CTU launches Website to Educate Public about School Closings

Let's see the UFT do something similar school closings or need I remind you that at the AFT convention in Detroit this past summer, the Unity Caucus 800 opposed a Chicago resolution calling for a moratorium on closing schools.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              CONTACT:             Stephanie Gadlin

October 29, 2012                                                                               312/329-6250                                                                                                                                                                                        StephanieGadlin@ctulocal1.com

CTU launches Website to Educate Public about School Closings

MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com is a new online resource for parents, activists and students

CHICAGO – In the ongoing battle with the Chicago Board of Education to give students, parents and teachers the resources needed to strengthen public education and stop school closings, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) today unveiled a new online advocacy campaign which provides education justice and labor allies the tools designed to influence the ongoing debate about what’s best for Chicago’s students.  

The MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com website offers a wealth of information and resources for tackling the complex issues around school reform tactics being used in Chicago.  The campaign was born out of CTU’s advocacy efforts with parents groups, community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, education justice activists and labor leaders which culminated in the first teachers’ strike in 25 years. The site is intended to be a comprehensive resource for neighborhood leaders who seek to engage the public and policy-makers and important issues such as school closings, the campaign for an elected school board and how to strengthen neighborhood schools.

Features include:

• Content organized based upon the ground-breaking “Schools Chicago Students Deserve,” research report which outlined a 10-point plan for school improvement
• Research-based content including studies, news articles, essays and white papers for education justice leaders.
• “Hot Seat” profiles on out-of-town education reformers and other politically-connected individuals and groups who seek to privatize and profit off the backs of public school students and their families.
• A Frequently Asked Question portal which allows the public to ask questions and exchange ideas with seasoned educators and education justice activists around a variety of issues impacting public education in Chicago.
• Links to community-based organizations currently engaged in the fight for better schools.
• Access to videos, interviews and broadcast-quality content featuring opinion leaders and activists who are engaged in the education justice fight.
• Free downloads of community organizing materials in the PDF format.

In addition, MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com will eventually include a dynamic, new database feature which allows the user to compare neighborhood schools to charter operations and determine whether or not the campuses lack critical resources needed to improve student learning. The database, which is currently under development, will also allow users to determine if their neighborhood school has enough resources and teaching personnel such as counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses who offer vital wrap-around services.

According to CTU President Karen GJ Lewis, “Today’s students have suffered from years of experimentation as CPS closed, turned around and consolidated their schools. These unproven “fixes” have nothing to do with our children and more to do with real estate transactions and rewarding politically-connected for-profit charter operations with school buildings.  MoveChicagoSchoolsForward.com is an initiative focused on informing the public about how to get involved in the ongoing fight for more resources and support for our students and educators.

The website is located at www.movechicagoschoolsforward.com and is now live.

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The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve.  The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois.  For more information please visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com .

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