Press Conference - Remarks by Kevin Kumashiro, Isabel Nuñez, David Stovall, Therese Quinn, Erica Meiners and Julie Woestehoff
Compilation of Comments for CReATE Press Conference
3/26/12, 11am, Hull-House Museum
(1) Kevin Kumashiro (Primary Contact Person)
Professor of Asian American Studies and Education
University of Illinois at Chicago
President-Elect, National Association for Multicultural Education
kevink@uic.edu, 773-996-8530
University of Illinois at Chicago
President-Elect, National Association for Multicultural Education
kevink@uic.edu, 773-996-8530
Good morning, and thank you for coming. My name is Kevin Kumashiro. I am a professor of Asian American Studies and the former chair of Educational Policy Studies here at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I am the president-elect of the National Association for Multicultural Education, and I am also a coordinator of a citywide network of educational researchers called CReATE (Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education).
This morning, CReATE delivered to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, and the Chicago School Board an open letter of concern, titled “Misconceptions and Realities about Teacher and Principal Evaluation.” Signed by 88 professors and researchers who specialize in education from 15 different universities throughout the Chicago and surrounding areas, this letter describes our concerns regarding Chicago’s implementation of legislation for the evaluation of teachers and principals, and offers our recommendations for moving forward.
This is not the first time that we have issued a joint statement. Over a year ago, we began to issue statements and reports to contrast CPS’s approaches to school reform with the research on school reform. And our messages have been consistent: that some of Chicago’s school reforms lack a sound research basis, and more significantly, that research has already proven some of these reforms to be detrimental to student learning and success.
These messages similarly frame our open letter about teacher evaluation. The 2010 amendment to the