September 26, 2007 Chicago Board of Education meeting
The Chicago Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, September 26 began at 10:30 a.m. with a small ceremony that lauded elementary schools where students are being taught by corporate volunteers to play squash. Other benefactors to CPS were lauded. A senior from Schurz High School was lauded along with her teacher, Ms Terry, for success of their all-female auto shop program. The senior, Natalie, had many other honors and is president of her class.
Above photo, September 26, 2007: Flanked by more than 30 parents and community leaders, long-time community activist Coretta McFerren (at microphone) warned the Chicago Board of Education that a proposal from CEO Arne Duncan to appoint a 13-member “Parent Involvement Advisory Board” (PAIB) was illegal under federal and state law. More than a half dozen experienced activists and veteran parent leaders spoke against the proposal, but the Board approved at its September 26 meeting it without discussion or debate. Like the “Transition Advisory Committees” (TACs) that have been used to close existing public schools and replace them with charter schools to circumvent elected local school councils, the citywide Title I board will be used to undermine the power of Title I parents, according to the critics who argued with Board President Rufus Williams and Board Attorney Patrick Rocks at the meeting. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.State Senator Marty Sandoval (from the Southwest side) spoke about "Cluster 5" is overcrowded. He gave thanks to the CPS administration and Board for changing the boundaries of the new Little Village High School. The change will enable more minority students to attend the new school.
After the usual delays, the public participation began at 11:07 a.m. and was to end by 1:07 p.m.
The first speaker was Ernestine Standberry of the "International Profile Federation." She spoke of the importance of African Studies and Language as studies from K to 12. Standberry seemed to say that African Studies had been skipped by CPS. Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason Watkins explained that many such curricula were already in place at various schools and some elements were in all schools. She said some of the resources being provided would be shared.
Karen Clark, a parent, of Parker Community Academy Local School Council (LSC), wanted a program put in place whereby students who were two or three years behind would be enabled to catch up. Barbara Eason-Watkins said a program had been placed into Parker for that purpose and that she would sit down to make sure there would be specific attention to her son's problems.
Regina Sanders (Powell Elementary) asked about students not being allowed to skip a grade when the student needed a greater challenge. She said she now home schools her child, who will go to high school next year. Dr. Eason Watkins said assessments were made on test scores and other factors. Board President Rufus Williams said all children should be challenged. No criteria were set for academic promotions from grade to grade.
Tara Landers, (Bradwell Elementary) talked of the mere six-day notice given to families at the school of the cut from full-time (all day) to a one-half day kindergarten. Dr. Eason Watkins said a request for return to full-day kindergarten had just come from the school's principal this week. Enrollment had been increased, she said, so a teacher was being added to the school.
Above photo: The Board Report establishing an appointed citywide “Parent Advisory Council” for Chicago’s Title I parents.Arbutus Winfrey, a parent associated with the Westside Health Authority, stood up with members of the "Austin Freedom Riders". The group has been protesting the fact that the Austin community no longer has a general high school where all 9th graders can attend. Winfrey asked the Board to create a new high school in the Austin community. She spoke, like many before her, of the needs for a general high school in Austin. Rufus Williams said they are addressing the problem. He also said that if students are on the street with drugs and in gangs it is not because of a lack of a high school, it is because of the lack of adults being responsible for the actions of their children.
Samantha Miggins (formerly of Lawrence Elementary Schools), a parent of a third grader, described one of the many problems from the volatile school last school year. Miggins said that her daughter with her class had been dismissed from the lunchroom and told to stand in line at the top of the stairs. She said that a student, whom she named as "Robert Johnson", ran into the daughter, causing her to fall down the stairs, be seriously injured, and taken to the hospital. The school told Ms. Miggins it never called the parent because it could not find the emergency form. She said that teachers called her on her cell phone. She said the incident took place while no teacher or security or any adult was present. She then said that an "attorney" for the Board's risk management company, Martin Boyer, said that no medical bills would be paid for the child. The mother said that she has removed her child to a private school. The Board's attorney, Patrick Rocks, said he would look into the situation.
Bryan Giles, a child who is a cousin of the injured child and who said he was a witness to the incident at Lawrence Elementary, related the events. He said Johnson pushed his cousin down the stairs. Rufus Williams thanked the witness.
EvAngel YHWHnewBN related that her "Kick the K Word" campaign will end at CPS and move to Springfield.
Lydnise Morris (Lawrence Elementary) then began to speak as a large number of parents and community leaders assembled in front of the Board. She talked about "advisory councils" being appointed by the Board. She said that this appointed panel couldn't replace an elected Title I Advisory Council as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind law. She said selection by anyone other than parents is an egregious act. CPS says it wants to work with parents, but then rides roughshod over them.
Board Attorney Patrick Rocks responded that the proposed appointed council was sanctioned by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) because the existing Council was not geographically or in other ways "diverse" He said any Title I parent could come to any of the four meetings per year and "voice concerns." All will get a notice. Beginning with Morris, a number of subsequent speakers said that (NCLB) Section 1118 does not give CPS the right to take away parents' votes by appointing this body. Rocks responded that ISBE had approved the plan.
Virginette Spies, an active grandparent, talked about the same issue of excluding Title 1 parents. She said they weren't even notified of this grab of power of the Title 1 Advisory Council. Other parents followed, each offering the same critique. Vanessa Richards of Cather also spoke on the issue of the manner in which CPS ignored the parents concerning this Advisory "Body." Rocks again insisted how right he was. Richards was also concerned about the understaffing of teachers in schools — and the danger of high school and elementary school aged children in the same building
Maryann Alexander of Young (Elementary) on the West Side talked about the lack of respect for parents on the LSC and NCLB groups. She charged CPS with saying, in effect, that "Parents are in the way."
Above photo, September 26, 2007: Rosita DeLaRosa of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, long a partners with the Chicago Board of Education in local projects, asked the Board of request that the boundaries of two northwest side police districts be changed so that there was no longer confusion about calls regarding gang violence at Funston Elementary School at Armitage and Central Park. According to DeLaRosa, because Central Park Ave. is both the boundary between two Chicago Police districts and the boundary between two major street gangs, police calls about violence at Funston often result in confusing responses, and the gangs seem to be aware of this. With DeLaRosa, in tears, was the mother of a child who was recently murdered when a gang bullet found her as she walked across the school yard. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt. Coretta McFerren, whose history of activism goes back to the development of the original Local School Council law in 1987 when Harold Washington was mayor, with Okema Lewis at her side, spoke of the disrespect of "appointed" parent involvement. She said that elected parents could not replaced by dictatorship of an "appointed" board. She said they should not "bastardize" the law. She felt that CPS could find a way to work better with parents to adjust these issues. The group had a petition, which they are giving to Mayor Daley.
In a subsequent interview, McFerren said the law governing this was Federal (NCLB, Section 1118) and the State (ISBE). She said the Chicago Board of Education is responsible for implementing it correctly. "To usurp parents' meaningful councils is a violation of the intent of the Federal Law for local parental involvement," McFerren said. "By appointing a group, they are doing the same thing as having TACs (Transition Advisory Councils) — appointed groups to close schools and replace legally constituted Local School Councils. By locking out all those except their appointed lackeys, they are creating their own fiefdom."
Laura Diaz and Carmen Flores-Rance of the Illinois Hunger Coalition/CASA Catalina spoke of the free breakfast at schools, the advantages of breakfast. They wanted a universal breakfast served to all in classrooms to start the day. CEO Arne Duncan, who had left during much of the discussion of his plan to appoint the city's official Title I parents, said he'd contact them about improving nutrition in the schools.
Wanda Hopkins of PURE spoke of the survival of PURE, parent power and a new school for the Austin community. Dressed in black, she said she was "distraught." She said Austin should be worked on faster and that law was being violated.
The main focus of Hopkins's heated remarks was the appointed parent advisory panel. She said that CPS "tried to pick the best talent for administration" and that parents should be able to elect the best talent for their group. To appoint people for the advisory board who had never cared enough to attend a PAC (Title 1 parents) meeting was insulting. She said they were trying to appoint a "rubber stamp group" who'll do whatever you want them to do. She said "God is not pleased when you step on their mommas and daddies." She said that they should stand by their commitments. She said she's been accused of being too emotional. She also said that Rufus Williams probably sleeps well at night because he thinks he is doing the right thing. But he is not.
Williams claims to have gone to Orr High School, but sat silently on the Board Before becoming president while school after school in the black community was closed under Michael Scott, Williams's predecessor. Despite his claims to know the West Side, Williams did not stop the obvious eventual violence resulting from the closing of Austin High School and sending students from Austin in groups of hundreds to Wells and Clemente high schools. Several parents reminded Substance in subsequent discussion: Evil is when good men remain silent. Hopkins continued in a heated exchange with Williams. Hundreds of incidents of violence were "collateral damage" during the three years of this strange "boundary" change at Austin, she said.
Addie Zolicoffer of Woodlawn (Elementary) talked of a school "harboring a fugitive" by not implementing proper action after an incident involving her daughter. On Mar 23, Williams had promised Zellcoffer that he would investigate the abuse and neglect she had charged. She was threatened and removed from the school and became ill. No results or meeting has occurred in six months. She wanted the incident reported to DCFS and the name and address of the teacher. Rocks and Williams claimed that they didn't remember the incident she was discussing.
She said there was a court date for Friday, September 28. Rocks assigned Miguel Rodriguez to deal with the matter. Zellcoffer went on to discuss matters which Rocks said should be dealt with outside the public meeting.
Sylvester Hendricks asked for his monthly moment of silence for those who have passed away. He said he felt first day attendance could be improved. He felt that Black males were treated unfairly in Chicago.
Noting that she has been serving the USA as a member of the Illinois National Guard, Janice Jeffries, a parent, of the Marquette (Elementary) school spoke next. She suggested that Marquette is a school, which may be spinning out of control. She said she brought her son to the Board meeting to see the people who have not stopped the problems of at the school. She had previously reported to the Board that her son had 28 days of substitute teachers in his classroom during the 2006-2007 school year. She said the area office threatened her. None of the AIOs were the same color and soldier and may have a cultural difference. The many subs caused the students to go to summer school. She felt better parental involvement could help. There was no comment. Neither Williams nor Duncan could explain 28 days of subs.
Rosita Dela Rosa of Logan Square Neighborhood Association read a letter about safety for children going to and from school. She talked of the shooting death of Shawna on the Funston School grounds. She said that both the City and Schools must change policies concerning
boundaries for school police districts in Logan Square. One of the problems at Funston, she said, was that Central Park Ave, where Funston sits, is the dividing line between two police districts. This boundary is also the boundary between two drug gangs and the confusion over who should take police calls because of the conflicting boundaries of the police areas is causing delays in calls about the violence. Rufus Williams said he'd work with them.
Brittany Barnes with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an Englewood High School senior, is a part of the anti-war committee. Barnes complained of the constant "brainwashing" by military recruiters who are allowed to roam freely in the schools — in halls, before and after school, not only in the lunchroom. She asked that "peace recruiters" be given the same access as the military recruiters. She also noted that high schools are not doing their job with "Op Out" forms — both in passing them out, and processing them. Rock said he'd met with their group and was trying to give guide lines for parents. Rock said harassment was a different story. Principles are not following the guidelines for the Op Out forms processing. The ID number is needed for the computer.
Rocks is working on this. David Gilligan, the new high school "chief officer", was called and told of dates for the process in December and March.
Rosalinda Cadena of Chavez (elementary) who also has a child at Curie (high school) and one at Schurz (high school), spoke of the importance of courses for Latinos under NCLB. She wanted to know ways for parents to be more involved. She would like to have additional resources from CPS for involvement and have them visit her schools.
Otha Miller of Dunne (elementary) LSC felt that property taxes were inadequate means of funding for public education. An LSC chair, he felt that additional funds are needed. The State is still at the end of funding for education. We should contact State legislators and about funds.
The regular meeting was called to order. Barbara Eason-Watkins gave a report on "Investing in the Classroom," about the budget of the schools system. Clara Muñana asked questions about the statistics. The Board then recessed into executive session for several hours before coming out an approving every item on its agenda without discussion or debate.
