of Education voted to close 50, “turn around” five, and co-locate 17 elementary schools. Faced with widespread opposition to these actions, CPS promised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital improvements and transition supports for schools receiving students from closed schools. However, CTU’s examination of the evidence finds that the promises made to receiving schools were hollow in many cases and only partially fulfilled in others.
CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Thursday commended the Illinois General Assembly for passing a bill that protects Illinois educators from intimidation, retaliation and interference when they organize to join a union in privately operated charter schools, a move that will help educators improve the teaching and learning conditions in their schools. The legislation, HB 1120, requires charter school operators taking public school funding to include a labor neutrality clause as part of its school authorization. Under such a clause, an employer agrees to refrain from opposing or taking a position on union organizing by their employees.
Please join charter educators at Acero Schools for our Rally for Supportive, Safe, and Sustainable Schools at 5:15 pm on Wednesday, April 19, at Acero Torres, 4248 W. 47th St. We are fighting for a new contract, and we are demanding more staffing, equal pay for equal work, and safe and healthy green schools. This fight is not just for educators at Acero, but for educators across the city of Chicago. What we win in our contract can pave the way for wins in other charter schools and at the district level.
CPS has proven itself to be fiscally irresponsible and reckless with limited tax dollars. Chicago students deserve better. Even without the new revenue proposals put forth by the Chicago Teachers Union, CPS can stop wasting money on expensive contracts that produce shoddy services.
Veteran educator Renee Criswell lived, and taught, through Paul Vallas’ reign of destruction in CPS, in which he closed Black schools, destroyed Black housing and laid off Black workers. Chicago must say NO to Paul Vallas.
The Chicago Teachers Union argues for proven educational reforms to dramatically improve education of more than 400,000 students in a district of 675 schools. These reforms are desperately needed and can head Chicago towards the world-class educational system its students deserve.
Nearly 25,000 eighth graders learned which high schools they have the option to attend earlier this month when CPS released the GoCPS application offers. That pressure on students is enormous, and developmentally inappropriate, says author Kate Phillippo in her book, “A Contest Without Winners: How Students Experience Competitive School Choice.”
There is little evidence to support the CPS claim in a letter to parents: “We believe that every community deserves an excellent neighborhood high school that will give your children the skills and knowledge they need to achieve their dreams.” The opposite is true. Through poor planning and racist policy decisions, CPS has deliberately undermined Englewood’s neighborhood high schools.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates writes that, after a grueling election season, she is filled with hope and excitement about our future because we now have a partner in City Hall to work with us, instead of against us.
Charter schools promote a culture of competition rooted in business practices, but not “free market” competition as charter school boosters would have us believe.
