SUBSCRIPT: 'Chief of Schools' Harrison Peters continues arrogant ways while heading out the door? Are CPS COS illegally using ILTs to evaluate teachers?
Every month Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis reminds the union's 800 local school delegates that the ILTs ("Instructional Leadership Teams") are not legitimate groups, and that instructional and school-based leadership should be conducted by the school's contractual Professional Problems Committee (PPC) and Professional Personnel Leadership Committee (PPLC). More and more union teachers are simply warning their colleagues that the ILTs are management grouplets, and they should be avoided.
'Calumet Network' Chief of Schools Harrison Peters has produced a Vimeo of himself as he applies for a job as Superintendent of Wasau County schools, while apparently violating Illinois law by having ILT teachers try to get away with teacher evaluations in Altgeld Gardens elementary schools in Chicago. But more and more sources in the schools are reporting to Substance, credibly but off the record, that CPS officials are trying to use the ILT members against the teachers. Recently, we heard from one source as follows: "Dr. Harrison Peters — Lake Calumet COS (Chief of Schools) — is using his network ILTs to evaluate teachers at his schools that have low scores. The question is: How he is getting these evaluations — if he is getting them into DS2. This is highly inappropriate, since ILTs are other teachers and should not be evalutating teachers..."
Peters, who has submitted his resume to Wasau County as he tries to get a job outside Chicago, has never taught one day in a Chicago public school classroom. He received his masters and "doctoral" degrees from Nova University and was brought to Chicago from out of town by Ron Huberman.
Under Illinois law, only the assistant principals principals have the credentials and training to do professional evaluation of classroom teachers and other school staff. Substance keeps hearing from various "Networks" that the "Chiefs of Schools" (COS) are trying to utilize the ILTs (Instructional Leadership Teams) against union teachers as one tactic in the Board's push, backed by both Joe Moriarity and Alicia Winckler, to roll back the solidarity the union gained during the Chicago Teachers Strike of 2012.
Harrison Peters (above right) could barely contain his disdain for the parents who spoke out against Mayor Rahm Emanuel's "Longer School Day" during the March 10, 2012 forum at Morgan Park High School in Chicago. The forum, organized by the 19th Ward alderman and parents from the ward, delivered a stinging critique of the mayor's plans. Peters, meanwhile, ignored the presentations and fondled his iPad. Substance photo by Susan Zupan.CPS officials have been slow to order COS and principals to honor the contract and state law, and confrontations have been looming across the city.
