CHICAGO—With Friday marking an end to Chicago’s first week back at school, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates will make her final Back-To-School tour stop at Nicholson STEM Academy, located in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Utilizing technology to enhance the educational experiences for students and their families, Nicholson services a high number of students in temporary living situations.
Welcome back to another school year, and congratulations on a great first day. As we begin to settle in for another year, we have all been gripped by the impacts of the Extreme Heat Watch issued by the National Weather Service. For some of us, extreme heat has resulted in limited outdoor times for our students, and for others the extreme heat in our classrooms and hallways have exposed the vulnerability of our school buildings, many of which were built decades ago without air conditioning or accommodations for a warming plant.
As the city grapples with an Extreme Heat Watch, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates will visit with educators at Washington High School and uplift the solutions to aging public-school facilities.
In movements like ours, we often forget to take time to celebrate and acknowledge our victories. Because of our solidarity, this year we have an opportunity to take the political power we won at the ballot box and in the state legislature and convert it into power in our school buildings. That is our challenge in the coming year.
This event will bring together educators, families and elected officials to help students say goodbye to summer and start the school year off strong.
Since the end of last school year, your union has been busy!
Nearly 355,000 children and their families are counting on us to meet and exceed the challenges of our students’ educational needs this fall, and there is nothing that we cannot tackle on their behalf.
