A veteran teacher reports on the January 31, 2009, Las Casas hearing at Ninos Heroes Elementary School (February 1, 2009)
[Editor's Note: Beginning with this report and continuing, Substancenews.net will publish first hand reports concerning the various Chicago school closings, transformation, phase out, and turnaround hearings as the information is forwarded to us by a growing community of activists. The following was circulated a few hours after the January 31 Las Casas hearing by Karen Lewis, who teaches at King College Prep High School in Chicago and is a member of CORE].
Attack on Las Casas is ‘sickening’ says CORE activist
By Karen Lewis
I wanted to share about the Las Casa hearing at Ninos Heroes. Guys, it was sad and I never thought I would see the disrespect I saw. The hearing wasn't as well-attended as the one at the Board on Monday, January 26, but it was just as spirited. There were maybe 2 teachers, some PRSP's and some parents. The hearing began at 10:00 a.m. precisely.
Teresa Garate, formerly of the Board of Education's special education department, is now with the "Office of High Schools." In her testimony on January 31, Garate claimed that Las Casas costs CPS $84,000 per pupil per year, but refused to provide the data upon which she based her claim.The most notable parent who testified was Gabrielle Turn. A 54 year old nurse (and former police officer) with 12 children, she had a dramatic story to tell about the effectiveness of Las Casas. Her son — a 6'9" 275 pounder — entered Las Casas on 17 different medications. On his first day, he knocked out a teacher, a security guard and an aide. He is now off all meds and taking three AP classes (the principal actually told me this - and knew the classes he was taking).
The principal had not testified at the Board hearing on January 26, but she decided to speak out at this hearing. Her name is Akatarina Panagakis and is passionate about the work she is going with the teachers and PSRPs at Las Casas. She said that when she was told by Board of Education officials on December 20, 2008, that she couldn’t believe it. She gave a powerful narrative of the strengths of Las Casas, one that was backed up by every parent, teacher and student who spoke on January 31, as well as by those who spoke at the January 26 hearing and at the January 28 meeting of the Board of Education. Apparently the only people who agree that Las Casas should be closed are officials from the Board and the hearing officer.
After more than ten years of rubber stamping CPS proposals as an "independent hearing officer," attorney Fred Bates (above, foreground) testily chided parents and others who came to the Saturday morning hearings on the proposed closing of Las Casas Occupational High School. Dozens of speakers over three days (January 26 at a CPS hearing; January 28 at the Board of Education meeting; and January 31 at the hearing in South Chicago) have demanded that Las Casas not be closed. All point out that the school is successfully serving one of the most challenging student populations in the USA. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.. The "hearing officer" — an arrogant, condescending man who spoke to the audience as if they were wayward children — was not identified by the sign on the front table. When I came in he was threatening to evict one of the parents whose phone had gone off during the testimony. He was later identified to me as Fred Bates, and I am told that he has been presiding over these hearings for more than ten years.
No one from CTU was there. David Pickens, Teresa Garate, Stephen Wilkins and a couple of other Board hacks were there. These included a woman who sat behind me in one of the reserved seats on Tuesday. When I challenged the so-called hearing officer that not one single member of the Board was there, this woman stood up and announced that she represented [Board Member] Clara Muñana. I said she was clearly not Munana -- so it didn't matter.
Las Casas has clearly been sabotaged.
While they are capable of taking more students, the Office of Specialized Services (OSS) has told people not to place any more students at Las Casas, according to the principal. The principal also said that she rarely meets a general high school principal without at least one troubled student who could be placed at Las Casas, but the Board refuses to allow Las Casas to take these students — no matter how great the need.
Principal Panagakis told the hearing that as of Friday (January 30), Las Casas had 78 students, but that the school could have 100 students by Monday (February 2) if the Board wasn’t refusing to allow Las Casas to take in additional students who needed this kind of public school therapeutic high school. Instead, CPS is clearly determined to close Las Casas and (probably) utilize its building for some other purpose. The plan is to and its students into private placement. Teresa Garate testified that the Board has four private placements that she claimed would serve the needs of the Las Casas students after the closing.
Special Education being forced to privatize? Hamilton, Las Casas, and others?
What is so interesting to me is that the story of parents at Hamilton and Las Casas is very similar. The parents carefully researched which schools could provide the best options for their children's needs and went with that. The parents have made their "choice".
In the case of Hamilton parents, they paid tuition for pre-school and were promised that they would have a place in Hamilton for their students.
The students at Las Casas are much more vulnerable. What sickened me the most is that the hearing officer asked whether it was the goal to get "these kids" back into regular schools. The principal stated that indeed it was, but that it was a process. Those students could not be dumped wholesale into neighborhood schools. This is a travesty and I wish I could report anything good that will come of this.
Ms. Turner said that the Tribune will interview her today (January 31) around 2:00pm at her home.
Sorry if I'm getting too long-winded, but something just occurred to me - with the election of Obama, people do have hope and others appreciate grassroots organization. If the people rise up, they will have the world looking in. We have to establish some consistent, targeted strategic steps that will lead to the "outing" of the establishment and demand they do their civic duty instead of this callous, bottom-line approach for those who need the most!
THE COMPLETE TEXT -- WITH ALL GRAPHICS -- OF THIS ARTICLE WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE FEBRUARY 2009 PRINT EDITION OF SUBSTANCE. THE PRINT EDITION WILL BE MAILED TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009.
