On Wednesday, November 28, 2018, City Council's Committee on Education and Child Development finally had a hearing "to address issue of sexual abuse and safety of children in Chicago Public Schools." 

On Friday, November 9, the IL State Board of Ed (ISBE) finally released a letter to CPS parents and staff regarding the ISBE investigation into CPS special education practices and policies. Many schools still haven't shared the ISBE letter, and it is not that parent friendly.

RYH volunteer, Terri Smith, wrote a great fact sheet explaining why the ISBE Inquiry happened and containing many relevant links. It is an improved version of the CPS letter that went out so that parents can actually understand what happened.

Below is the prepared statement of Joy Clendenning, CPS Parent, LSC Member, and RYH Managing Director. You can watch video of her statement here.

You can watch a video here of Laurel Henson, a CPS mom working with RYH to bring attention to the widespread nursing issues within CPS. 

All LSC members and those interested in the power of LSCs are welcome!

YOU CAME THROUGH- via 50 (YES, FIFTY!) online donors we raised an additional $3300+, exceeding our fundraiser goal AND earning that $10,000 donation to pay our rent for a year!!! 

The CPS unelected Board of Ed met on Wednesday, September 26, 2018. Raise Your Hand was there, speaking and live tweeting. You can read prepared statements below. 

You can find a playlist of 3 videos from the meeting here: Mary Hughes on special education issues, Wendy Katten on nursing issues, and Liz Keenan's (ODLSS Chief) response to the statements. 

RYH live tweet thread links: Four new charter schools looking to open in 2019-20, 45 minute data presentation- CPS slides, Alderman Dowell, King, Daley Thompson and Solis speak in support of the new boundaries for the new South Loop HS, and public comment thread.

Why support RYH at our annual fundraiser on Tuesday, Oct 2, 5:30-8:30pm? A note from a CPS parent & member of our fundraiser committee:

Hello fellow public education supporter,

I have a photo from six years ago almost to the day: it's my family holding picket signs in the playground behind Ray School from when teachers went on strike over a longer school day and labor conditions. It reminds me of the school closing hearings, state budget fights, and assorted other CPS zaniness over the years. I believe Raise Your Hand keeps the people inside the Board of Ed building from going totally off the rails, which is one reason we helped plan a fundraiser to honor special education parents’ epic fight this past year and raise funds to support continued organizing on this issue and so many other issues on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

There are many, many reasons to join us at our annual fundraiser, Raise a Glass for RYH Here are the Top 5 Reasons: