Big Education Ape: Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/22/15

Special Nite Cap - Catch Up on Today's Post 4/22/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle | Seattle Education

What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle | Seattle Education: What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in SeattleIt has been confirmed that 100% of the 11th grade students at Nathan Hale High School opted out of the SBAC test this week.Here is the history in a nutshell. There were informational

by mike simpson / 14min 

Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets? - Living in Dialogue

Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets? - Living in Dialogue: Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets?By John Thompson.Chris Barbic, the Superintendent of the Tennessee Achievement School District (ASD), is back in the news, and he is displaying remarkable candor in describing his assumptions. Barbic also explains how he re

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

How Ohio’S Poor-Performing Charter Schools Continue To Cost All Ohio Kids

KYC Analysis: Short Changed Again - The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project: KYC Analysis: Short Changed AgainHOW OHIO’S POOR-PERFORMING CHARTER SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO COST ALL OHIO KIDSKey FindingsThere is newfound resolve in the Ohio legislature to finally address Ohio’s nationally ridiculed charter school system. While there are reasons for optimism, the one major area that has yet to be ad

1 by mike simpson / 3h 

The Day the Music Died | Think.

The Day the Music Died | Think.: The Day the Music Died A long, long time agoI can still remember how that music used to make me smileAnd I knew if I had my chanceThat I could make those people danceAnd maybe they’d be happy for a while~American Pie by Don McLeanDr. Yohuru Williams, an education activist and professor of history at Fairfield University, recently composed a powerful essay, entitled

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Susan Sadlowski Garza Makes History as First CTU Member Elected to Chicago City Council

Chicago Teachers Union | Susan Sadlowski Garza Makes History as First CTU Member Elected to Chicago City Council: Susan Sadlowski Garza Makes History as First CTU Member Elected to Chicago City CouncilBY CTU COMMUNICATIONS  |  04/22/2015CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) today congratulates dedicated union member Susan Sadlowski Garza on her victory for alderman of Chicago’s 10th Ward.  Garz

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Will Duncan Send Troops to Crush the Opt-Out Revolt?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Will Duncan Send Troops to Crush the Opt-Out Revolt?: Will Duncan Send Troops to Crush the Opt-Out Revolt?EWA meeting in ChicagoDuncan said he expected states to make sure districts get enough students take the tests. “We think most states will do that,” Duncan said during a discussion at the Education Writers Association conference in Chicago. “If states don’t do th

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Get rid of 'test, blame, punish': Opposing view

Get rid of 'test, blame, punish': Opposing view: Get rid of 'test, blame, punish': Opposing viewEducators across the nation are encouraged by the big steps forward Congress is taking to create a new national education law that could reverse many of the damaging policies of .So it is both disheartening and perplexing that the lynchpin of NCLB's "label and punish" regime — annual testing —

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Rauner eyes end of 'fair share' dues for teachers' unions - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL

Rauner eyes end of 'fair share' dues for teachers' unions - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL: Rauner eyes end of 'fair share' dues for teachers' unionsGov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday said he wants to end fair share dues for teachers’ unions in the state.Speaking to the Citizens Club of Springfield, the governor said he thinks his steps to end union dues for state employees who ar

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Can't Make it to the NPE Conference In Chicago this Weekend? You Can "Virtually" Be There!!!

THE NETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION NATIONAL CONFERENCEI know not everyone can make it to Chicago this weekend -- but you can still be part of the action via the Livestream that will broadcast on as many as three channels. All the keynotes and many of the workshops will be available live, starting Saturday at 8:30 am central time at www.schoolhouselive.org. Please tweet with the hashtag ‪#‎NPEChicago

5 by mike simpson / 5h 

Jeb Bush's shifting words on Common Core | Tampa Bay Times

Jeb Bush's shifting words on Common Core | Tampa Bay Times: Jeb Bush's shifting words on Common Core Jeb Bush says he won’t pander his way to the GOP presidential nomination, but that doesn’t mean he won’t wiggle.For months now Bush has maintained support for Common Core but added language to the effect that he is simply for higher standards, no matter what they are called. Bush has also stepped u

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

LAUSD board approves teacher deal but projects $559M deficit | 89.3 KPCC

LAUSD board approves teacher deal but projects $559M deficit | 89.3 KPCC: LAUSD board approves teacher deal but projects $559M deficit L.A. Unified School Board President Richard Vladovic is joined by United Teachers Los Angeles leaders in a press conference about a new teachers contract. ADOLFO GUZMAN-LOPEZ/KPCC The Los Angeles Unified School District board approved a new three-year teachers' agr

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Worry not innumerati-A whole buch of high income families already opted out before the school year started! | School Finance 101

Worry not innumerati-A whole buch of high income families already opted out before the school year started! | School Finance 101: Worry not innumerati-A whole buch of high income families already opted out before the school year started! Pro-Annual Testing of Everyone pundits are all in a tizzy about Opt-Out. In their view, parents who opt out are severely compromising accountability for our publi

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

As opt-out numbers grow, Arne Duncan says feds may have to step in | Chalkbeat

As opt-out numbers grow, Arne Duncan says feds may have to step in | Chalkbeat: As opt-out numbers grow, Arne Duncan says feds may have to step in U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Tuesday that the federal government is obligated to intervene if states fail to address the rising number of students who are boycotting mandated annual exams.Duncan’s comments come as an “opt out” advocacy grou

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Eight things teachers want you to know about them - The Washington Post

Eight things teachers want you to know about them - The Washington Post: Eight things teachers want you to know about them Lee-Ann Meredith taught second grade in a Chicago public elementary school for 15 years. She is the author of “Angels in My Classroom,” a story of  life in her classroom and how her 7- and 8-year-old students sustained her after her husband’s unexpected death. The following po

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Thousands of Washington state teachers plan one-day walkout - Yahoo News

Thousands of Washington state teachers plan one-day walkout - Yahoo News: Thousands of Washington state teachers plan one-day walkout SEATTLE (Reuters) - Several thousand teachers across Washington state are planning a one-day strike on Wednesday to demand higher pay, better benefits and a reduction in class sizes, the state's largest teachers' union said.Nearly 3,000 teachers in nine school distr

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Education reformer Sir Ken Robinson on personalizing education, standardization as an impediment - CBS News

Education reformer Sir Ken Robinson on personalizing education, standardization as an impediment - CBS News: Transforming education through imagination and creativity Is the culture of standardizing education alienating teachers and students?Without a doubt, according to education reformer Sir Ken Robinson."There's a problem with the standards culture, which is, it sees teachers [as] kind of

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

N.Y. teachers union blasting Cuomo in new multimillion-dollar ad campaign - The Washington Post

N.Y. teachers union blasting Cuomo in new multimillion-dollar ad campaign - The Washington Post: N.Y. teachers union blasting Cuomo in new multimillion-dollar ad campaign The United Federation of Teachers in New York is launching a multimillion-dollar ad campaign  blasting Gov. Andrew Cuomo for education policies that have sparked a protest movement among parents and educators.The union said the c

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Sir Ken Robinson has a lot to say about U.S. school reform (it isn’t good) - The Washington Post

Sir Ken Robinson has a lot to say about U.S. school reform (it isn’t good) - The Washington Post: Sir Ken Robinson has a lot to say about U.S. school reform (it isn’t good)The previous post is an excerpt from a new book by Sir Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica, titled “Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Changing Education.” Changing education is what Robinson has been all about for some

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Marzano group takes issue with TNTP report criticizing Pasco schools | Tampa Bay Times

Marzano group takes issue with TNTP report criticizing Pasco schools | Tampa Bay Times: Marzano group takes issue with TNTP report criticizing Pasco schools The group that supports Pasco County schools' teacher evaluations has issued a harsh rebuttal of TNTP's recent report criticizing the district's evaluation, training and hiring strategies.Researchers for the Marzano Center blasted TNTP's metho

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

As Deal signs school takeover bill, signs from Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson that APS cluster may be target | Get Schooled

As Deal signs school takeover bill, signs from Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson that APS cluster may be target | Get Schooled: As Deal signs school takeover bill, signs from Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson that APS cluster may be targetGov. Nathan Deal should have signed his Opportunity School District legislation at a Morehouse College education forum this morning headlined by former NBA star and

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

The Money Pit: Charter schools event a $9M success | Page Six

Charter schools event a $9M success | Page Six: Charter schools event a $9M successWall Street leaders and political power players gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street to raise over $9 million for New York’s Success Academy Charter Schools.Hedge funders Dan Loeb, John Scully and Joel Greenblatt mingled Monday night with CongressmenKevin McCarthy, Gregory Meeks and Hakeem Jeffries, former city schools

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Nonprofit hopes $25,000 prize lures L.A. schools' District 5 voters - LA Times

Nonprofit hopes $25,000 prize lures L.A. schools' District 5 voters - LA Times: Nonprofit hopes $25,000 prize lures L.A. schools' District 5 votersComment"I just sent Antonio Gonzalez of the Southwest Voter Education Project the following email; Dear Mr. Gonzalez, District 7 also has a high percentage of Chicano voters and a Chicana, Lydia Gutierrez running for school board. Why no prize here

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Will San Francisco cancel TFA?: Alum letter to Board details threats, depression, and debt | Cloaking Inequity

Will San Francisco cancel TFA?: Alum letter to Board details threats, depression, and debt | Cloaking Inequity: Will San Francisco cancel TFA?: Alum letter to Board details threats, depression, and debtTeach For America is facing headwind. Several states have cut back funding and they have reported they are short of their lofty recruiting goals that they set when they received $50 million from Arn

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

NEA - Educators: students need opportunity, not just tests

NEA - Educators: students need opportunity, not just tests: Educators: students need opportunity, not just testsProposal would reduce federally mandated tests to ensure greater educational opportunity for all studentsWASHINGTON - April 21, 2015 -U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) today introduced a bill to bring much-needed reform and relief to students from the federally mandated testing required by

1 by mike simpson / 19h 

CPS: Corrupt Public Servants (Part 1: SUPES and Byrd-Bennett) | Troy LaRaviere‘s blog

CPS: Corrupt Public Servants (Part 1: SUPES and Byrd-Bennett) | Troy LaRaviere‘s blog: CPS: Corrupt Public Servants (Part 1: SUPES and Byrd-Bennett)An InvitationIn July of 2013–along with hundreds of principals across Chicago–I received an email with the subject, “Leadership Launch with Dr. Barbara Byrd-Bennett.”  The email implored principals to join Byrd-Bennett “for the comprehensive launch of

1 by mike simpson / 20h 

Senate ESEA Draft: Review of Approved Amendments, Part II | deutsch29

Senate ESEA Draft: Review of Approved Amendments, Part II | deutsch29: Senate ESEA Draft: Review of Approved Amendments, Part IIOn April 16, 2015, the Senate education committee approved the Alexander-Murray draft of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), a 601-page document entitled, The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015.The draft approval was accompanied

1 by mike simpson / 21h hide  //  save

Big Education Ape: Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/21/15

Special Nite Cap - Catch Up on Today's Post 4/21/15Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMBig Education APEHas A Missing Data Mystry Please Click Here to Go to the SiteLook out Rutgers and Seton Hall–Cami’s “Relay-GSE” is out to eat your lunch | Bob Braun's LedgerLook out Rutgers and Seton Hall–Cami’s “Relay-GSE” is out to eat your lunch | Bob Braun's Ledger: Look out Rutgers and Seton Hall–Cami’s “R

2 by mike simpson / 22h 

Can't Make it to the

NPE Conference In Chicago this Weekend?

You Can "Virtually" Be There!!!

THE NETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION NATIONAL CONFERENCE

I know not everyone can make it to Chicago this weekend -- but you can still be part of the action via the Livestream that will broadcast on as many as three channels. All the keynotes and many of the workshops will be available live, starting Saturday at 8:30 am central time at   www.schoolhouselive.org
 Please tweet with the hashtag ‪#‎NPEChicago‬ and help us trend #1 again like we did twice last year.

LIVE FROM CHICAGO, APRIL 25-26

THE NETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION NATIONAL CONFERENCE

CHECK OUT ALL THREE CHANNELS!

http://www.schoolhouselive.org/

What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle | Seattle Education

What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle | Seattle Education:

What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle

It has been confirmed that 100% of the 11th grade students at Nathan Hale High School opted out of the SBAC test this week.

Here is the history in a nutshell. There were informational meetings about the Common Core Standards and the SBAC early in the school year and Wayne Au, PhD was invited to speak on high stakes testing.

There was much discussion and then a resolution was passed by the teachers at Nathan Hale High School:

As I wrote in a previous post:

Nathan Hale High School in Seattle says “No!” to the Common Core Standards SBAC test

The Common Core Standards associated Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium exam, the SBAC, will be implemented in March in the Seattle school district but this afternoon the Nathan Hale High School Senate, which functions as the Building Leadership Team typically made up of teachers, parents, staff and students, voted nearly unanimously not to administer the SBAC tests to 11th graders this year.

The Senate also recently voted not to administer the PSAT test to 10th graders at all in the future.

The reasons for refusing the SBAC for 11th graders included:

1. The SBAC is not required for graduation

2. Colleges will not use the SBAC this year

3. Since NCLB requires all students to pass the tests by 2014, and since few if any schools What if they gave the SBAC and no one took it? Ask the folks at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle | Seattle Education:

Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets? - Living in Dialogue

Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets? - Living in Dialogue:

Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets?

By John Thompson.

Chris Barbic, the Superintendent of the Tennessee Achievement School District (ASD), is back in the news, and he is displaying remarkable candor in describing his assumptions. Barbic also explains how he remains devoted to his “hypothesis” on school improvement.

Coverage of Barbic’s efforts will inform the post mortem of the Race to the Top and the Obama administration’s “turnaround” experiments such as the School Improvement Grants (SIG).  Even if one of Barbic’s “most challenging seasons” turns out to be less disappointing than his previous years, and he pulls out some sort of miraculous transformation of Memphis schools, it seems clear the RttT and the SIG aren’t going to survive. And, most likely, the high-dollar innovations led by Barbic will become classic case studies in how and why reform overreach is so fatal to school improvement.

Two valuable contributions to the “lessons learned” process that we need to undertake are Daarel Burnette’s Chalkbeat Tennessee interview with Barbic, and a series in Governing magazine by John Buntin. Both journalists provide more evidence that Barbic’s intentions are pure, that last year was extremely contentious for the ASD, and that Barbic now faces even bigger challenges dealing with community protests and with three charter operators – most notably YES charter schools – pulling out of Memphis schools.

In the past, Buntin says, the ASD’s effort to takeover neighborhood schools “had generated impassioned protests from some parents and teachers who faced the prospect of losing their jobs if the ASD or a charter operator took over. But none of the protests were well organized or had much of an effect. This year … a different tone has been set.”

Barbic still defends the setting of a seemingly utopian goal, bringing schools ranked in the bottom 5% into the top quarter of schools. It would be difficult enough to make such a transformation using a comprehensive set of science-based policies. But, as Buntin reports, Barbic is attempting to do so based on his theory that, “It’s the school leader. It’s teacher talent. It’s a common vision.” Free educators from administrative constraints and hold them accountable for outcomes, and this educator-driven, instruction-driven model could supposedly overcome the legacies of extreme poverty. Even more strange, Barbic seeks systemic transformation, not just dramatic improvements in individual schools.

To his credit, Barbic made some startling acknowledgements to Burnette. He now to admits to underestimating “the depth of the generational poverty” and how “what our kids bring into school every day makes it even harder than we initially expected.” He belatedly endorses the more expensive and complex policies that many social scientists and educators have long described as essential to turning around the Can the Tennessee Achievement School District Move Beyond the Silver Bullets? - Living in Dialogue:

HOW OHIO’S POOR-PERFORMING CHARTER SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO COST ALL OHIO KIDS

KYC Analysis: Short Changed Again - The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project:

KYC Analysis: Short Changed Again

HOW OHIO’S POOR-PERFORMING CHARTER SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO COST ALL OHIO KIDS

Key Findings

There is newfound resolve in the Ohio legislature to finally address Ohio’s nationally ridiculed charter school system. While there are reasons for optimism, the one major area that has yet to be addressed is how charters are funded.

Once again, data from the Ohio Department of Education demonstrates the urgent need to address the financial impact of Ohio’s charter schools on local school districts. The data delineates how many children and how much money were transferred from districts to charter schools in the last school year. It shows this:

1. Out of the $774 million that were transferred from districts to charters with state report card grades , 56% – or more than $430 million – went to charter schools that performed worse overall than the district that transferred the money. If you include districts that performed the same, nearly 2 out of every 3 dollars went to charter schools from a district that performed the same or better, at a cost of $504 million.

2. Local taxpayers had to subsidize $180.3 million to cover the money transferred to the same or worse performing charter schools.

3. Districts were more likely to lose money to charters that underperformed on all 8 report card categories and not a single transfer occurred where the charter outperformed the district on all 8 report card grades.

4. When districts and charters were both graded in every category, 97% of the time districts outperformed the charters. Just 1.8% of the time did a charter outperform districts in the majority of the categories.

5. There were 461 school districts – accounting for more than ¾ of all of Ohio school districts – where all the kids attending charter schools were transferred to equal or poorer performing charter schools. That adds up to 19,042 kids and $136.6 million. Meanwhile, every district lost at least some funding to poorer performers, with only 17 districts losing less than half their children to poorer performing charters.

6. In 84 of 88 counties, more than half of children attended poorer performing charters, and in 43 of Ohio’s 88 counties, all the children going to charters attend charters that perform the same or worse than local school districts.

The cost in money and to children for Ohio’s charter school “debacle” is significant. The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project urges the Ohio General Assembly to focus on the funding and quality issues so that, in the words of Greg Harris, State Director of Students First, we can “stop wasting kids’ lives” on these failing charter schools.

Read the full KYC analysis: Short Changed Again

KYC Analysis: Short Changed Again - The Ohio Charter School Accountability Project:

The Day the Music Died | Think.

The Day the Music Died | Think.:

The Day the Music Died 

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they’d be happy for a while

~American Pie by Don McLean

Dr. Yohuru Williams, an education activist and professor of history at Fairfield University, recently composed a powerful essay, entitled The Day the Music Died. He addressed the Ohio State Board of Education’s quest to eliminate the 5 of 8 minimum school staffing standards, which required that public school districts employ a minimum of 5 educational specialists for every 1,000 students.

Dr. Williams wrote about how Ohio’s governor, in league with his party’s majority in the General Assembly, has been targeting education budgets with deep cuts, precipitating a crisis similar to other states where cuts have forced districts to make impossible choices between hiring nurses, librarians or instructors in the music and the arts.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yohuru-williams/the-day-the-music-died_3_b_6142628.html

Former state school board chair, Debe Terhar, admitted as much when she told the board that better state funding of schools would prevent the furor over the 5 of 8 rule. http://s.cleveland.com/4SBjSTG

Why are our public schools being starved to the point of having to make choices about vital services that students need and deserve? That can be answered with a four letter word: ALEC.  http://www.commondreams.org/views/2011/07/14/alec-exposed-starving-public-schools

ALEC is the acronym for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a clandestine organization of corporate members and lawmakers who believe in privatization of public entities, such as our nation’s public school systems. ALEC has a very powerful legislative impact in states like Ohio, where its members control the Statehouse.  http://www.jointhefuture.org/1326-alec-owns-the-ohio-legislature

ALEC’s education bills can be seen in current Ohio policies that mandate more vouchers, charter school expansion, extensive teacher evaluations, TFA teachers and BRIGHT principals, extra online classrooms, Common Core, additional high stakes testing, and obsessive amounts of data collection. http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org/how-alecs-duplicity-undermines-american-public-education-project

Everyone, especially educators, should take the time to learn about ALEC’s education agenda and how it affects public education in the United States.http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/Privatizing_Public_Education,_Higher_Ed_Policy,_and_Teachers

ALEC uses questionable research and pretentious rhetoric from its think-tanks to impact public perception. To drive its education agenda, it misleads people with nice-sounding words like reform, school choice, accountability, and local control.

The Buckeye Institute is a “think-tank” tied to ALEC and placed in Ohio to influence public opinion. The Buckeye Institute’s research mimics ALEC’s agenda. An analysis of reports by the Buckeye Institute and legislation promoted by ALEC showed a correlation between the two organizations’ agendas on union issues, healthcare reform, public pensions, crime, and education issues.

Another study claimed that ALEC’s policies, such as lowered income taxes, the elimination of estate taxes, and the The Day the Music Died | Think.:

Chicago Teachers Union | Susan Sadlowski Garza Makes History as First CTU Member Elected to Chicago City Council:

Susan Sadlowski Garza Makes History as First CTU Member Elected to Chicago City Council

BY CTU COMMUNICATIONS  |  04/22/2015

CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) today congratulates dedicated union member Susan Sadlowski Garza on her victory for alderman of Chicago’s 10^th Ward.  Garza, a CTU delegate and area vice president, defeated incumbent alderman John Pope by a margin of 20 votes in the April 7 run-off election. The Union is pleased to have one of its own joining an influx of new aldermen to help bring much needed change and an independent, progressive agenda to the Chicago City Council.

“We are absolutely thrilled that our sister Sue Sadlowski Garza is a new member of the Chicago City Council, which means she can be a watchdog for all citizens,” said CTU President Karen Lewis. “Sue is a warrior like no other, and a vibrant activist who has fiercely advocated for improving the quality of life on the far Southeast Side and who will bring the same passion to the City Council that she’s brought to our battles to preserve fairness and equity in public education.”

Garza is currently a counselor at Jane Addams Elementary and a 20-year veteran of Chicago Public Schools. The daughter of revered union leader Edward Sadlowski, she is a community activist and lifelong 10th Ward resident with an extensive record of public service.  Garza has worked with thousands of families throughout the 10th Ward to create award-winning after school programs such as “Safe-Kids” and “Bully Patrol,” and has been instrumental in the fight against air pollutants on the Southeast Side of Chicago.

Garza was one of three CTU members who ran for alderman in the 2015 Municipal Election, joining Tim Meegan in the 33rd Ward and Tara Stamps in the 37th Ward. Stamps, the daughter of late Chicago community activist Marion Stamps, pushed incumbent 37^th Ward alderman Emma Mitts to a run-off in April, while Meegan narrowly missed that mark in the 33^rd Ward, but has recently launched efforts to start a new independent political organization in the area.

For nearly a year, each of the CTU candidates and hundreds of community volunteers and fellow members have been circulating petitions and reaching out to thousands of Chicagoans on such issues as an elected school board, crime prevention, pension protection and raising the minimum wage.  The feedback they have received in the community has been tremendously supportive, as Chicagoans are voicing their desire for change on the 5th floor of City Hall and among the mayor’s rubber stamp City Council aldermen.

“All of our candidates are winners and hardworking leaders with a strong vision for the city and its future,” Lewis said. “They represent the strength of the CTU and we’re proud of them all.”Chicago Teachers Union | Susan Sadlowski Garza Makes History as First CTU Member Elected to Chicago City Council: