CALENDAR: What in store for Chicago's schools during the week ahead (November 13 - November 19, 2011).... See the 'one percent' in action at the Wednesday meeting of the Chicago Board of Education
This calendar will be posted every week beginning in November 2011 at www.substancenews.net and will try to list the most important meetings and other activities taking place in Chicago during that week. The Calendar will begin on Sunday and end on Saturday and will include Substance, Chicago Teachers Union, and CORE activities, as well as important public meetings. If you have topics for the calendar, please send them via email to Csubstance@aol.com with the word CALENDAR (all caps please) in your Subject line.
While millions of people from the "Occupy" movement have been talking about the "one percent" of us who own and rule the world, every month the Chicago Board of Education presents the public with the chance to see one of the one hundredth of one percenters in action. Since millionaire Mayor Rahm Emanuel (he earned $18 million as a "relationship banker" during three years on Wall Street before he returned to "public service") appointed his new Chicago Board of Education in June 2011, billionaire heiress Penny Pritzker, one of the 500 wealthiest human beings on earth, has been a member of the Chicago Board of Education. Once again in November, on November 16, 2011, the Board will meet in its bunker at 125 S. Clark St. in Chicago, carefully shielding itself from the majority of the people and packing the seats at its public meeting with patronage hacks who work for the Board or for its contractors. Nevertheless, Pritzker is active at Board meetings, as she was on October 26, asking a pre-scripted question to push forward this year's Hit List and the official lies of Oliver Sicat and Noemi Donoso, who had just treated the Board to a Power Point about "underperforming seats" in CPS schools. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, AND WHY (WITH DETAILS IF NECESSARY) will be the five (six) things we list.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011
WHO: Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard
WHAT: To unveil a "new online tool for parents to get critical data about their children's schools..."
WHERE: Manuel Perez Elementary School, 2nd Floor Library, 1241 W. 19th Street, Chicago
WHEN: 10:30 a.m.
Official statement: "Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Brizard will unveil a new online tool for parents to get critical data about their children’s schools as part of the Administration's ongoing efforts to increase accountability in schools and ensure students in every neighborhood have access to a world-class education. Following the announcement the Mayor will participate in a roundtable discussion with parents of CPS students..."
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011.
WHO: UNO and Rahm Emanuel.
WHAT: UNO Awards Dinner
WHEN: Monday, November 14, 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive
WHY: Mayor Rahm Emanuel is scheduled to be the Keynote speaker at the annual UNO awards dinner. UNO's charter schools are viciously anti-union, and the UNO "model" has been used to expand anti-union charter schools to places like New Orleans.
SCHOOL CLOSING PREPARATIONS: November 14, 2011. CPS Sponsored Community Meeting: Draft Guidelines on School Closings, etc.
WHAT: Preliminary preparation for the annual Hit List, Volume IV, Jean-Claude Brizard iteration (previous versions by Arne Duncan, Ron Huberan, and Terry Mazany). Westinghouse High School
WHERE: Westinghouse High School, 3223 W. Franklin Blvd
WHEN: November 14, 2011. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Registration: 6:00 p.m.)
WHY: The Chicago Public Schools will present the public with the latest pretexts for closing and turning around and otherwise privatizing and destroying public schools and their communities. Like most of its predecessors for the past decade, this exercise is devoted to trying to confuse the public about the objective of the CPS school closing policy, which has been designed for the entire 21st Century as a way of destroying the city's public schools, and, in most cases, turning over public buildings to charter and other private institutions without just compensation to the public. CPS is required to hold these hearings this year early because of the successful passage of the Chicago School Facilities Law, which also requires that the Hit List be made public by December 1.
Tuesday's facilities forum.TUESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2011. SOUTH SIDE FORUM ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND FACILITIES PLANNING.
WHAT: Discussion of facilities planning. WHERE: IIT Schultz Auditorium, 10 W. 35th St.
WHEN: 6:00 - 7:45 p.m.
WHO; Senator Mattie Hunter and others, including the CPS chief portfolio officer Sicat.
WHY: Friends, don’t forget to come out tomorrow for Senator Hunter and GBF PPEN’s School Facilities Forum. We will discuss the new State law towards CPS’ school actions and school facilities plans in our communities, and the opportunities and expectations we have for our schools. CPS’ Intergovernmental Affairs Officer and Chief Portfolio Officer will be present to discuss their strategies for complying with the law. "If we don’t show up and start demanding more for our schools and with our schools, they will take them away," says the Grand Boulevard Federation in promoting this event, " So spread the word and get your friends, parents, teachers, and principals to come out and hear from Senator Hunter, PPEN parents, and CPS’ new Chief Intergovernmental Officer and Chief Portfolio Officer regarding this new law (formerly SB 630)."
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011. CHICAGO BOARD OF EDUCATION.
WHO? Chicago Board of Education monthly public meeting.
WHAT, Monthly meeting. WHERE, 125 S. Clark St. WHEN, Wednesday, November 16, 2011. WHY: The Board is meeting again in downtown Chicago during the work day and during "bankers' hours" so that its members can do its public business in a way that keeps most of the public away. DETAILS: Sign in for public participation in the meeting will be from 8:00 to 9:00 in the lobby of 125 S. Clark St. Public participation is scheduled to begin at 10:30 but will not actually begin until an hour or more later because the Board will stall with happy talk, then some bureaucratic reports.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011. BRONZEVILLE TRANSFORMATION PLAN.
WHO: A coalition of groups from Chicago South Side communities led by KOCO.
WHAT: Bronzeville School Transformation Forum. “A Sustainable, Community Plan” WHEN: Wednesday, November 16, 2011. 6 P.M., November 16, 2011.
Bronzeville School Transformation Forum
WHERE: Dyett High School, 555 E. 51st Street, Minor Hall
DETAILS: "As opposed to turnarounds, consolidations, and school closings, the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) is proposing a comprehensive plan to improve schools throughout the Bronzeville Community. They are hosting a community forum to discuss this plan."
SCHOOL CLOSING PREPARATIONS: November 16, 2011. CPS Sponsored Community Meeting: Draft Guidelines on School Closings, etc.
WHAT: Preliminary preparation for the annual Hit List, Volume IV, Jean-Claude Brizard iteration (previous versions by Arne Duncan, Ron Huberan, and Terry Mazany). Westinghouse High School
WHERE: Simeon Vocational High School, 8147 S. Vincennes, Chicago.
WHEN: November 14, 2011. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Registration begins 6:00 p.m.)
WHY: The Chicago Public Schools will present the public with the latest pretexts for closing and turning around and otherwise privatizing and destroying public schools and their communities. Like most of its predecessors for the past decade, this exercise is devoted to trying to confuse the public about the objective of the CPS school closing policy, which has been designed for the entire 21st Century as a way of destroying the city's public schools, and, in most cases, turning over public buildings to charter and other private institutions without just compensation to the public. CPS is required to hold these hearings this year early because of the successful passage of the Chicago School Facilities Law, which also requires that the Hit List be made public by December 1.
NIGHTINGALE SCHOOL GRADE IN
WHAT: A Grade-In
WHERE? Ford City Mall (Food Court), 7601 S. Cicero
WHEN? 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WHO: Teachers from Nightingale Elementary School.
On Wednesday, November 16 teachers from Nightingale School will be holding their first Grade In. Join them in grading papers and planning lessons at Ford City Mall located at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. from 3p to 5pm in the Food Court.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011. CHICAGO TEACHERS PENSION FUND.
WHO? Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF). WHAT, Monthly meeting. WHERE, 203 N. LaSalle St., 26th floor. WHEN, Thursday, November 17, 2011. WHY: The 12 member pension Board of Trustees meets monthly, with committee meetings at other times as well. This meeting will seat and swear in newly elected members and elect officers. DETAILS: Sign in for public participation in the meeting will be prior to the meeting (which usually begins promptly at 9:00 a.m.).
Occupy Chicago and Stand Up Chicago join Take Back Chicago for a Chicago rally November 17, 2011.THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011. JOBS NOT CUTS RALLY IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO.
WHO: Occupy Chicago and Stand Up Chicago
WHAT: Jobs Not Cuts Rally and March
WHERE: Begins at the Thompson Center (Randolph and Clark). Continues to Occupy Chicago site (LaSalle and Jackson).
WHEN: November 17, 2011, 3:30 (really at Thompson Center0: 5:30 (Rally at Occupy Chicago site)
WHY: People need jobs, not bailouts for billionaires.
Honduras will be the topic of the discussion at Whittier Elementary School on Friday, November 18, at 3:30 p.m. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2011. HONDURAN TEACHERS SHARE HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS
WHO? Honduran teacher Norma Yanina Parada Martinez
WHAT, Will speak to Chicago teachers and others. WHERE, Whittier Dual Language School, 1900 W. 23rd St.. 3:30 p.m.
WHEN, Friday, November 18, 2011.
WHY: Honduran teacher Norma Yanina Parada Martinez will speak with Chicago teachers and others. "Yanina brings here powerful and personal international story, and experience as an educator and grassroots organizer from Telgulcipalpa, Honduras. Her energy is focused on providing educational opportunities for the children and young people of Honduras in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2011. TEACHERS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE CURRICULUM FAIR.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 10 AM- 5 PM WHERE: Orozco School, 1940 W. 18th St. Chicago
WHAT: Pro-Justice Participatory Critical annual curriculum fair sponsored by Teachers for Social Justice and Rethinking Schools. Workshops, resources, curriculum, culture, & more! Spanish translation and free childcare Teachers for Social Justice www.teachersforjustice.org Co-sponsored by Rethinking Schools
For more info and to register online, visit the TSJ website, www.teachersforjustice.org.
SLOGAN: Defend and Transform Public Education! Workshops, resources, curriculum, culture, & more! Spanish translation and free childcare
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2011. SUBSTANCE STAFF OPEN MONTHLY MEETING
WHO? The regular staff of Substance and prospective staff members
WHAT, Monthly staff meeting, with first hour devoted to a discussion with prospective new staff members about reporting and obligations.
WHEN, Saturday, November 19, 2011.
WHERE: 5132 W. Berteau, Chicago, IL 60641.
CONDITIONS: Everyone planning to attend (current and prospective staff reporters, videographers, and photographers) must RSVP to Csubstance@aol.com by Friday, November 18, 2011.
WHY: Now that Substance has made the final transition to a solid daily news and analysis website along with the ongoing production of an award winning monthly newspaper, Substance will be working to patiently expand the Substance reporting staff to assure full and accurate coverage of the growing number of events in the months ahead, culminating in the major events in Chicago in May and June 2012.
Tuesday's facilities forum.MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011. CORE Meeting Monday, November 21
WHAT? CORE'S monthly membership meeting.
WHEN: Monday, November 21, 2011. 4:30pm – 6:00pm
WHERE: National Assoc. of Letter Carriers Hall, 3850 S. Wabash, Chicago.
WHY? CORE will be mobilizing this winter for the fifth time to head off the latest privatization Hit List of the Chicago Public Schools and for other reasons. Topics: School Closings; Upcoming Events & Fundraisers; AFT Convention Ideas; January CTU Delegate Elections; Organizing agains the ongoing attacks on teacher and CPS worker rights in Chicago's public schools.
