My Union
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Educators of Chicago
Our union is a fellowship of educators across this city who care for students and equip them for their destinies. As we band together for the common good, we must remind ourselves constantly of the amazing things that each of our teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians do every day in support of children and their families. Take a minute here to read about your fellow CTU members as we celebrate their extraordinary efforts on behalf of students, colleagues and community.
Union Democracy
We’ve Got You
Welcome Our New Sisters and Brothers
News for Members
CTU rank and file reelects CORE slate to lead union
Events
The annual Assessment Votes established in Article 44-32 of our contract can be powerful, but complex. Votes on your school’s assessment calendar must be taken by May 24, 2019.
To guide you through this process, the CTU has an information page at www.ctulocal1.org/testing.
In addition, the CTU Grievance Department has set up trainings over the next three weeks. On the dates below, the Chicago Teachers Union will train delegates, PPC members and any interested CTU member in how to consult and to conduct votes around the Assessment Plan Vote. Walk-ins are welcome!
All trainings 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at the
CTU Center • 1901 W. Carroll Ave.
- Wednesday, May 8
- Tuesday, May 14
- Wednesday, May 15
- Monday, May 20
- Thursday, May 23
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Sara Echevarría, Grievance Dept. Director, or call her at 312-329-6230.
Rahm Emanuel set out to destroy our union and sell off our schools. We stood united and strong. Rahm failed.
It’s a new day. In the 2019 mayoral and city council elections, candidates embraced the CTU’s blueprint for the schools our students deserve. CTU-backed legislation has provided hundreds of millions more dollars in funding for our schools. Chicago’s incoming mayor and new aldermen have pledged an elected school board and equity for our schools.
We’ve faced down vicious attacks, and teaching conditions are still frustratingly difficult, but the ground has been laid for big steps forward in the contract we’re bargaining today.
If we’re going to realize those gains, we need to build our power now.
Amplify your voice—and come together with your fellow educators on Wednesday, May 22. The new faces in City Hall need to see that we stand united for our rights, our dignity, our students and their families. They need to hear from all of us, together, that it’s time for city officials to start taking meaningful steps now to improve our working conditions and provide our students with the schools they deserve.
Resources to Promote the Rally
Parent/Community Flyer (English/Spanish) (download button in lower right of page)
Half-sheet general flyer (English) (download button in lower right of page)
Full-sheet general flyer (English)
Bus Your School
The annual Assessment Votes established in Article 44-32 of our contract can be powerful, but complex. Votes on your school’s assessment calendar must be taken by May 24, 2019.
To guide you through this process, the CTU has an information page at www.ctulocal1.org/testing.
In addition, the CTU Grievance Department has set up trainings over the next three weeks. On the dates below, the Chicago Teachers Union will train delegates, PPC members and any interested CTU member in how to consult and to conduct votes around the Assessment Plan Vote. Walk-ins are welcome!
All trainings 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at the
CTU Center • 1901 W. Carroll Ave.
- Wednesday, May 8
- Tuesday, May 14
- Wednesday, May 15
- Monday, May 20
- Thursday, May 23
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Sara Echevarría, Grievance Dept. Director, or call her at 312-329-6230.
Educators will tackle the issues of Restorative Justice, police in the schools, Chicago’s Gang Database and other policy issues. Members will learn about the rights of educators and families and will receive one-on-one support & access to the latest resources to prepare you to lead on this issue in your school and within our Union. Food will be provided.
This training is the second of two trainings for the Sanctuary in Schools Member Development Program. The other training (same time and location) was the May 8 Expanded Sanctuary Curriculum for Students Training, in which educators provided materials and guidance on culturally relevant curriculum, bilingual education and language access.
Register for this session:
Chicago Teachers Union Early Childhood Committee Invites You To….
A Parent and Educator Meet-Up and Listening Session
Parents and Educators of preschool-aged and Kindergarten children (or soon-to-be) we need to hear from you!
We are CPS educators of young children and we are working hard to make our classrooms the kind of spaces that all our students deserve…but CPS hasn’t made this easy on any of us. We believe that educators have a lot to learn from the families we work with. We want to know your questions, concerns, and hopes for early childhood education inside the Chicago Public Schools. Are you concerned about…
- Confusing registration process?
- Why doesn’t pre-k enrollment guarantee me a Kindergarten seat?
- How “universal” is “universal free pre-k”?
- Full-day or half-day and what’s the difference?
- What happens to 3-year-olds in the move to full day pre-k in CPS?
- Bilingual and Special Education students–are they being served?
- Why doesn’t every school have pre-k?
- Why aren’t there after-school or before-school programs for pre-k?
- What does developmentally appropriate look like in preschool and Kindergarten?
- Large class sizes?
If you’re concerned about any of these issues—or any others regarding CPS early childhood education—please come to this meet-up to talk with other educators and parents, share information, and learn more about how to advocate for our youngest learners.
Download a promotional flyer{Icon to download is in the lower right of the page}
Celebrate a miraculous year for CTU-ACTS after school on Friday, June 7.
We are making news around the world because we are changing the script about public education by moving power, funding, and rights away from the business people on our boards and towards our classrooms, our students, and our members.
We are powerful! Over three-quarters of our members have held strong on strike picket lines in the past few months, and the rest of us built so much power in our schools, we won without striking.
We are setting new standards in our contracts: pay scales closing the gap with district pay; smaller, enforceable class sizes; special education compliance; sanctuary schools; shorter work day/year; and many others.And we are notching wins at various tables that put us in a position to set new standards in the next round of contract negotiations: up to six weeks fully paid maternity leave (Acero), average class size of 20 (YCLA), 48 days of bankable PTO (Latino Youth), advancement to Masters lane with EL/SpEd/counselor endorsements (Aspira), and adherence to professional association recommended ratios for counselors/nurses/psychologists/social workers (Instituto).
We are changing the charter industry. In just over a year as members of the Chicago Teachers Union, our earthquake of justice has sparked waves of militancy in defense of students in charter schools—from Los Angeles to Oakland to Cleveland and beyond. These victories empower demands at Namaste and Urban Prep, where bargaining continues, as well as at Passages and at CPS, where we can lock in the standards we are setting city-wide and advance them to better serve every Chicago public school student.
Every one of our members has stood in solidarity for better schools and it has been the honor of my life to stand in struggle with all of you.
I hope to see you June 7, to celebrate each other and our wildly successful work!
In solidarity,
Chris Baehrend
CTU-ACTS Chair
Professional Development
Restorative. Relevant. Reflective. The Chicago Teachers Union Foundation QUEST CENTER for Professional Learning and Teacher Leadership is the premier professional development provider supporting Chicago’s public school educators through re-licensure, National Board Certification, and endorsements in which pre-service through veteran educators collaborate, network, and learn to improve their practice by addressing students’ cognitive development and social-emotional well-being through culturally responsive, trauma-sensitive learning environments.
National Board Certification
Nurturing Teacher Leadership, established in 1997, is the Chicago Teachers Union/Chicago Public Schools 2-year program of professional development and candidate support that prepares Chicago Public School teachers for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification, the highest credential a teacher can earn.
Nurturing Teacher Leadership has a success rate of more than 94%, twice the national average!
Learn more by attending our next Cohort Informational Meeting!
May 22 Rally: Keeping the Promise
Come together with your fellow educators on Wednesday, May 22. The new faces in City Hall need to see that we stand united for our rights, our dignity, our students and their families.
