19th Ward Parents fighting for democracy & better public schools
by leoniehaimson
Parents Across America is proud to have a new affiliate in Chicago; 19th Ward Parents. Their website is www.19thwardparents.com and their email is 19thwardparents@gmail.com. Becky Malone wrote the below post, about their fight to preserve and improve Chicago’s public education system – for all students, and their campaign for an elected school board.
19th Ward Parents is a grassroots organization of Chicago public school parents. We stand together with parents, teachers and community groups across Chicago in support of quality public education for all.
Our organization initially came together in early 2011 in opposition to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to extend our public school day to make it the longest in the nation — 7.5 hours — with no additional funding. We investigated the research behind the plan, found it seriously wanting, and organized petition signings, community forums and rallys; we wrote relentlessly to media and spoke at every school board meeting for 5 months straight. [An excellent fact sheet they helped produce is here.]
Mayor Emanuel finally announced that he would reduce his extended school day plan by
