Volume 85, Issue 3
Other Issues
Features
President’s Message: In awe of your dedication and resolve
The joy of returning to our students, back in person, five days a week, was tempered by increased trauma in our buildings due to violence, personal loss and a pandemic was still wreaking havoc on our daily lives. I continue to be in awe of the dedication and resolve of our rank-and-file members.
Rest in Power CTU member Gerry Adler, a rabble-rouser through and through
Our union lost one of its most vibrant voices in November, when former CPS teacher and beloved CTU agitator Gerald Adler died at 92. Gerry was a rabble-rouser through and through who sought to make his Union and the world in which he lived better.
Member helps spread the word: Vax events show CTU is here for us — and for the community
Veteran educator Evelyn Colon is not taking any chances when it comes to COVID-19. She’s glad her Union feels the same way.
CTU charter division secures safety measures Lightfoot refused for CPS
Members in CTU’s charter division (CTU-ACTS) have built tremendous power since merging with the CTU in 2018. This year, the charters wielded their power at the bargaining table to win safety agreements that provide important COVID mitigations needed for in-person learning.
2021 Year in Review
It’s been quite a year. We’ve assembled our top 10 memorable moments and Union achievements of 2021. As we look toward 2022, safety will continue to be at the forefront of our work, along — of course — with love, nurturing and care for our students and school communities.
Student Voice Committees: a powerful vehicle for school transformation
Helping to build student power, engaging with our youth strengthens fight for the schools we all deserve. What a difference a year makes. During remote and hybrid learning last year, our Student Voice Committee (SVC) at Back of the Yards College Prep met weekly but...Supporting our work in the second semester
You made it through the first semester of what has been the most calamitous school year to date. Now it’s time to give yourself some credit, rest and reset. Your summer break is just around the corner.
Educators take school cleanliness into their own hands using federal protections
Fed up with unemptied trash cans, filthy floors, soiled bathrooms and even rodents and their droppings, members at two schools decided to take matters into their own hands.
We’ve got your backs
Before educators at Pulaski Elementary took a stand, clerks and tech cos were working in person five days a week and the administration was allowing parents access to the building at any time any day, just like it was a normal school year. Of course, it wasn’t a normal school year.
White CPS parent to white CPS parent, what are you thinking?
White parent to white parent, use your privilege for good. Listen to and raise up the voices of concerned Black and Brown parents who do not want to send their kids back to hybrid in-person learning.
CTU Bilingual Committee works to ensure English learners are more than an afterthought
Our 2019 strike won historic improvements in bilingual education. It creates a tuition reimbursement for earning a bilingual or ESL endorsement and includes new professional development for ELL teachers. It allocates positions based on the number of students needing services and protects bilingual educators from being pulled for other tasks, such as lunch duty classroom coverage. These wins can help us support our bilingual students but only if we know how to enforce them.
“Reparations Won” in the Classroom
Against the Current Magazine interviewed CTU members Will Weaver and Lauren Bianchi about their experience in implementing the Reparations Won curriculum.
Parent support teachers’ — and their unions’ — handling of pandemic schooling
Despite what you hear on cable news, the vast majority of the nation’s parents give their public schools and teachers high marks for their heroic response to the pandemic.
Class Size grievance win nets $61K for ASPIRA charter teachers
Eleven members at ASPIRA Business and Finance High School (ABF) will receive compensation for class size violations totaling $61,000. That’s thanks to a settlement of two outstanding grievances defending important class size limits won in their 2018 contract.
President’s message: Honoring Dr. King’s legacy
When we fight for the schools Chicago children deserve, we are embracing Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision and proudly upholding his legacy.
On the front lines: Interview with CTU member Faith Mitchell of Carnegie Elementary School
Dennis Kosuth, a CTU school nurse, interviewed Faith Mitchell, a CTU member and second grade teacher at Carnegie Elementary, to talk about her experience with the COVID crisis at her school, which saw a beloved staff member succumb to he virus as it raged through the school building.
Rank-and-file support pushes Acero to agree to important safety protocols
An outpouring of rank-and-file support for common sense safety provisions empowered CTU’s bargaining team at Acero charter school to win some critical safety demands that are protecting both high school and elementary educators as they return to in-person instruction.
Building safety through solidarity
Our union fought for months to land enforceable safety guardrails, because we know they work to protect students and staff from COVID-19. Now, members are using those tools to enforce safety in our buildings.
More than 2,000 teachers across the U.S. earn National Board Certification and Chicago leads the pack
Chicago boasts the third highest number of new National Board Certified Teachers of any district in the nation, improving the culture and learning for vast numbers of students, schools and communities.
