RYH Newsletter 7.16.20
Today we released the results of our CPS parent survey conducted in May. In our report, Parent Perspectives on CPS Remote Learning and Back to School, we share parent reactions to the spring 2020 remote learning experience and parent recommendations for the CPS back to school plan. You can read the full report here.
Parents are a vital part of public education and played a key role during the emergency use of remote learning beginning in March 2020. Parents understand that there is no playbook for public education during a pandemic. Parents’ remote learning experience varied widely between and within schools. Parent recommendations and voice should be integral to making decisions for the CPS back to school plan, and parents shared many ideas that must be considered and implemented by CPS decision makers. We have shared this report with reporters and we will share it with the CPS Board of Ed and CPS leadership. Please share the report with fellow parents, educators, and school administration. For those of you who took the survey and/or shared it- thank you.
Chalkbeat Chicago: Chicago parent group calls for "extreme caution" in reopening schools
What will schooling look like in IL this fall?
We still don’t know but here’s some recent press:
Chalkbeat Chicago is tracking back to school plans for IL school districts here. Last week, more than 40 organizations released a report about the need for social emotional supports for students this fall. Earlier this week, RYH was interviewed about what parents think about the whole situation for this segment on WGN TV.
In Chicago, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is calling for remote learning to start the school year and they released a report with safety protocols necessary before returning to in-person schooling. CPS is expected to make a back to school announcement tomorrow, Friday, July 18. We'll see...
#PoliceFreeSchools update
The youth leading this movement have a new call to action here.
There have been several LSC meetings in the past few days where SROs were on the agenda. Some discussions were followed by a SRO vote while others resulted in a delay of the vote with a promise to continue to gather input from the community. Kudos and thank you to everyone who has been researching (not an easy task!) & posting upcoming virtual LSC meetings as well as live tweeting some of the action as attendees. Block Club Chicago and Chalkbeat Chicago have posted LSC meetings this week and have coverage of several LSC meetings here and here and here. It’s hard to keep track but there are many on the case including individual parents and many, many students.
CPS released their LSC SRO Toolkit yesterday: English | Spanish. You can watch the webinar here. (All of these links are at this CPS OLSCR webpage.) LSCs are supposed to work through this in their decision making on SROs. Several people suggest that more research needs to be contained in this Toolkit. Check out this research summary as a blog with links to learn even more. And the youth have their research here.
Sun-Times: Is there a school-to-prison pipeline? CPS gives conflicting reports to local school councils
WBEZ: 1/5 Of Schools Lack Enough Local School Council Members To Vote On Keeping Police
Sun-Times: Decision on whether to keep school cops highlights uneven role of CPS local school councils
Chicago Unheard: Police Presence Does Not Reduce Community Violence--But Sex Ed Does!
RYH Special Education Zoom - Tuesday!
The next RYH SpEd Community Zoom call is on Tuesday, July 21, Noon - 1:30PM. You may register in advance for this meeting here. We hope you can join us!
Two RYH webpages for parents
CPS Summer Meals: We've created a webpage here where we tried to put all the info in one place. We also provide links for further food assistance.
Summer 2020: COVID-19 Resources: We created this webpage to provide links to the most recent back to school guidance from the IL State Board of Education (ISBE), CPS and the US Department of Education.
Please send an email to jennie@ilraiseyourhand.org with suggestions or edits for either of the above webpages- thank you.
RYH has a third summer intern!
Please welcome Madison Hahamy! We are really excited to work with her!
My name is Maddie, and I'm a rising sophomore at Yale University, particularly interested in journalism and storytelling in general, especially in how writing can be used to affect societal change. I currently write and edit for a number of publications on campus, sing in my university’s Jewish a capella group, am involved in leadership and other groups at my school’s Hillel, and also do work with the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project. I'm super excited to be working with Raise Your Hand for the next month!
Upcoming events
➡️ Monthly meeting of the CPS Board of Ed | Wed, June 22 | 10:30am | Virtual
Online sign up to speak starts Monday, June 20, 10:30am. The agenda will post at 10am. Sign up + meeting details here. You can try to register via the phone (312) 989-7313.
Unfortunately, CPS is only allowing 15 speaking spots. Before COVID-19, 60 speaking spots were the norm. You can submit comments to the BOE via email at boe@cps.edu or via US Mail at 1 N. Dearborn, Suite 950, Chicago IL 60602. The meeting will be live streamed on the CPS YouTube channel. Bonus! There is a hearing at 9:30AM and there are speaking spots.
IN ADDITION: You can comment on the CPS Board of Ed’s proposed policies or rule changes.
➡️ Right to Recovery (R2R) Policing Town Hall | Tues, July 21, 6PM | Register
Since March RYH has participated in Right to Recovery; a coalition of grassroots organizations, progressive elected officials, and communities in Chicago to demand our Mayor and our Governor make the humane choice to put our people over profit in response to the historic Novel Coronavirus outbreak. In that time RYH has contributed to multiple state and city-wide actions to get policy passed around our right to relief for housing, education, wellness, and racial equity. While the pandemic pushes on and claims lives, our system never stopped the day to day atrocities routine to a violent nation. After the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department, our coalition moved to adopt the Black Abolitionist Network’s list of demands. Please join R2R to have an in depth political and strategic discussion around how we can all be included in the fight to defund the police in Chicago.