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
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?
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
…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
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…
Why a Bank of America Boycott is Necessary
City officials have failed to hold the banks accountable. We must push for public accountability over the profits Bank of America has made off of our local governments and public school system. A public movement can budge even the most recalcitrant institutions.
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
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…
Mike Brown Means We’ve Got to Fight Back: 1 Year Later
Mike Brown’s life had become an equation; a sum of his respectable parts minus any mainstream missteps to determine his right to equality. Four and a half hours left in the street gave view to an enduring truth in America…
