Board of Education
Chicago Public Schools
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
10:30 a.m. — 2:30 p.m. CDT
Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)
This is a remote assignment. It will be live-streamed at https://www.youtube.com/c/ChiPubSchools/videos. The live stream may not appear until or a few minutes after the scheduled start time. If you don’t see it right away, give it a few seconds, then try refreshing your Internet tab to see if it loads.
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
High school reopening, COVID-19 vaccination, Alternatives to police in schools, School renamed for Harriet Tubman
Due to safety regulations around COVID, this meeting will take place remotely and will be live streamed at the link below at 10:30 am this morning. https://www.youtube.com/c/ChiPubSchools/videos
We have long agenda for today, but you can take a look here:
https://chicago.documenters.org/documents/agenda-for-the-board-of-education-meeting-55893/
A roll call is taking and a quorum is met. The meeting is called to order by President of the board Miguel del Valle.
We begin with the “Honoring Excellence” report by Chief Executive Officer Janice Jackson. They recognize two CPS students who earned college credit through the AP computer science program that has been expanded in CPS.
The students both get a moment to speak. Rebecca Rodriguez says that they didn’t think computer science was originally for them, but it has become the class they look forward to most during the day. They thank their teacher for the encouragement they have provided this year.
Innocentia Eweyeju talks about how the computer science program helped them get an internship in an engineering program and are considering a STEM major in university now. They say as a black female they are honored to represent an underrepresented demographic in the field.
Board member Elizabeth Todd-Breland talks about their experience being a Black woman in the science program in high school and how they need to expand these opportunities for women and girls.
Board member Sendhil Revuluri recognizes the teachers who have helped create this program in CPS. He recognizes the two students as pioneers and leaders and has 3 asks for them: create, represent, and pay it forward.
The board continues to congratulate the students for their accomplishment and recognize the teachers in this program.
CEO Jackson recognizes CPS teachers and principals who are nominated for this years Golden Apple Award. https://www.goldenapple.org/golden-apple-awards-finalists-2021
Jackson says current 12th graders are no longer required to take the SAT to graduate, but are still encouraged to do so if they are looking into college/university. Test dates will be in mid-April.
Jackson says they are ensuring someone in every school has been trained in group intervention to help students experiencing trauma, anger, and depression.
Next Jackson presents the CEO report. Every elementary school who wants to learn in person has been given that opportunity. They are looking at April 19 for high schools students to return to in-person learning.
They will be sending out a survey to high school students this week to see how they can support them returning to class and improve remote learning. They have four vaccination sites for CPS personal. There are currently 1000 open appointments.
Jackson acknowledges spring break and possible travel. Before entering any CPS facility, students must have a negative test result within 72 hours of entering school or quarantine for 10 days.
President Valle asks if there will be a delay in vaccinations due to provider changes. Jackson says appointments that were scheduled today did get shifted a week or two, but is not concerned. This concludes the CEO report.
Honorary student board member Tia Hawthorne talks about their experience working on the board and encourages rising juniors/seniors to apply. Applications for next year open this Friday 3/26. More information on the board of education website.
We move to public comment. Members of the public get 2 minutes each with a warning given at 30 seconds to conclude comment.
First speaker Jesse Sharkey (president of Chicago Teachers Union) talks about the vendor change for vaccinations and how an early interview with the vendor should have been a warning sign.
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/03/23/chicago-innovative-express-care-covid-vaccine-misallocation/
The second speaker says the board is responsible for public school education even if they outsource work to charter schools. They want to know what the board is doing to ensure safety of students in regards to testing and safety measures.
They also bring up teachers being fired for bringing up safety concerns.
These first two speakers represent the union and got longer than the two minute time limit. We now move to other members of the public.
Our next speaker from “Raise Your Hand” says local student communities should have a say in how funds are spent and brings up students who are being left behind under the current remote learning.
Next speaker Jennifer Biggs (Raise Your Hand) was not able to unmute themselves. The board says they will circle back around.
The next speaker Andrew Boyd says Chicago charter public schools are providing strong academic results, particularly for BIPOC students.
We circle back to Jennifer Biggs (Raise Your Hand), but they are unable to unmute again.
Next Speaker Kimberly H talks about the “Beat the Odds” brief and how YCCS works to support their students.
Next speaker is a parent of a charter school student in Garfield park. They talk about their school be recognized in the “Beat the Odds” report and how their school helps the students reach their dreams.
Next speaker Rayna Torres (public school student) says they haven’t seen money being used on students, mental health resources, or school materials. They said money is instead being spent on metal detectors and security.
Next speaker Jennifer Davis (Chief Equity Officer at Noble) says in January they received input from community to create more culturally aware programing. They have also revised grading policies and the updated dress code.
https://nobleschools.org/noble-leadership/
Next Speaker Miranda W (8th grader) talks about how changing the name of their school has been a difficult process. They talk about how the selection process that they went through to decide on a person to honor.
Next Speaker Mira Weber (principal, Louis J. Agassiz Elementary School ) talks about the school renaming process and how it is helping students become more civically engaged.
Next Speaker also talks about the renaming of their school and how they honor powerful Black women and inspire their students and children.
Carrie George (CPS parent) also talks about the renaming process. They said the community was initially polarized over the issue, but principal Weber helped center the students in the process and that the process was a lot more successful.
Gabriel Swan (8th grader at Agassiz Elem.) talks about the different figures they were looking to recognize during the renaming process. You can read more about the renaming of Agassiz in the story below:
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-public-schools-cps-louis-agassiz-elementary-school-harriet-tubman/10442762/
The next student Isaac (Agassiz Student) talked about how they weren’t able to be a part of the renaming of the process when this was addressed several years ago. They were proud to be included in this process as an 8th grader this year.
The next speaker (CPS parent) says they have trust issues with CPS that go before the pandemic. They talk about SROs and metal detectors put in schools instead of the resources that they need.
Speaker Jackson (CPS Social Studies teacher) talks about how the $2 billion from the federal government should be used to support students and should not be used to give more responsibilities for an overstretched staff.
Next Speaker Carolina, a parent at InterAmerican Magnet School, and how the principal should not be reinstated.
Next Speaker, JaNay Dodson, a parent at Inter American, says child services were called after they were 7 minutes late in picking up their child from school.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/03/18/a-10-year-old-student-was-picked-up-from-school-7-minutes-late-so-north-side-school-reported-his-mom-to-dcfs/
The next speaker M. Gonzalez gives their public comment in Spanish which is then translated. They talk about how their school is not open enough for their students and teachers and that they would like to move to a new facility.
Next speaker Dan Kramer (Principal Roosevelt High School) talks about the relocation of Aspira Charter School very close to Roosevelt High school where they have lower enrollment. They ask that this plan be postponed until a impact analysis can be performed.
Next Speaker Tina P (teacher at Roosevelt High School) talks about how the relocation of Aspira doesn’t make sense when they are not over performing Roosevelt and that it should be moved to a neighborhood where the schools are overcrowded.
Next Speaker Nadia (CPS parent), asks about how the board will help their children who are in need of mental health support and their teachers who are in need of resources. They ask that the board listens to the community in how they spend the $1.8 billion.
Next Speaker Donald Davis (CPS teacher) requests that the board fund a new school building for George Washington high school.
Next Speaker Antonio (Lawndale Community Member) requests a new school being built in their community.
Next Speaker Ben W (CPS parent) says that they should be offered a hybrid learning model with 4 days of in-person learning this school year while they still have a quarter left.
Next speaker Jennifer Biggs (Raise Your Hand) talks about policing culture in schools and that they need to fund alternatives to police.
Board member Amy Rome asks about the genesis and status of the relocation of Aspira Charter School that was brought up. Arnie Rivera (COO) says this has been proposed, but it has not been determined yet if it will be brought to the board for consideration.
Here is a summary of reasons in support and against the proposed calendar gather from almost 4,000 public comments. https://t.co/J1R7wK8crU
President Valle asks for clarification on the Track E vs Track R calendar for those listening to the call. Sherly Chavarria says Track E started the school year in August with 3 breaks throughout the year. The Track R calendar is closer to the current academic calendar used.
The next presentation is on the revisions of renaming schools presented by Maurice Swinney (Chief Equity Officer). Swinney starts by showing the process that took place in the renaming of Agassiz School. https://t.co/be3aMI2KV7
Swinney talks about priotizing student leadership in choosing the name and brings up Aggasiz as an example. https://t.co/ZuRtFw3S14
They hope to come to the board with a revised policy that the board can vote on during the August 25th meeting. https://t.co/9pboRu9PvJ
The board members are excited about this new development. They acknowledge the work of the teachers and students at Agassiz as well as the equity department led by Maurice Swinney.
President Valle asks if schools can utilize this model for renaming their schools before the formal policy gets approved in August. Swinney says yes, but they are trying to document some of the technical aspects about what happens after a name is approved for a smoother process.
Board Member Revuluri says that this process has shown that how they tackle these challenges is just is important as what they do as a board.
The presenter says they need disciplinary actions that are less punitive and more supportive of students as they try to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. https://t.co/xmi45mj8oa
They mention the amount of feedback they got last summer regarding reducing or eliminating the SRO program. https://t.co/HZIfkRXjV4
This process was created in regards to that feedback. It is broken into two phases, the first being community-led engagement. https://t.co/6OgjIOEz9f
Attachments
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Agency Information
Chicago Public Schools
The Chicago Board of Education is charged with governing the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), setting policies, governing operations, and charting the direction of current and future programs.
A list of board members (with headshots) is here. Board members are currently appointed by the mayor. In 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law that will gradually transition to a 21-member elected school board over the course of 2024-2027.
A list of CPS executive leadership is here.