Local School Council 'Summit' held Saturday February 15 at Westinghouse High School
The First Meeting �Summit of Local School Councils� was held in Chicago on February 15, 2014. The movement to save public schools in Chicago continues to grow in strength, as the hundreds of teachers, parents, community leaders, and students at the LSC Summit could attest. The city wide Local School Council Summit was hosted by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), and a dozen parent and neighborhood committees that have organized themselves.
One of the leaders of the February 15, 2014 LSC Summit was Adourthus McDowell, who has been a long-time community activist. Above, McDowell denounced the CPS plan to close 50 real public schools at the December 3, 2012 hearing held by the puppet commission led by corporate executive Frank Clark. Substance photo by David Vance. School activists from the North, South and West sides held the day-long conference February 15, 2014 at Westinghouse High School auditorium. The conference concluded with discussion and voting on 10 platform planks of struggle to "defend public education."
As one of the co-chairs of the event, Adourthus McDowell, stated, �We are building a platform for the people, of what democracy looks like on the ground.�
The majority of the audience represented teachers, parents and community members who want the Local School Councils to play a stronger role in their schools. LSC members are elected for a two-year term in each school and are in the front line demanding better public education.
McDowell explained the LSC Summit was a calling for all school activists to be elected to the LSCs in the April 2014 elections. Serving on your neighborhood LSC is �call to duty, to stand up for our children and to stand-up for our future. In light of the massive historical cuts that took place last year where more schools were closed in Chicago than ever before in US history�.
The LSC�s also represent democracy in the neighborhoods, McDowell said. In each LSC are six parent representatives, two community representatives, two teacher representatives, one non-teaching staff member and the principal. Everyone but the principal is elected. The LSC in each school has the task of school oversight which includes the budget, monitoring the school�s plan and vision, and evaluating the school�s principal. The LSC hires the principal for a four-year term.
When the public school principal leaves, the LSC forms a committee for a principal search and through a three-month process selects the new principal. In this method the best school principal, the �principal teacher� is selected. While it takes time, the parents, teachers and community are really involved, our democracy works and our children are best served.
Charter schools do none of this. Their financial books are closed, so that parents are not even allowed to know how much money the charter school is receiving, and from whom. Most charter schools receive special funding from wealthy supporters, but the total amount at each school is kept from parent. No LSC is permitted to form at a charter school. There is no election of parents, community or teachers who give oversight to the charter school. There are now 120 charter schools that use our public money but do not want any questions on their school business plan.
Students with problems are removed, forced out from the schools. Parents that demand more school services for their child are also often forced out of the charter schools, returning to the real public schools.
"The charter schools have a business plan first and an education plan second," LSC supporters say.
The parents, teachers and community activists who formed the first LSC Summit repeatedly said want to build a movement that fights for better public schools for all children. The city wide summit really showed that parents, teachers and community activists are building a public school movement that is going to "rock the Mayor�s Office" -- and eventually Springfield.
[The reporter of this article, Dave Vance, serves on two Local School Councils in South Chicago; James N. Thorp Elementary and Bowen High School. The new wing of Thorp was given to Learn Charter in September of 2010. Half of Bowen was given to Noble in September of 2013.
Also note: A huge amount of work went into the success of the Feb. 15 LSC Summit. With a new round of LSC elections coming soon the CTU worked in a broad coalition of parent groups to make the LSC Summit a success.]
The ten points were:
LSCs United for Community Power
We stand for:
Democracy in our Schools: An Elected Representative School Board and stronger LSCs
Full Funding for Public Education: We need to raise the Minimum Wage and pull families out of poverty, implement Fair Taxes to lower class sizes, improve school facilities, abolish Student Based Budgeting, increase staff levels and eliminate differences between schools.
Early Childhood Education for all: Free universal Pre-K�all students need a quality education. The early years are critical and all families deserve free pre-K programs.
More Teaching Less Testing: There are too many tests that disrupt quality instruction for our children.
Community Based School Transformation: Parents, educators and community working together improves our schools. We must stop harmful policies like school closings.
6) Increase Parent and Community Power in our Schools: Improve communication and participation between parents, students, teachers & administration.
7) Implement Restorative Justice and Social-Emotional programs: to eliminate the school-to-prison, -military and -poverty pipelines.
8) High Quality Curriculum: that is culturally relevant, action-based, encourages critical-thinking, and is child-centered, to meet the needs of all learners.
9) No more charter and military school expansion.
10) Arts, Music, Physical Education, & After-School Programs for All!
