RYH Family, 

Tomorrow will mark my first full year at Raise Your Hand. When I stop to catch my breath, still my mind, and reflect on this past year, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Every day I get to serve, co-design a future that works for all families, and paint it into existence. I get to be part of the beautiful moments when parents realize their own agency, witness our collective power, and organize to create change. As we close out this academic year, I promise to continue working hard to earn the gift that is this job. 

We hope that you & your family are well. We are hoping for sun this upcoming long holiday weekend! ☀️ A few things we want to highlight at the top of our weekly newsletter:

Food Assistance

• We enjoyed this informative article from Hyde Park Herald about how a CPS Meal Site works as explained by a CPS lunchroom manager. Worth a read: Hundreds of meals distributed every day at Ray School: 'We don't ask questions. We'll just give you whatever you ask for'
• RYH webpage: CPS Grab & Go Meal Sites: Basics + Sites + Delivery Form
• Expanded SNAP benefits (Pandemic EBT or P-EBT) applications available here. Families can participate in both P-EBT & any meal distribution program currently available at their school. Flyers in English & Spanish.

Chicago COVID Resource Finder | Text "covid" to 312-436-2280 to access via phone.

We hope you and your family are well. We’ll start with some RYH QUICK LINKS:

• RYH webpage: RYH Remote Learning SpEd Resources from CPS Parents, Teachers & Clinicians
• RYH one pager compiled from several Zoom calls with SpEd community: What SpEd Parents Want to See from CPS re Remote Learning 
• RYH webpage: CPS Grab & Go Meal Sites: Changes for Spring Break & beyond 
• RYH one pager: RYH CPS Remote Learning Guidance (Synopsis) 
• RYH one pager: Various Supportive Resources (pdf) 
• RYH webpage: RYH COVID-19 Resources
• A Letter from RYH's Executive Director: Hope is a Discipline | Community Building and Resources during COVID-19

Here are all the ways to stay in touch with us. Stay well, friends.

~RYH Board & Staff

We hope you and your family are well. Yes, this newsletter has a lot of content, including many articles. If you read and scroll you'll find many things of value. You can find the RYH COVID-19 resource page here- we try to update this daily. You can read more about what we are doing during this time here. Thanks for reading. Here are the ways to stay in touch with us. Stay well, friends.

~ RYH Staff & Board

Yeah, newsletter is long again, folks, but well worth it… Since last week’s RYH newsletter (sent Friday morning), COVID-19 or coronavirus has taken over the news. Note: this newsletter was completed at 11PM 3/11 and scheduled to send at 6AM 3/12. Below are some links to find updates, information on the virus, and the latest news on COVID-19 in our schools. 

UPDATE: On March 5, around 1:45PM, CPS announced that they are extending the LSC nomination deadline to Friday, March 13, 3PM. Everything you need to to apply for your school's LSC can be found at this CPS LSC Elections webpage.

LSC nominations are officially closed! We have created a LSC webpage where folks can learn about LSC 101, LSC Campaign Basics, LSC Voting and Effective LSC Practices. Please take our LSC survey, which will help us continue to grow our resources and LSC support!

The CPS LSC Elections webpage has a timeline of what to expect between now and LSC elections which are Wed, April 22 (elementary schools) & Th, April 23 (high schools).

The Sun-Times reported this weekend that the CPS Inspector General (IG), Nicholas Schuler, was “under investigation” due to “accusations he allegedly berated employees.” On Monday, he abruptly quit. On Tuesday, Mayor Lightfoot said she accepted the IG’s resignation because “we need to go in a different direction.” Yesterday, there were new stories with Schuler responding to the situation. This is definitely a story to watch. 

WTTW: Outgoing CPS Watchdog Admits Some Complaints Against Him Were ‘Justified’

Sun-Times: CPS watchdog admits he drove employees ‘excessively hard,’ urges mayor to appoint another ‘outspoken IG’

New! Whole Child Committee meets Monday. SQRP is the focus.

The first meeting of the CPS Board Of Ed Whole Child Committee will be held on Mon, Jan 27, 5:30-7:30pm, at Englewood STEM HS. You can register or sign up to receive updates here. Here is the letter that came from board member Rome: English; Spanish. And from an email:

The focus on our first meeting will be on SQRP [School Quality Rating Policy] as the CPS seeks to engage community members to create a policy that is more responsive to stakeholders.

Recommended SQRP reading before attending the Whole Child Committee meeting:

Chalkbeat Chicago June 26, 2019: Chicago school board approves new school ratings scale despite complaints and confusion and July 9, 2019 Chicago is changing its elementary school ratings. Here’s why educators are watching closely.

CPS SQRP web page | RYH resources from What Makes a School Great? Feb 12, 2018, including South Side Weekly coverage: Beyond the Levels

Mayor Lightfoot and CPS announced yesterday that they will “...begin a community process to identify potential opportunities to further strengthen school funding.” They created a School Funding Working Group and will be convening public meetings in January and February 2020 so you can offer your thoughts and ideas on the way CPS funds its schools. Check out these articles from Chalkbeat Chicago to learn more:

Announcement, Working Group members, and public meeting schedule: Here’s who will be leading Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s charge to reexamine Chicago school budgeting

Background piece on the issue: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised to spend more money on students in need. Could change be imminent? 

And definitely related to Student Based Budgeting… class size: As Chicago’s class size crackdown begins, schools that are ‘overenrolled by choice’ could face admissions changes