GEM Campout at the Board 2/24

Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) activists campout in front of the Chicago Board of Education headquarters to guarantee a chance to speak out the following day against pending vote to close sixteen public schools...

Click below on "comment" for full story,
or go here for photo essay and story.

CPS Recinds Closure of Six Schools, Protests Still On

This is from Chicago Public Schools:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 23, 2009

CPS WITHDRAWS PROPOSALS FOR PEABODY, YALE, LAS CASAS, HOLMES, GLOBAL VISIONS AND HAMILTON

Officials Cite Compelling Community Testimony & Improved Scores

Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman announced today that six schools have been taken off the list of school closures, turnarounds and consolidations, after community groups and parents provided compelling arguments in support of the neighborhood schools and their performance levels...

Moratorium on Renn 2010- HB0363

On January 30th, State Representative Cynthia Soto introduced HB0363 into the state legislature. Highlights of the bill include:

1. Placing a one-year moratorium on school closings, turnarounds, phaseouts and consolidations, retroactive to the current closings.

2. Establish a Joint School Facilities Subcommittee consisting of three members each from the State House and State Senate Education Committees.

3. Institute and equitable process for school openings, closings, repairs, turnarounds, phaseouts and consolidations with wide community involvement, which would be in effect once the moratorium ends.

The bill can be viewed here.
Important! To check the bill status, go here
Substance article here

South Chicago 2.11 Wed.

South Chicago's community hearing was held across the street from the school at the Russel Park recreational center. The meeting was held from 5-7pm, by the end 60 parents had arrived. Typical of the "underutilized" schools being closed, consolidated, or phased-out, South Chicago is an amazing school with much student success. Also contrary to CPS Board testimony, the forty current pre-schoolers are an indicator that the six-year old schools numbers are significantly increasing. Parents also made a call out that if under-enrollment was truly the problem,the boundary lines could be enlarged to take students from overcrowded Heroes Ninos and the "new" Sullivan. South Chicago has the full support of their 7th ward alderwoman Jackson and voiced their commitment to fight.

For full picture story and captions go here.

Yale, Fenger 2.10 Tues.

Fenger High School's turnaround is sponsored by CPS' Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins and Alan Anderson's Office of Turnaround.

AUSL (Academy for Urban School Leadership) is the proposed turnaround agency for Yale.

Extended "Hearings" Boycotted 2.9.09

A second "hearing" was held for Bethune at Chalmers School. This is one of several proposed additional hearings that are to give the managers of the Turnarounds, Academy of Urban School Leadership the chance to present themselves to the community. The irony, perhaps intentional, is that Chalmers is in a gang area dangerous for those from the Bethune community to enter into.

Aside from two representatives from AUSL, a court reporter and the hearing officer, Fred Bates, there were three representatives of the Grassroots Education Movement, GEM. Two of the educational activists were the only ones to speak at this "hearing.'

For the very complete story on this, go here.

Note: Holmes Elementary also boycotted the AUSL hearing, held Tuesday February 10.

Holmes, Peabody 2.9 Mon.

The Holmes hearing was held at the Board of Ed. This second Peabody hearing was held at Lozano School, 1424 North Cleaver. Holmes is facing an AUSL managed Turnaround and Peabody is facing simple Closure.