May Day in Chicago yesterday and today

May Day in Chicago yesterday and today

On May 1, 1886, 80,000 workers marched down Michigan Avenue in Chicago in support of the eight-hour day. In the next few days, nationwide, 350,000 workers (including 70,000 in Chicago) went on strike at 1,200 factories. Since that time, May Day, or International...
From Humbolt Park to San Juan, big banks are robbing our children’s futures

From Humbolt Park to San Juan, big banks are robbing our children’s futures

Community groups, members of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, religious leaders, and union members made a joint statement on Thursday, decrying the predation of financial institutions on Puerto Rico’s public services and residents, and calling on the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank to step in and offer Puerto Rico assistance similar to which was given to big financial institutions over the last decade.

CPS Continues Special Ed Distortions

CPS Continues Special Ed Distortions

Just days after schools found out about another outrageous round of cuts to their special education staff, the district’s Office of Diverse Leaners and Support Services (ODLSS) offered a defensive presentation to the Board of Education filled with even more distortions. District Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson prefaced their presentation, stating that misrepresentations were circulating about special education, that the district would explain how the layoffs were decided, and repeated their assertion that the district was committed to meeting all legally required services in students’ IEPs.

How Should We Fund Schools in Illinois?

How Should We Fund Schools in Illinois?

Contrary to the claims of some econometric reformer types, money matters in schools. To understand why Illinois and Chicago don’t have to be like they are, we must survey the national picture of school funding. Illinois has a revenue problem, and Minnesota points the way toward a solution.

The Loveless Age of Schooling

The Loveless Age of Schooling

…I realized I was not following my own advice in sharing my authentic voice with my students. How could I open the year without talking about my mission as an educator to bring love back into schooling? So the next morning I stood before parents and a classroom of third graders talking about love.

Phantoms Playing Double-Dutch: Why the Fight for Dyett is Bigger than One Chicago School Closing

Phantoms Playing Double-Dutch: Why the Fight for Dyett is Bigger than One Chicago School Closing

They were gathered in the name of Dyett, the high school that the leaders of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced in 2012 would be shuttered at the end of 2015. This group of parents, community members, and students sat in the 95-degree heat to demand a meeting with the alderman, Will Burns. They wanted…

Phantoms Playing Double-Dutch: Why the Fight for Dyett is Bigger than One Chicago School Closing

Why I Go Hungry for Dyett

These are the reasons why I go hungry for Dyett. Because I refuse to accept that the current state of education is the best we can do. Because every child deserves a world class education in their neighborhood.

CPS: No Plan A

CPS: No Plan A

New CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has made it clear that the district has no Plan B if the state does not step in to close the $480 million budget hole in CPS 2016 budget. The district is proposing their FY 2016 budget…