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Bronzeville Education Summit: Monday, Jan 20, 11-3 Mollison School, 4415 S. King Dr. UIC Students of Color Forum: Jan 30, 5-7PM UIC College of Ed, 1040 W. Harrison, Rm 3233

Two important events! See flyers below!!

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TSJ has created Popular Education Pieces that set forth a vision of what public schools should look like while connecting the dots of between many of the corporate style "reforms" that are in opposition to that vision. These 10 page booklets can be downloaded and printed for use at meetings, in classrooms and other gatherings where people are fighting for social justice in education. They can be used as full booklets, or as individual issue fact-sheets. Please distribute widely.

Download the English version here. (revised 9.11.13)

Download the Spanish version here.

(Note: The Spanish version is missing some of the cartoon images while we try to locate Spanish language versions.) Read the Full Story

URGENT:
La Casita at Whittier school was demolished today around 9:30 am without notice or previous meeting with the community, as Alderman Solis and CPS promised. The construction crew with police support broke a side fence to avoid dozens of protesters who were blocking the main entrances, and they started to demolish our children's library so that a private high school near by can build a soccer field. PLEASE come at a vigil today at 4:30 pm (1900 W. 23rd) to demand that Alderman Solis honors his word to build another library for our children, and more importantly, to demand CPS and the mayor to stop giving public funds and/or subsidies to private institutions at the expense of our communities. If you can't come, please call Alderman Solis at 312-952-0581 or 773-523-4100 and demand that at least have the decency to come and explain what is happening.

More photos of today's demolition are at http://m.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/17/1231888/-PICS-La-Casita-Demolished-Saturday-Morning-By-Rahm  

Sun-Times Story about the demolition: 

“We were told that we could have a meeting with Danny Solis and CPS this morning,” activist Carolina Gaete said. “But when we came for the meeting this morning, this is what was waiting for us,” she added, pointing to the worksite and demolished building.”A group of angry parents marched to nearby Benito Juarez high school, where a summer fair was being held, in the hopes of confronting Solis. But Solis is “out of town, on vacation,” staff manning a stall at the fair for Solis said.
Gaete vowed that protestors would fight on despite the demolition of the building, saying they’ll try to stop CPS from laying a soccer field at the site of the field house, and try to find a new home for the volunteer-run library, English language and Dance classes that the field house hosted.
“We’re not defeated,” she said. “We just have to work out our next move.”

Read more at:  http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/21984396-418/whittier-fieldhouse-razed-protesters-arrested.html 


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1. CTU is organizing meetings in the networks, along with other GEM members (community organizations). Download a flyer here with ALL meetings and addresses. If you are interested in attending or helping to organize at/for these meetings (in particular, working w/ other TSJ members), please sign up here. The TSJ organizers below will contact you (but their emails are here so you can contact them as well). The network meetings that TSJ people will be attending are:

• Pilsen-Little Village (Mon 3/18, 6PM); contact Rosi or Byron
• Fulton (Tue 3/19, 6:30PM); contact Phil or Pauline
• Lake Calumet (Wed 3/20, 4PM); contact Rosi
• Englewood-Gresham (Wed 3/20, 4:30pm); contact Tonya
• Pershing (Wed 3/20, 4:30pm); contact Byron or Rico
• Rock Island (Thu 3/21, 3:30pm); contact Kelly
• Ravenswood-Ridge (Thu 3/21, 6PM); contact Katie

2. Help TSJ phone bank our members for the March 27th NO SCHOOL CLOSINGS rally. We will be phone banking Thurs March 21, 7-9pm (location near downtown). Sign up here to phone bank.

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A TSJ working group/task force has created a series of Popular Education Pieces on school closings. Please download and share these fact sheets widely!

• School Closings and Who Decides
• School Closings and Testing
• School Closings and Racism
• School Closings and Charter Schools
• School Closings and UNO

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Join the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), parents, students, educators, and community organizations across Chicago in community canvassing on Saturday, Jan. 19th in the morning and early afternoon hours!

The Mayor and Board of Education have closed or taken over dozens of schools every year, targeting Black and Latino neighborhoods. These closings take resources that students deserve, destabilize our neighborhoods, and increase racial inequality in the schools. The Board of Ed is now planning to close dozens more schools, taking even more from the communities that have lost the most. They plan to close schools in part to pay for corporate handouts and more privatized charter schools controlled by the Mayor's supporters--taking our community's schools, jobs, and VOICE.

Join us in spending a few hours of the Marting Luter King, Jr. Day weekend fighting for our communities, our students and our schools.

For details on locations and times throughout the city, please click here for the flier.

NORTH SIDE LOCATIONS/TIMES
With Northside Action for Justice
Stockton Elementary School
4420 N. Beacon St
11:00am - 1:00 pm

With Albany Park Neighborhood Council
APNC Office
4749 N. Kedzie, 2nd Floor
11:00 am - 2:00 pm

WEST SIDE LOCATIONS/TIMES
With Blocks Together
BT Office
3455 W. North Ave
10:00am - 1:00 pm

With Action Now
Lewis Elementary
1431 N. Leamington Ave
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

SOUTH SIDE LOCATIONS/TIMES
With Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
KOCO Office
4242 S. Cottage Grove
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

With Action NOW
Ruggles Elementary
7831 S. Prairie Ave
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Fenger High School
11220 S. Wallace Street
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

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4pm Rally/4:30pm Press Conference

City Hall 

LaSalle between Washington & Randolph Streets

CPS plans to close up to 100 schools in our neighborhoods while finding cash to open 60 more politically-connected charter schools. Our students deserve small class sizes, more arts, computer technology, and physical education. Join hundreds of parents, educators, and community activists as we tell the mayor to put our students before his political supporters!

For more information, please contact organizing@ctulocal1.com or call 312.329.6227.


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Tonight, Feb 22, 2012, at about 6:15 PM, the appointed Board of Education of the city of Chicago closed, phased out, and turned around all 17 schools on their chopping block without a dissenting vote and hardly a blink of an eye. Despite protests ranging from the sleepover on the sidewalk and mic-check takeover of the Board meeting in December, the 4-day sit-in at the mayor's office, the occupation of Piccolo school, the 500-plus person candlelight vigil to the mayor's house Monday night and the dozens of hearings, speakouts, and organizing meetings around the city where parents, students, teachers and community member poured out their hearts, developed plans, and were deeply involved in our children's education--this Board callously ignored the wisdom and love of Chicago's people. Even though we knew it was coming, we were deeply hurt and angered. They gave six schools to the very politically connected AUSL, rapidly on its way to building its empire in Chicago (now 25 schools) and soon to go national.

As Jitu Brown of KOCO told the press immediately after the so-called vote, "only in Black and Brown communities would this happen, not in Winnetka or Oak Park." This is a deeply racist city, where the 1% ignores the knowledge and experience of its residents about the education of their children, overwhelmingly of color in Chicago public schools (92%).

We need an elected and representative school board, elections with spending limits, and bottom-up, community-driven plans for real school transformation and community control of schools. And we need real popular political education, as to the nature of what we're up against. This is a business plan, hatched by the 1%, for the 1%--not an education plan. We have much work to do, in educating and organizing ourselves. This fight is far from over, and we will continue to fight it in the streets, courts, legislature, board rooms, classrooms, schools, media, and everywhere else.

To quote our brother in the struggle, Adourthus McDowell (look at the mic-check video!), "THESE ARE OUR CHILDREN! NOT CORPORATE PRODUCT!"



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Next Wednesday, February 22nd, the Board of Education will vote whether to close, phase-out or "turnaround" 16 Chicago Public Schools. This is a really important time...

*from the December 3rd King HS Teach-In (400 teachers, parents, students, community members, union members)

*to the December 13 candlelight vigil (several hundred) and sleepover on the cold wet sidewalk before the December Board meeting,

*to the now-famous Mic Check takeover of the Dec 14 Board Meeting,

*to KOCO's 4-day sit-in at the Mayor's City Hall Office, where, on Day #2, the Mayor ordered "no chairs," forcing seniors to sit on the floor!

*to the exposé of the "rent-a-protestors,"

*to the rally against Noble St. Charter's draconian discipline policies and outrageously punitive fee schedule,

*to all the resistance at the school closing "hearings" and parent meetings around the city--

This year is not like others. People are pushed to the brink and are willing to do more to fight for the neighborhood schools--and their neighborhoods. Enough!

These are our children! NOT corporate product!

ACTIONS CALENDAR:

Thurs, Feb 16 6PM - 8PM
RALLY to SUPPORT
IL House Bill 4487: Moratorium on School Closings, Turnarounds and Phase-Outs
Pleasant Gift Baptist Church
4526 S. Greenwood
(3 blocks east of Cottage Grove Ave.)

Mon, Feb 20, 4PM
Rally to Support Schools
Lakeview High School
4015 N. Ashland

Wed, Feb 22, 6AM - 8AM
Rally before Board of Ed Mtg
CPS Headquarters
125 S. Clark St.

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On Dec 14th, parents, teachers, community members, and the CTU Community Board (Coalition of the CTU and community groups, including TSJ), w/ support from Occupy Chicago, shut down the Board of Education meeting. A big shout out to TSJ members who attended the vigil in front the Board on Dec. 13, slept out on the sidewalk in front of CPS Headquarters in the rain, brought the campers food and coffee, showed up before 6 Am with more coffee and spirit, and attended the Board meeting.



At the meeting itself, the people did a mic-check on the Board and shut down the meeting. Then, we held our own public participation session. This is a new day. People had enough, finally.

Quoting from a message from the CTU:

"Congratulations to each of you for your work which culminated in today's historic walk-out of the Board of Ed members and CPS officials. They cannot ignore us any longer. Because of our unified efforts we have successfully amplified the voices of justice-parents, teachers, students, and community leaders who love and support our children and are fighting for the world class education they deserve.

Because of you, more than 300 people turned out Tuesday night for the candlelight vigil in front of the Board. Kudos to the brave souls who battled inclement weather and sat-in overnight at the Board. The City has not seen this level of protest in many years. This is the spark of a pure, social justice movement in this town. We must sustain it and continue our organizing and public education efforts until we break down the walls of education apartheid."

There is a long road ahead. Check out the TSJ website and the CTU website for school rallies, meetings, upcoming events, and what you can do.

Here is a link to the people's "mic check speech."

Check out good print media, and there is much TV footage on the web:

http://www.wbez.org/story/protesters-disrupt-chicago-board-education-meeting-94896#

http://www.suntimes.com/news/9440216-418/protesters-take-over-chicago-school-board-meeting.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-crowds-gather-to-protest-cps-school-closures-and-turnaround-projects-20111214,0,10496.story

Shut Down at Board Meeting Dec. 14 (Labor Beat)

Dec. 13 Save our Schools Rally (CTU)



Mic check shuts down School Bd. Mtg Dec. 14

Stop the Hit list! Teach in at King HS, Dec. 3

We Do NOT need schools turnaround in West Humbold park Read the Full Story

"Congratulations to each of you for your work which culminated in today's historic walk-out of the Board of Ed members and CPS officials. They cannot ignore us any longer. Because of our unified efforts we have successfully amplified the voices of justice-parents, teachers, students, and community leaders who love and support our children and are fighting for the world class education they deserve.

Because of you, more than 300 people turned out Tuesday night for the candlelight vigil in front of the Board. Kudos to the brave souls who battled inclement weather and sat-in overnight at the Board. The City has not seen this level of protest in many years. This is the spark of a pure, social justice movement in this town. We must sustain it and continue our organizing and public education efforts until we break down the walls of education apartheid."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/9440216-418/protesters-take-over-chicago-school-board-meeting.html http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-crowds-gather-to-protest-cps-school-closures-and-turnaround-projects-20111214,0,10496.story Read the Full Story

On Dec. 3, at King HS on Chicago's South Side, 500 teachers, parents, students, security guards, classroom aids, community members, organizers, and more came together at the CTU Community Board's "Teach-In Against School Closings." Chicago Public Schools are proposing to close/phase-out/consolidate/turnaround 19 schools this year. Over the next 10 weeks, the struggle will accelerate-the struggle of people in neighborhood schools for real resources and support, as an alternative to "school actions" (charters, turnarounds, private control of public schools paid w/ public dollars)!

The solidarity and unity across the city was evident-there were people from 125 schools in CPS!! And 25 unions and community organizations! This is NOT business as usual, as we could feel by the astoundingly high level of militancy, determination, and political consciousness that these are policies of the 1% against the rest of us. The "arrogant racism" (as Jitu Brown of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization termed it) of a school system that doesn't believe that Black and Brown parents and teachers know how to educate their own children is disgraceful and more. (For further reports on the Teach-In, see http://substancenews.net/)

Here are two maps which locate the school closings (old and proposed) in relation to race, foreclosures, and public housing. The CTU Research Dept developed the maps, and they speak for themselves. Click on the images to see the fullsized maps.


The NEXT step in this fight is the Board of Education Meeting on December 14, 125 S. Clark St (CPS HQs). The night before, Tuesday, Dec. 13, there will be a candlelight vigil starting at 6 PM at 125 S. Clark.

We will then assemble at Dec. 14, at 6 AM Wednesday morning, because that is the only way to get to speak at the Board meeting. You get on line at 6, get signed in to speak starting at 8, wait till 10:30 for the Board meeting to start, and until about 11:15 for the "public testimony" period to begin, where you have 2 minutes to speak, no two people can speak on the same topic, and you can no longer even stand up to support the speakers. And don't forget that you have to miss your 9 to 5 to be there, IF you're lucky enough to still have one. This is democracy? Public input? It's a sham and a shame.

IF YOU CAN ATTEND THE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL, PLEASE EMAIL: teachersforjustice@hotmail.com

See you December 13 and 14th!
Teachers for Social Justice

Links:
CTU's Resource Page on School Closings
Substance News article on CTU Community Board's Teach-In



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Tuesday, Sept. 21
4pm @ Daley Plaza


Washington & Dearborn Streets
(across from Chicago City Hall)


WHY PROTEST?
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