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New CTU Flexes Muscles at IFT Convention

Jim Vail - October 19, 2010

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) hit hard at President Obama's educational agenda by passing a resolution that rejected Race to the Top at the IFT convention in St. Louis October 15-16. Unlike last year when the IFT, under the direction of the American Federation of Teachers and Randi Weingarten, refused to oppose Obama's education plan that calls for more charter schools and merit pay for teachers, this year marked a complete reversal, thanks to the newly elected leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis speaking during the Illinois Federation of Teachers convention. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber."We helped elect Obama and we need to let him know he made a mistake," said IFT delegate Joey McDermott, who was the delegate at Crane High School and now is working on aldermanic outreach for the Chicago Teachers Union.

McDermott made an impassioned speech on Race to the Top, tracing its roots to the Renaissance 2010 plan and how it was implemented to destroy public education in Chicago. McDermott told his fellow delegates how Crane High School was once filled with over 1,200 kids until four charter schools opened up in their area and an attack on public schools began. Today Crane has only 500 students, McDermott said, and is ripe for a turnaround or closure under a plan that went national when then Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan left Chicago to force this radical privatization plan nationally as Obama's education secretary.

McDermott added that Race to the Top is an unfunded mandate in which only five states will get the money, but the 45 other states that are denied the money will still implement damaging reforms to public education by expanding charter schools and increasing an emphasize on standardized test scores to judge public school students, teachers and schools.

Joey McDermott, who served as delegate from Chicago's Crane High School before joining the CTU staff last summer, spoke in support of the resolution opposing Race to the Top and told the delegates how Arne Duncan's charter schools policies undermined Crane High School and other real public schools. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber."They will eventually close our school," McDermott said. "The expansion of charters and turnarounds and the use of test scores are all flawed."

The resolution passed unanimously.

The next important CTU resolution that passed was a call to end the proliferation of charter schools. The previous CTU administration of Marilyn Stewart kept telling teacher delegates that charter schools are not the enemy, and emphasis should just be on organizing them. [CTU Resolutions submitted to the IFT convention are reprinted below following this article].

However, led by the eloquence of CTU Quest Center director Carol Caref, a former math teacher at Chicago Vocational High School, IFT delegates from Chicago were able to convince the IFT delegates that charter schools are an attack on the teacher unions, because most are not unionized (and charter school teachers have received anti-union propaganda from their administrations).

"Charter schools are a battering ram against the public schools," Caref said. "As the movie (which CPS is heavily promoting) Waiting for Superman shows, we have an educational crisis because of the teacher unions. And parents are being hoodwinked by the charter school promises while a Stanford University study shows most charter schools do no better than the public schools. So don't put money into the neighborhood schools. This is a terrible hoax."

The opposition against the CTU resolution came from Mike McGew, who said he agreed in principal with the critique, but wanted the motion to be delayed for future study because his union now represents a newly unionized charter school in Lake County with 30 new members. His objection appeared to mirror the same argument the past CTU leadership used to not oppose charter schools because of the IFT and SEIU sponsored Talent Development School, a charter school which many feel was set up to appease union leadership to not fight charter schools.

Danielle Ciesielski, who had been moved out of Chicago's Robeson High School under the so-called "20th Day Rule", was able to put Chicago's teacher bashing programs (and Arne Duncan's record) into stark perspective during the IFT convention discussions on the Chicago resolutions. Ciesielski is now teaching math at Hancock High School, while her former students from Robeson remain in contact because the disruption of their programs caused by the policies of Ron Huberman are still being played out. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.Nobody spoke to defend McGew's opposition, and the resolution passed, with little opposition.

All six CTU resolutions that were brought to the IFT convention passed, including a call for an elected school board in Chicago, a moratorium on school closings as stated under the NCLB law (now Race to the Top), support for a "more just version of the Dream Act" that will legalize undocumented immigrants under certain provisions (sponsor Brian Galaviz accepted an amendment to include military service) and repeal of the 1995 Amendatory Act which stripped the CTU of important bargaining rights.

The most hotly debated resolution was the call to "keep supernaturalism out of the science curriculum."

Both sides, mirroring the debate nationally, dug their heels in tight to state why religion should be included or excluded in the classroom. Those against the resolution said there should be "academic freedom" to teach certain ideas in the classroom, while those in favor of the resolution said superstitution has nothing to do with science and therefore should be kept completely out of the classroom.

Interestingly enough, there were several science teachers who argued on both sides of the debate.

"This is not something too complicated," said one delegate. "Non-science should be kept out of the science curriculum. And the fact that Bill Brady (the Republican governor candidate) would support this is reason enought to reject it."

A biology and chemistry teacher, who said he will soon be an ordained minister, added an amendment to the resolution that states it is not the IFT position that there is or is not a God, because the word supernaturalism is a negative word where "people of faith feel they're being attacked."

A majority of delegates passed the resolution with the amendment.

The convention also elected new officers to lead the IFT.

Dan Montgomery (center), a former Niles school district teacher, was elected with no opposition to be the new IFT president, replacing Ed Geppert (left) who retired. CTU president Karen Lewis was elected executive vice president, against no opposition. Former CTU President Marilyn Stewart (above right) is no longer IFT secretary treasurer, a $120,000-per-year post she held in addition to her job as President of the CTU until she was defeated by Karen Lewis in the runoff election on June 11, 2010. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.Dan Montgomery, a former Niles school district teacher, was elected with no opposition to be the new IFT president, replacing Ed Geppert who retired, while CTU president Karen Lewis was elected executive vice president, against no opposition.

Lewis declined her nomination to be the secretary-treasurer, a post held by former CTU president Marilyn Stewart, and Marcia Boone, of the Southwestern Illinois Federation of Teachers, was elected to this position.

Stewart's role as a full-time CTU president earning more than $120,000 a year and a part-time IFT secretary treasurer earning $95,000, hit many nerves in the teachers union election. Stewart defended her compensation, which some estimated at almost $350,000, as something her membership supported because she won the election.

The CTU leadership told delegates recently that the newly elected union officers will reduce their salaries by tying their pay to what they would earn as teachers, but be compensated for a full year. This earned a loud round of applause from the delegates.

CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey spoke to a number of resolutions during the IFT convention. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.According to the CTU, Lewis will earn her CTU president salary as a regular teacher, while being paid an IFT part-time salary for the two months vacation time that CPS teachers are not compensated for.

Lewis said it is important for the CTU to have a strong voice in the IFT, which generates a third of its revenue from the CTU. BELOW ARE THE RESOLUTIONS THAT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION BROUGHT TO THE IFT CONVENTION.

The resolutions are published below as they were approved by the CTU House of Delegates.

PROPOSED IFT RESOLUTIONS

The following resolutions were adopted by the Chicago Teachers Union Executive Board on Monday, September 13, 2010 and passed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers convention on October 15, 2010:

RESOLUTION NO. 1. REPEAL SECTION 4.5 OF THE IELRA (ALSO KNOWN AS THE 1995 AMENDATORY ACT)

WHEREAS, the 1995 reform of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA) gave control of the Chicago Public Schools to the mayor in order to improve them, but has led directly to the marginalization of all other stakeholders (students, parents, community partners and educators) from having input as to the functioning of the schools; and

WHEREAS, mayoral control of the Chicago Public Schools has led to the destruction of neighborhood schools, layoffs of qualified educators, failed privatization models and attacks on the bargaining rights of members of the Chicago Teachers Union; and

WHEREAS, mayoral control of schools and the destruction associated with it has become a model of “reform” in other states across the country, weakening union locals and failing to truly address the educational needs of students; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the IELRA is to regulate labor relations between all educational employers and educational employees in the state including the negotiation of wages, hours and other conditions of employment; and

WHEREAS, Section 4.5 of the IELRA removes all bargaining rights except for the negotiation of wages from educational employees (whose territorial boundaries are coterminous with those of a city having a population in excess of 500,000) in Chicago; and

Kelly High School teacher Bill Lamme speaking to the convention. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.WHEREAS, the determination of class size, class staffing and assignment, class schedules, academic calendar, hours and places of instruction are important issues that directly affect the educational achievement of students and these issues are not included in the bargaining rights for educational employees (whose territorial boundaries are coterminous with those of a city having a population in excess of 500,000) in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, class size, class staffing and assignment, class schedules, academic calendar, hours and places of instruction directly affect students’ ability to achieve academic success and these issues are directly related to schools’ ability to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and avoid school turnaround procedures; and

WHEREAS, the lack of ability to achieve AYP leads to school turnarounds and school closures where schools are replaced by non-union charter schools; and

WHEREAS, few, if any, charter schools have shown to effectively increase the academic level of its students, especially those whose communities lack other educational outlets, thus requiring these students to leave their immediate community in order to receive the mandated education required by the state of Illinois until the child is 17 years old; and

WHEREAS, students of color make up 92 percent of turnaround schools which disproportionately inhibits these students from receiving the mandated education; and

WHEREAS, Section 4.5 of the IELRA removes the protection of the rights of the educational employee and does not promote the harmonious relationship required between educational employers and their employees thus contradicting the purpose of the IELRA; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Illinois Federation of Teachers support the Chicago Teachers Union in a campaign to raise public awareness of the negative impact on students of Section 4.5 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act in Chicago and its potential to be expanded to affect other areas in Illinois; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that the IFT immediately and actively lobby state legislators through all possible means to sponsor a bill to repeal Section 4.5 of the IELRA.

Submitted by Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1

RESOLUTION NO. 2. OPPOSITION TO “RACE TO THE TOP”

WHEREAS, Race to the Top (RttT) has further encouraged the creation of schools run by private operators, but funded with public monies, that do not have the same accountability and transparency as existing public schools; and

WHEREAS, RttT includes teacher evaluations, based on student test scores that have proven to be an invalid, unreliable and inconsistent method to measure student achievement and teacher instruction; and

WHEREAS, RttT punishes teachers, schools and school districts that serve populations with high percentages of students that are low performing. This competition undermines these schools that serve children living in poverty and suffering other social ills who need the most help; and

WHEREAS, RttT seeks to undermine the contracts of teachers unions and the collective bargaining process; and

WHEREAS, RttT encourages the closing and turnaround of schools, which has led to increased violence and destabilization of urban communities; and

WHEREAS, RttT has been criticized by several national civil rights organizations, including the Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Rainbow PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), for encouraging competition to receive federal funding rather than assisting schools based on their needs; and

WHEREAS, RttT encourages the expansion of charter schools, which have been proven to make no difference in achievement compared to traditional public schools; and

WHEREAS, RttT will limit the scope and opportunity of students’ curriculum due to its reliance on standardized test scores; and

WHEREAS, the Illinois Federation of Teachers worked to elect President Obama to be a positive force for education, not to promote programs like RttT that undermine public education and the teachers and other dedicated professionals who staff our public schools; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Illinois Federation of Teachers lobby to repeal the Race to the Top competition; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the IFT declare no confidence in the Obama administration’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his RttT policy; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the IFT call upon the federal government and the U.S. Department of Education to fund schools based on their needs; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that the IFT call upon elected representatives at the federal, state and local levels to support struggling schools and the teachers and other dedicated professionals who staff our public schools.

Submitted by Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1

RESOLUTION NO. 3. CALL FOR A MORATORIUM ON SCHOOL CLOSURES

WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 3rd in the nation with 117,541 students in schools in Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools eligible for school closure (as of July 9, 2010) under the 2001 law NCLB; and

WHEREAS, Tier 1 and Tier 2 NCLB schools risk four major closure models (turnaround, restart, school closure or transformation) without consent or input from students or parents; and

WHEREAS, all four intervention models are imposed upon the community, instead of developed with the school community; and

WHEREAS, all four interventions focus on structural change, rather than educational change; and

WHEREAS, all four interventions are refuted by evidence and research on what types of reform effectively impact student academic success; and

WHEREAS, 81 percent of students in these schools are students of color and none of the four intervention models attempts in any way to gain collaboration with these already disenfranchised communities, or analyze in any systematic way other factors that may lead to poor performance, such as funding inequities in the district, enrollment practices that lead to concentrations of high need students, district staffing projections or social and economic developments; and

WHEREAS, school closures deeply disrupt the social and community capital of neighborhoods and potentially transfer students to other underperforming schools or schools outside the neighborhood lacking safe passage; and

WHEREAS, politicians and policymakers have used school closures as a tool to gentrify neighborhoods, decrease union membership and promote business objectives instead of best educational practices; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Illinois Federation of Teachers actively lobby the Illinois legislature for a moratorium on school closures in its state; and be it further

Carrie Maxwell of Chicago, speaking to the IFT convention, while delegates from the United University Professions look on. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.RESOLVED, that the IFT commission studies examining the educational and social impact school closures have had on student academics, safety, stability and community input; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that the IFT work with local and national affiliates to expose the for-profit business motivations that underlie school closures in the state of Illinois.

Submitted by Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1

RESOLUTION NO. 4. CALL FOR AN ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD FOR CHICAGO

WHEREAS, since 1995 when the Illinois General Assembly placed Chicago Public Schools (CPS) under control of the Chicago city mayor, we have seen the systemic flaws evident in the appointed school board of that city. The negative impact of the currently appointed school board is self-evident but includes:

• Dictatorial management of the CPS with little to no respect for teaching staff; • Excessive expenditures on non-classroom items, including consultants, that now consume more than 40 percent of the CPS budget; • The slow but persistent transfer of public assets to private entities through the privatization of the public schools; • The under-serving of CPS children through continued mismanagement of public assets and continuous misunderstanding of students’ educational needs; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Unioncall upon the Illinois General Assembly see the solution to this ineffectual autocratic form of management as an elected school board and call upon the Illinois General Assembly to formulate and pass the laws to effectuate an elected school board for this change Chicago. Submitted by Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1

 Adopted  Adopted as amended  Defeated  Tabled  Other

Chicago's Jackson Potter, a former Little Village High School teacher now working full time for the CTU, spoke on a number of issues to the IFT convention, making up, some said, for the lost time of the AFT Seattle convention, during which Potter was studying abroad. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.RESOLUTION NO. 5. ENDING CHARTER SCHOOL PROLIFERATION

WHEREAS, it has always been the intention of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and its affiliates to improve education so that every student, especially the most disadvantaged, in Illinois will graduate high school ready for college or a career;

and WHEREAS, excellence and innovation have always been hallmarks of traditional public schools where professional union educators teach students across the state and not solely the mark of private or charter schools;

and WHEREAS, the original intent of charter schools was to enhance student learning and NOT to compete with, takeover or cause the closing of traditional public schools that are now being unjustly closed or turned around and their qualified teaching forces displaced;

and WHEREAS, charter schools take over pre-existing public school buildings, are awarded newly constructed school buildings that are publicly funded, receive federal charter-only grant money, receive state bonds earmarked for individual charter operators and benefit financially by diverting taxpayer dollars for private enterprises – all with little or no parent, community, student or teacher union participation of substantive input; and

WHEREAS, traditional public neighborhood schools continue to accept ALL students and a preponderance of charter schools only enroll select students; and

WHEREAS, according to the Stanford University Center for Research on Educational Outcomes Study, 83 percent of charter schools perform worse than or fail to provide any measurable improvement over their traditional fully public counterparts, and 37 percent of those charter schools performed worse than traditional public schools; and

WHEREAS, when key resources and people from charter operators, corporation and private foundations such as the Gates Foundation continue to have an increasing influence and presence in Arne Duncan’s Department of Education within President Obama’s administration, a greater emphasis is placed on privatization and profit than real education reform; and

Kenzo Shibata, who took a leave from his teaching position at Hancock High School in Chicago to edit the Chicago Union Teacher, spoke in favor of the Chicago resolutions during the 2010 IFT convention. Looking on (right) is Kelly High School teacher Eric Skalinder. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.WHEREAS, Bill Gates recently stated publicly at the National Charter School convention in Chicago on June 29, 2010 that the charter school movement “is the only place innovation will come from”; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Illinois Federation of Teachers support policies and legislation that put a moratorium on the creation of new charters, charter clones and other schools that divert public education funds into corporate models; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the IFT demand all existing charter schools to be held as accountable and transparent as regular public schools, in regards to student progress and achievement, budget, funding and influence of corporate and private interests and entities; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the IFT lobby for changes in legislation to allow existing charter schools to join large existing union locals rather than being forced to form their own small affiliate or work to close them; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that the IFT support local union efforts to march, petition, rally, hold media events, mobilize its members and utilize the help of supportive community partners and use all resources at its disposal to dispel the myths about the success of charter schools compared to traditional public schools, to expose the inequalities that exist within the funding and management of public education and to improve the public perception of public education.

Submitted by Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1

RESOLUTION NO. 6. REPEAL OF ILLINOIS SENATE BILL 1946

WHEREAS, both city and state governments have the responsibility to adequately provide actuarially derived contributions to maintain the financial viability of pension plans; and

Chicago high school teacher Brian Galaviz spoke forcefully about the DREAM Act. Substance photo by Garth Liebhaber.WHEREAS, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union are committed to preserving and protecting the traditional defined benefit pension plans for Illinois and Chicago teachers and are committed to working with members, public officials and any other interested parties to encourage and support policy decisions that guarantee retirement security for teachers; and

WHEREAS, the IFT and CTU support teacher pension plans that are designed to:

• Assure self-sufficiency for retirees by providing a predictable benefit that is guaranteed for life, including cost-effective disability and survivor benefits; and

• Create a high performance workforce by providing a benefit that will attract and retain quality and highly-trained public employees; and

• Lower overall benefit costs by pooling the risk of outliving retirement benefits and of investment losses over the total number of participants; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Illinois Federation of Teachers push for the repeal or suspension of fiscally irresponsible laws such as SB 1946 (2010) that have reduced employer contribution to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund by $1.2 billion over the next three years.

Submitted by Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1

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