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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Teachers For Social Justice: Stop School Closings: What You Can Do!

Teachers For Social Justice: Stop School Closings: What You Can Do!:


Stop School Closings: What You Can Do!

StudentsMarch001

TSJers: What You Can Do to Organize Against School Closings:

1) Petitions for a moratorium on school closings (attached, Spanish and English). Each sheet has room for 10 names. These are NOT online petitions, but are old-style real signatures (remember those?). Once done, they need to be delivered or faxed to CTU, or scanned and emailed (all contact info on petitions themselves). Then email us and let us know how many actual signatures you collected!! Help get as many signers as we can!

2) Go to Report Card pickup at a school near you that is affected by the closings (133 schools). Elementary schools are Wednesday, 4/17, and High Schools are Thursday, 4/18. Usually, report card pickup is 12:00 to 6:00, but check w/ the school. The best times are 12-1 and from 5-6. 
* Take the petitions (SpanishEnglish), ask people to sign them, and talk to parents. 
* Hand out attached fact sheet, available also at our website

3) Speak at a faith community near you (see flyer; this is an initiative to reach out to faith communities to fight the school closings).

4) Lobby in Springfield for a moratorium on school closings, and for the Elected Representative School Board. A bus is traveling to Springfield each Wednesday. CTU/GEM is working to fill it with parents and people who work at the school action schools, but others are welcome.  Please urge parents and others from closing/turnaround schools to get on the bus.  Next Wed. 4/17 there are a number of empty seats. Contact Carolyn to reserve a space.

5) Use and share the school closing curriculum-available here, created by Cyriac Mathew, Uplift HS.
  
6) Check out the calendar of events, school closing hearings, etc.

7) Attend CTU President Karen Lewis' talk at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, this Wednesday the 17th at 7pm.  

8) Keep reading your TSJ emails to stay abreast and active!