Saturday forum on charter school corruption continues Northwest Side opposition to charter infection with Saturday forum on 'UNO corrption'
With barely a pause for the Thanksgiving holiday, the growing opposition around Chicago to the infectious spread of charter schools continues on Saturday, November 30, 2013 with a forum on UNO charter corruption at the Belmont Branch Library at 3104 N. Narragansett, one block from Steinmetz High School. The forum, at the "West Belmont Branch Library," will begin at one p.m. and continue until 2:30.
UNO chief Juan Rangel (above right) was co-chairman of Rahm Emanuel's campaign and received an enormous amount of government money in support of the UNO charter schools. UNO's power was central to Chicago school politics even before Rahm's election in 2011, but expanded after that. It was Rangel who first announced that charter schools would be used to "relieve overcrowding" in the Southwest Side after CPS had sabotaged the communities' real public schools. Byron Sigcho will be presenting a forum and discussion entitled, "UNO: Politics and Corruption." The presentation will detail the financial and pedagogical model of the UNO charter schools. Observers, however, note that the UNO reality if the common model for almost all Chicago charter schools. Rogers Park Neighbors For Public Schools is the main sponsor.
The forum will also take place on Monday, December 2, 2013 at the Southwest Side -- 5:30PM - 7:30 PM Archer Heights Library, 5055 S. Archer Ave.
"Learn how a political group has effectively transferred our children's educational funds into the hands of wealthy investors who are making significant returns on their 'investments,'" Teachers for Social Justice noted on its website about the events.
"The educational model implemented by UNO has nothing to do with a curricular reform or a creative/alternative teaching methodology for students, but it is a “ponzi” financial scheme supported by corporate and political interests. UNO does not have high performing schools as they usually claim, they have at least two underperforming schools and their charter was already revoked in New Orleans in 2011 due to poor academic results. UNO favors investors rather than educational support services, and the quality of instruction is severely affected by this type of model that has already asked for a "bail out" in 2008 and it is just a matter of time before they go bankrupt."
