Forum at Northeastern University Thursday (March 7) to discuss racism and other corruption in CPS school closings
An important forum scheduled for Thursday, March 7, will take place the Northeastern illinois University to discuss the issues around the proposed school closings and the so-called "underutilization crisis" at Chicago Public Schools. The four speakers at the forum will be Jitu Brown, of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Rhoda Rae Gutierrez of Parents 4 Teachers (P4T), Carol Caref of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Byron Sigcho of Teachers for Social Justice (TSJ).
According to a NEIU press release issued on February 28, 2013:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Contact: Daniel Williams, Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU)
5500 N. St. Louis Ave., Chicago, IL 60625
Phone: 317-373-7470
djwill22@neiu.edu
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/157434751076017/?fref=ts
Parents, Community Members, Teachers and Students to Join in a Symposium on March 7th at Northeastern Illinois University, “The Black List: Issues of Racial Inequality in Public Education” as Chicago Public Schools moves to close 129 schools.
Chicago, IL - February 28, 2013 - Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced a list of 129 schools that may be closed in Chicago this year. School closings in Chicago are disproportionately concentrated in Latino and African American communities. Hence the title of this community forum, “The Black List: Issues of Racial Inequality in Public Education”.
Together with the Angelina Pedroso Center for Diversity and Intercultural Affairs and Sociology Department, the forum will take place at Northeastern Illinois University, (NEIU) on Thursday, March 7, from 6-8pm in Lech Walesa Hall, Room 1002. Parking is available and the campus is accessible by CTA Kimball and Foster buses and Kimball Brown Line.
This is not the first year that CPS is closing schools, but the number of potential closings is historic. The forum will address the issues of school closings, the demand for an elected representative school board and how to influence policymakers.
The speakers at the forum will be Jitu Brown, of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Rhoda Rae Gutierrez of Parents 4 Teachers (P4T), Carol Caref of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Byron Sigcho of Teachers for Social Justice (TSJ).
Jitu Brown is a nationally recognized advocate for quality and meaningful community driven school reform. Mr. Brown has also been to Washington D.C. twice to lobby the Secretary of Education and Department of Justice to investigate the civil rights impact of school closings.
Rhoda Rae Gutierrez is a Chicago Public School parent who is active in the struggle for an elected representative school board, a halt to high stakes standardized testing, and high quality curriculum for all students. She is a member of the organization Parents for Teachers (P4T)
Carol Caref is the Liaison for the Education Committee of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). The 28,000 members of the CTU went on strike last year for the first time in 25 years. Members of the CTU have witnessed the devastating and sometimes deadly impact of school closings on communities in Chicago.
Byron Sigcho is a GED instructor at the University of Illinois Center for Literacy and a member of Teachers for Social Justice (TSJ). TSJ is an organization that is part of the Coalition to Organize for Democracy in Education, which collected signatures in 2012 to demand an elected representative school board for CPS.
