How you can help Chicago teachers from anywhere : blue cheddar

How you can help Chicago teachers from anywhere : blue cheddar:

How you can help Chicago teachers from anywhere

September 10, 2012

By bluecheddar

Teachers in the 3rd largest school district in the United States are on strike today.

What can you do to support Chicago teachers:
* Learn about the issues in play.

Read STRIKE! CPS fails to respond to educational proposals of Chicago Teachers Union, while Mayor Rahm Emanuel continues insults forcing first Chicago schools strike in 25 years from Substance News of Chicago

If you’re in a rush, at least read this tidbit found in “STRIKE!“.:
“We are demanding a reasonable timetable for the installation of air-conditioning in student classrooms–a sweltering, 98-degree classroom is not a productive learning environment for children. This type of environment is unacceptable for our members and all school personnel. A lack of climate control is unacceptable to our parents.”

Considering that Chicago and the Midwest suffered a weeks long deadly heatwave this summer, I’m surprised that air conditioning needs to be quibbled over.

Read Chicago teachers on strike by Laura Clawson at Daily Kos

Read Why are Chicago teachers on strike? – Washington Post

Visit the Chicago Teachers Union web site

Read what I wrote following a talk by a rank and file CTU member: In Madison standing at the brink of the CTU strike

If you have time, read The Schools Chicago Students Deserve. Not all of what the CTU want for students can be negotiated into a contract. But this document establishes what they’re aiming for. The bullet points:
*class size matters,
*teachers must educate the whole child,
*children need “wrap-around services” (like counseling),
and
*students of color need equitable delivery of services.

The document also calls for
*early education without excessive testing,
*teacher compensation befitting training and experience,
*equitable service delivery to bilingual and special education students,
*sound school buildings,
*invitations for parents to participate, and
*a guarantee of funding for essential services.

* Donate:

Buy a teacher lunch by donating to Primo’s Pizza, a locally owned and teacher-friendly restaurant near the strike HQ delivering pizza, pasta and salads. Call Gus or Daisy at Primo’s Pizza at (312) 243-1052 . Primo’s is at 816 W Van Buren Street, Chicago. Open 11 am to 9 pm Monday through Friday.

Greatness By Design Report - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

Greatness By Design Report - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Unveils Greatness by Design,
Task Force's Comprehensive Report on Supporting Outstanding Teaching

SACRAMENTO—In a new report, a group of California's leading education experts formed by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson called for sweeping improvements to the way teachers are recruited, trained, brought into the profession, mentored, and evaluated.

"This is the most comprehensive look our state has taken at California's most important profession—teaching—in a generation," said Torlakson, who created the 48-member Task Force on Educator Excellence in January in partnership with theCommission on Teacher Credentialing  (CTC). "We are blessed to have many outstanding educators already in our classrooms. And every child deserves a great teacher, one who cares for children today and helps prepare them to contribute to the society and economy of the 21st century.

"Today's report—grounded in research, best practices from our state and around the world, and the realities of California's classrooms—charts a path to reach that goal."

Torlakson formed the Task Force to address fundamental questions about the education profession: how to recruit the best people into the profession, how to develop their skills before they begin work and throughout their careers, and how to provide useful feedback, including using measurements of learning to improve teaching.

"The Task Force has given us a clear, coherent vision for the development of high-quality educators—a vision with real potential to improve teaching and learning for all of California's students," said Mary Vixie Sandy, Executive Director of the CTC. "Working together, we can shape the preparation and development of teachers and leaders so that they can inspire and support our young people to reach their highest potential."

The Task Force was co-chaired by two widely recognized education leaders: Stanford University's Linda Darling-Hammond, Ph.D.  and Superintendent Chris Steinhauser  of the Long Beach Unified School District, the third largest district in California. The group included parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, and business and community leaders, as well as leading academics. Torlakson said he would assign the California Department of Education's (CDE) Chief Deputy Superintendent Richard Zeiger, and Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and Learning Support Lupita Cortez Alcalá to work with education leaders across the state to implement the report's recommendations.

The 90-page report, Greatness by Design: Supporting Outstanding Teaching to Sustain a Golden State (PDF; 4MB), addresses the recruitment of new teachers, including the need to develop a diverse, high-quality workforce of teachers and principals. It also examines quality induction programs that can help teachers improve early in their careers—often the key to keeping promising new teachers in the classroom.

The group's report also looks closely at the kind of ongoing training and support teachers need throughout their careers, including linking professional learning expectations to the certification renewal process.                                  

The report thoroughly examines how to provide a career development framework that fosters growth and leadership opportunities for teachers throughout their careers. It also takes a close look at how to improve the evaluation process, including how to collaborate with teachers and incorporate valid measures of student learning.

"The most successful evaluation systems are those that rely upon research-based best practices to help teachers and administrators improve their craft," said Steinhauser, a 30-year veteran educator known for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps in a challenging school district. "Collaboration is key to developing these systems, with all parties focused on the ultimate goal of improving student achievement."

"Around the world, there is growing recognition that expert teachers and school leaders are the most important school resources for improving student learning, and that the highest-achieving nations invest intensely in teaching quality," said Darling-Hammond, who also serves as vice-chair of the CTC. "California cannot—and should not—do any less. This report describes how we can work strategically to build a world-class educator workforce in all of California's communities."

The report opens with a message from Torlakson, himself a teacher, who notes that budget cuts, difficult working conditions, and other factors have made teaching "a profession under siege."

"The good news is that California is home to some of the very best ideas and research on how to train new teachers and principals, support them from their first days in the classroom to their last, and give them the kind of feedback they need to be even better," Torlakson said. "The challenge, and therefore the opportunity, is to revive and expand these isolated and sometimes neglected experiments and weave them together with new, research-based ideas into a system that forms a coherent whole that produces exceptional results."

The report's findings and recommendations are summarized in the full report available online at the CDE Educator Excellence Task Force Web page.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Chicago Teachers Strike: Union, Emanuel Disagree On Bottom Line

Chicago Teachers Strike: Union, Emanuel Disagree On Bottom Line:

Chicago Teachers Strike: Union, Emanuel Disagree On Bottom Line

by Joy Resmovits

On Monday, Chicago's public school students won't have any classes to go to.

After weeks of negotiations, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's team and the Chicago Teacher's Union failed to agree on a contract. On Sunday night, CTU officially announced it was going to strike for the first time in a quarter century. So on Monday, instead of teaching, the union's 26,000 educators will protest.

"In the morning, no CTU members will be inside our schools," CTU President Karen Lewis said Sunday at a late-night press conference outdoors, surrounded by throngs of reporters and teachers. She appeared in a bright red jacket with crimson lipstick, the intensity of her wardrobe illustrating the defiance in her words. "We will walk the picket lines, we will talk to parents, we ... will demand a fair contract today, we demand a fair contract now," she said, calling the ordeal an "education justice fight."

But when it comes to exactly what the strike it about, the stories of the city and the union vary dramatically. Shortly after Lewis finished saying that the union was striking over contract negotiations, teacher evaluations, 

Standing up to Rahm - Salon.com

Standing up to Rahm - Salon.com:

Standing up to Rahm

Bullied by their city's Democratic mayor, teachers in Chicago are making a bold stand against misguided "reform"

BY SALLY KOHN

 
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• more
 

TOPICS: CHICAGO, EDUCATION, RAHM EMANUEL, TEACHERS, TEACHERS UNIONS

(Credit: AP/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

When I was a kid, teachers were like gods. In eighth grade, my school had a day where students got to take over and make lesson plans, teach a class or two, try and get our fellow students to pay attention. After being selected to teach English, I still remember the thrill of going in the teacher’s lounge for lunch — a place that usually only the most special people got to go.

Those special people called teachers didn’t get paid very well, particularly when you factored in the long hours grading papers and prepping, but they got our gratitude. And that, plus a decent pension, was enough.

When I was a kid, having a good teacher was the key ingredient to getting a good education, just as it is now. And when I was a kid my teachers were unionized, just as they are now. But now the same 

"NYSUT sends message of support to Chicago teachers." September 10, 2012. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org

"NYSUT sends message of support to Chicago teachers." September 10, 2012. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org:

NYSUT sends message of support to Chicago teachers

NYSUT Media Relations - September 10, 2012 

 

ALBANY, N.Y. September 10, 2012 - The 600,000-member New York State United Teachers pledged its full support to the 30,000 teachers and staff in Chicago who today went on strike. Outstanding issues leading to the strike include fairness and respect for teachers and staff serving the Chicago Public Schools; a demand for badly needed resources for Chicago students, and better working conditions and benefits for teachers and staff.

NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said in a statement:

"NYSUT's officers, board of directors and its 600,000 members stand with the Chicago Teachers Union as it fights for what's best for that city's children. Their fight is our fight. Their struggle is our struggle.

NYSUT stands united with the CTU as it fights for a just and fair outcome that meets the needs of Chicago's teachers and staff as well as the students and communities they serve. We are monitoring the situation closely and prepared to do whatever necessary to support our sisters and brothers in the CTU."

NYSUT, the state's largest union, represents some 600,000 classroom teachers and other school employees; faculty and other professionals at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York, and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.

Why Chicago teachers are on strike and what could come next | GothamSchools

Why Chicago teachers are on strike and what could come next | GothamSchools:

Why Chicago teachers are on strike and what could come next

by Philissa Cramer

Striking Chicago teachers picket today outside Ray Elementary School, where U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent his children when he was Chicago's schools chief. (Photo: Raiselle Resnick for GothamSchools)

Chicago’s long-threatened teacher strike, which began today, isn’t just about Chicago teachers. It’s also something of a referendum on the current moment in education policy.
Of the many reasons for the strike, three stand out. We explain each one below — and then explain how the strike could evolve from here. In a second post, we’ll explain why the Windy City’s labor conflict matters here in the Big Apple.
1. A new mayor. Chicago teachers have been distressed for several years as budget cuts caused school closures and hundreds of layoffs. Tensions between the Chicago Teachers Union and the city mounted last year when former Obama chief of staff Emanuel was elected mayor, bringing with him an aggressive approach to cost-cutting, the support of national education reform advocacy groups, and a superintendent who cut his teeth under Joel Klein in New York City. Jean-Claude Brizard quickly earned criticism as “anti-teacher” based on his record 

CTU striking for better schools Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CTU striking for better schools:

CTU striking for better schools

by admin

It seems very odd to be in Phoenix getting my mom settled back into her home after a summer with us, rather than being in Chicago where all the action is.
But the whole world IS watching, and it’s not because the whole world really cares that much about a local city labor dispute. It’s because this is a fight about the very nature of public education and the needs of middle class families.
Read this letter by Teacher X’s (the amazing Xian Barrett) to JC Brizard for a powerful take on what’s at stake. Here’s a taste.

• When you make me cram 30-50 kids in my classroom with no air conditioning so that temperatures hit 96 

LET THE CHICAGO STRIKE BE A START OF THE TEACHERS’ REVOLUTION « Teachers Fight Back

LET THE CHICAGO STRIKE BE A START OF THE TEACHERS’ REVOLUTION « Teachers Fight Back:

LET THE CHICAGO STRIKE BE A START OF THE TEACHERS’ REVOLUTION

by alkleen

FINALLY !  We finally see a group of teachers demanding some respect. Let the Chicago teachers lead the way to a new era of respect for teachers. I’m referring to self-respect. Let’s go all you other teachers. Let this bold strike for respect inspire a whole nation of teachers to demand an end to this teacher bashing, union busting, teacher scapegoating era.
You teachers need to have enough respect for yourself and your profession to fight back at the forces that are using you as scapegoats for every perceived wrong in our society. You need to demand an end to this ridiculous notion that a school and its children can be treated like a business. Demand an end to using test scores as a major evaluation of teachers. You veteran teachers understand the injustice of such a system. Demand an end to the notion of merit pay which demeans and belittles your net worth as a teacher. Refuse to give back hard-

Striking Teachers, Parents Join Forces to Oppose "Corporate" Education Model in Chicago:

Striking Teachers, Parents Join Forces to Oppose "Corporate" Education Model in Chicago

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TRANSCRIPT |

To discuss the Chicago teachers’ strike, we’re joined by two guests: Phil Cantor, a teacher and strike captain at Chicago’s North-Grand High School and member of Teachers for Social Justice, and Rhoda Rae Gutierrez, the mother of two public school students in Chicago and a member of the grassroots group Parents 4 Teachers. [includes rush transcript]

Missouri Education Watchdog: Questions on Common Core? Smarter Balanced to Convene Member States and Education Experts in St. Louis. The Public is Invited to a Two-Hour Discussion Period.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Questions on Common Core? Smarter Balanced to Convene Member States and Education Experts in St. Louis. The Public is Invited to a Two-Hour Discussion Period.:

Questions on Common Core? Smarter Balanced to Convene Member States and Education Experts in St. Louis. The Public is Invited to a Two-Hour Discussion Period.

by stlgretchen

Do you have questions for the SBAC Consortium?  Here's your chance to ask them.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is meeting in St. Louis and will have a 2  hour public discussion open to the public.  Representatives from MEW are planning to attend and gather  

Teacher X: Why I'm striking, JCB

Teacher X: Why I'm striking, JCB:

Why I'm striking, JCB

CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard is on record saying both that CTU leadership is deciding whether or not to strike, and that “everyone knows that a strike would only hurt our kids.”

I just wanted to educate my boss a little on the history of Chicago, as he is relatively new to the area. Chicago is founded on the hard daily struggle of working people. It is the birth of the labor movement—not a movement just for wages and benefits, but a movement that stopped child labor so that each of the kids in CPS schools could attend school instead of working. It was a movement that stopped the practice of working conditions so unsafe that consumers were eating the actual workers who fell into the mix while they were making hot dogs. It was a movement that fought so that workers could have 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, September 10, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

California Supports TEACHERS!

Education Headlines

Monday, September 10, 2012

Galt school districts team for request of federal funds

The school districts in Galt have joined up to apply for $10 to $20 million in federal money commonly known as Race to the Top funds, but only 20 to 25 applications will be selected nationwide.

O.C. schools see $1.3 billion construction boom

Eleven of the county's 27 school districts are currently renovating aging campuses and adding other features like new gymnasiums, performing-arts complexes, playgrounds, and other improvements. Since 2008, voters have approved about $1.3 billion for school construction. In the past four years, only one bond measure has failed at the ballot, a $54 million proposal in Brea-Olinda Unified.

Paperwork lacking on administrator pay hikes

The San Diego Unified School District was unable to document or justify pay raises awarded to 29 managers before their retirement, a situation that led the State Controller’s Office last week to determine the district is at high risk of pension spiking.

LAUSD board member Steve Zimmer wants to tackle AGT, charter schools oversight

School board member Steve Zimmer is taking aim at two of the most contentious issues facing Los Angeles Unified, with separate proposals to exclude high-stakes test scores from teacher evaluations and to strengthen the oversight of charter schools.

Teachers union wants a say in L.A. Unified's classroom breakfast program

A new program aims to make sure hunger doesn't impede students' learning. But as the district begins expanding the classroom breakfast program to 279 schools this year, United Teachers Los Angeles has asked for the matter to be brought to the bargaining table.

Charter schools call proposed L.A. moratorium illegal

Charter school advocates are mounting a campaign against a proposed moratorium on new charters in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The moratorium is one provision of a resolution, by school board member Steve Zimmer, that is scheduled for discussion on Tuesday.

Baron: Study finds little uniformity in CA school discipline

There’s little consistency in the way California schools deal with expelling and suspending students, according to a new survey of 315 of the state’s largest school districts.

Cohen: Post-AB 5 - Focus on substantial areas of agreement on evaluations

Last month’s legislative drama involving Assembly Bill 5 provided a snapshot of the dysfunctional politics of education policy, with distrust and division inflaming what should be worked out in a calm and straightforward manner.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Fontana Unified School District superintendent survives another challenge

Fontana Unified School District Superintendent Cali Olsen-Binks, who for the second time this summer has been slated for "discipline, dismissal or release" on the Board of Education's meeting agenda, has survived apparently unscathed again.

The Academy Charter High School gets Santa Ana's backing

A new opportunity for foster and at-risk teens to pursue their educations came a step closer to reality when the Santa Ana City Council gave its approval to The Academy Charter High School.

Alvord looks at contingency plans

Alvord Unified School District could shorten this school year up to three weeks if voters reject tax initiatives on the November ballot under one contingency plan presented to the school board Thursday night, Sept. 6.

Chicago Teachers Union | Press Release: CPS Fails To Negotiate Fair Contract To Prevent First Strike In 25 Years

Chicago Teachers Union | Press Release: CPS Fails To Negotiate Fair Contract To Prevent First Strike In 25 Years:

CPS Fails To Negotiate Fair Contract To Prevent First Strike In 25 Years

09/09/2012

More than 29,000 teachers and education professionals will not report to work today 9/10

http://www.ctunet.com/for-members/strike-central

CHICAGO— After hours of intense negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent the first teachers strike in 25 years. Pickets are expected to begin Monday at 675 schools and the Board of Education as early as 6:30 a.m. Teachers, paraprofessionals and school clinicians have been without a labor agreement since June of this year.

Union leaders expressed disappointment in the District’s refusal to concede on issues involving compensation, job security and resources for their students. CTU President Karen Lewis said, “Negotiations have been intense but productive, however we have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike. This is a difficult decision and one we hoped we could avoid. Throughout these negotiations have I remained hopeful but determined. We must do things differently in this city if we are to provide our students with the education they so rightfully deserve.

“Talks have been productive in many areas. We have successfully won concessions for nursing mothers and have put more than 500 of our members back to work. We have restored some of the art, music, world language, technology and physical education classes to many of our students. The Board also agreed that we will now have textbooks on the first day of school rather than have our students and teachers wait up to six weeks before receiving instructional materials.

“Recognizing the Board’s fiscal woes, we are not far apart on compensation. However, we are apart on benefits. We want to maintain the existing health benefits.

“Another concern is evaluation procedures. After the initial phase-in of the new evaluation system it could result in 6,000 teachers (or nearly 30 percent of our members) being discharged within one or two years. This is unacceptable. We are also concerned that too much of the new evaluations will be based on students’ standardized test scores. This is no way to measure the effectiveness of an educator. Further there are too many factors beyond our control which impact how well some students perform on standardized tests such as poverty, exposure to violence, homelessness, hunger and other social issues beyond our control.

“We want job security. Despite a new curriculum and new, stringent evaluation system, CPS proposes no increase (or even decreases) in teacher training. This is notable because our Union through our Quest Center is at the forefront teacher professional development in Illinois. We have been lauded by the District and our colleagues across the country for our extensive teacher training programs that helped emerging teachers strengthen their craft and increased the number of nationally board certified educators.

“We are demanding a reasonable timetable for the installation of air-conditioning in student classrooms--a sweltering, 98-degree classroom is not a productive learning environment for children. This type of environment is unacceptable for our members and all school personnel. A lack of climate control is unacceptable to our parents.

“As we continue to bargain in good faith, we stand in solidarity with parents, clergy and community-based organizations who are advocating for smaller class sizes, a better school day and an elected school board. Class size matters. It matters to parents. In the third largest school district in Illinois there are only 350 social workers—putting their caseloads at nearly 1,000 students each. We join them in their call for more social workers, counselors, audio/visual and hearing technicians and school nurses. Our children are exposed to unprecedented levels of neighborhood violence and other social issues, so the fight for wraparound services is critically important to all of us. Our members will continue to support this ground swell of parent activism and grassroots engagement on these issues. And we hope the Board will not shut these voices out.

“While new Illinois law prohibits us from striking over the recall of laid-off teachers and compensation for a longer school year, we do not intend to sign an agreement until these matters are addressed.

“Again, we are committed to staying at the table until a contract is place. However, in the morning no CTU member will be inside our schools. We will walk the picket lines. We will talk to parents. We will talk to clergy. We will talk to the community. We will talk to anyone who will listen—we demand a fair contract today, we demand a fair contract now. And, until there is one in place that our members accept, we will on the line.

“We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters throughout the state and country who are currently bargaining for their own fair contracts. We stand with those who have already declared they too are prepared to strike, in the best interests of their students.”

“This announcement is made now so our parents and community are empowered with this knowledge and will know that schools will not open on tomorrow. Please seek alternative care for your children. And, we ask all of you to join us in our education justice fight—for a fair contract—and call on the mayor and CEO Brizard to settle this matter now. Thank you.”

###

The union is not on strike over matters governed exclusively by IELRA Section 4.5 and 12(b).

The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information please visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com .

Chicago teachers strike and challenge corporate reform model of education | Seattle Education

Chicago teachers strike and challenge corporate reform model of education | Seattle Education:

Chicago teachers strike and challenge corporate reform model of education

by seattleducation2011

Strike!

For the best coverage on the strike this morning, go to Democracy Now’s coverage of the strike:
Striking Teachers, Parents Join Forces to Oppose “Corporate” Education Model in Chicago
Here are the specific stories on the strike:

More than 29,000 Chicago public school teachers and support staff have gone on strike today after union leaders failed to reach an agreement with the nation’s third-largest school district over educational reforms sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. It is the first teacher strike in Chicago in a quarter of a century. Unresolved issues include the cost of health benefits, the makeup of the teacher evaluation system and job security. Emanuel, who is President Obama’s former chief of staff, wants teacher evaluations tied to the standardized test results of students. We hear the 

Chicago Teachers Union Heads Out on Strike | FDL News Desk

Chicago Teachers Union Heads Out on Strike | FDL News Desk:

Chicago Teachers Union Heads Out on Strike

by David Dayen

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) commenced their first education strike in a generation last ight, with 29,000 teachers and school personnel walking out and taking up picket lines.

“Rahm says cut back, we say fight back,” picketers dressed in red T-shirts chanted this morning outside Chicago Public Schools headquarters.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis announced late Sunday night that weekend talks had failed to resolve all the union’s issues. “We have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike,” she said. “No CTU members will be inside of our schools Monday.”
After an all-day negotiating session Sunday, school board President David Vitale told reporters the