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Local
School Councils and PACs- about/doings, mtg. schedule,
elections, schools table and LSC memberships A
service of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference Schools
Committee and the HPKCC website, www.hydepark.org.
Help support our work-Join
the Conference.
Join the Schools Committee-chair Nancy Baum. email hpkcc@aol.com,
nbbaum@sbcglobal.net.
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Return
links:New HPKCC hydepark.org
website home and about/from Schools Committee.
Home and link page of this neighborhood site of HPKCC Hyde
Park Record.
Schools/schools committee home.
School Hot Topics.
Have
A Heart school supply drive Feb 9-21 2012 and subcommittee Friends of
Hyde Park Public Schools.
Local School
Councils: celebrating 20 years in December 2009;
Further description.
HPKCC letter.
Info 773
553-1400, www.CPS.edu, Facebook.com/ChicagoPublicSchools.
Meetings
and opportunities
Here are
relevant meetings on the future of our schools and potential closings:
HAVE
A HEART SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVES), CLICK HERE
(the page).
The fight over an
unfunded 7.5 hour day vs. a quality day (with some wanting as short
as 6.5 vs. present 5.45) has now morphed into a 7 hour day for elementary
and 7 1/2 for high schools (with 75 min early release for hs once a
week) supported by the Mayor (April 10)-- but what can be done about
the funding and quality with huge deficits looming. Here is what the
city release says about details of increases in both school day and
instruction year:
Elementary Full
School Day:
•Students
will receive 52 additional minutes of instructional time each day.
•Students will receive 6 hours of instruction and 45 minutes
for recess and lunch.
•Students will be in school for 7 hours each day, an increase
of 75 minutes.
•Teachers will be in school for 7 hours and 40 minutes, an increase
of 85 minutes.
High School Full School Day:
•Students
will receive 46 additional instructional minutes four days a week.
•Students will receive 6 hours and 8 minutes of instructional
time four days a week.
•Students will be in school for 7 1/2 hours a day, an increase
of 36 minutes four days a week.
•One day per week the day will end 75 minutes early.
•Teachers will be in school for 7 hours and 40 minutes, an increase
of 39 minutes.
The Full School Day will provide significant benefits to all students
across the district, including:
•Elementary
students will receive an additional 207 hours of instruction each
year, and high school students will receive an additional 116 hours
of instruction. Principals will no longer have to choose between reading,
math or science because of limited time in the day.
•Additional time will create opportunity to add more intervention
to ensure students who are falling behind in math and reading can
get up to speed with their peers.
•Elementary students will have time for lunch and recess every
day to relax, re-boot and return to the classroom ready to learn.
The Full School Day was structured with an eye toward providing teachers
with adequate professional development and prep time to support their
practice. Benefits of the Full Day include:
•Elementary
teachers will have almost two additional hours of prep time each week.
•Elementary teachers will have self-directed prep time in the
mornings, as well as additional prep time throughout the day to meet
with parents informally, prepare for their lessons and supervise students
who arrive at school early.
•Both elementary and high school teachers will receive an average
of 75 minutes for professional development each week.
VISIT
FEBRUARY 23 2010
CEREMONY AND FORUM page.
Review in pdf.
Get involved in the meetings of the HPKCC Schools Committee!
Chair Camille Hamilton-Doyle,
Co-Chair Nancy Baum.
Next with principals TBA.
LSC
Elections winners 2012
Bret Harte
Parent- Darryl Williams, Constance Pierce, Brianne Kelly, Oharyah
Goodlow, Herbert Manny
Community- Elizabeth Herring, William Sweetland
Teacher Saundra Summers, Faith Mitchell. Nonteacher Donna Dyer-Williams
(Principal Shenethe Parks)
Kozminski
Parent- Sheryl Carter, LaDonna Myers, Adrienne Henley, Norrine Nix,
Laronda Fitts,
Antoine Scroggins
Community- Victoria
Long
Teacher -Michael Henley, Beverly Jones. Nonteacher John Toney
(Principal Myron Hester)
Canter
Parent- Edward Jenkins
Community- Charlie Mabry, James Williams
Teacher- Rebecca Collins, Glenda Banks. Nonteacher Lenora Sandridge
(Principal Colleen Conlan)
Murray 2 vacancies
July 2012
Parent- Josephine Sanders, Thomas Hoffer, Michael Ewing, Julie Hammond,
Angela Stewart, Nichol Hayes* chair
Community- Carla Pollard, Michael Scott
Teacher- Ned Brooks, Eulene Carter. Nonteacher SherryAnn Nickerson
(Principal Gregory Mason)
Ray
Parent- Gordon Mayer, Joy Clendenning, Timothy May, William Schmidt,
Matthew Christian, Elizabeth Benito
Community- Alysia Tate, Don Willard
Teacher- Amy Levine, Gabriel Sheridan. Nonteacher none
(Principal Antonia Hill)
Shoesmith
Parent- Niema Dancy, Jasmine Hedgeman, Lael Billard
Community- Thomas McDougal, Lena Fritz
Teacher- Ashley Keine, Vanessa Corbin. Nonteacher Rhonda Willis
(Prinicpal Sabrina Gates)
Kenwood
Parent- Juliana Sratton, Priscilla Dickson, Rodney Thomas, Michel
Neal, Stephanie Lawson, Ismail Turay
Community- Charise Williams, Ryan O'Leary
Teacher- Dana Adams, Krystyna Tate. Nonteacher Cynthia Fuller-Lenow
Student- Stephanie Kuwurnu
(Prinicipal Gregory Jones)
Missing: Reavis
(Principal elect Gail King, LSC chair Tracy Scott), Robinson
(principal Sonia Spiller?),
Price (principal Justin Moore- school being phased out), King Principal
Jeff Wright)
Kenwood
Academy : Gregory Jones selected Principal.
The Five Fundamentals of School Success model is used to focus
school planning on what matters most. This model was built on research
developed and refined by CPS practitioners and stakeholders and used
to guide the CIPAAA process: Instruction, Instructional Leadership,
Professional Capacity, Learning Climate, and Family and Community Involvement.
Visit
also Link
to Kenwood School Improvement Plan survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/33SSMNN.
View/print
pdf of flyer about Kenwood Academy and Kenwood SIPPAA.
See how CPS has adapted findings from the UC Consortium
and more for school improvement plan planning: Defining
Excellence- 5 fundamental supports.
HPKCC
and the LSCs, other opportunities
“The mission of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference Schools
Committee is to provide community support for the schools and to provide
a place where Local School Council members can get together to share
information.”
Our mission
and reports are in the Schools
Committee homepage.
A major effort
of the LSCs is to exchange information and promote networking among
LSCs, helping to get partnership programs and train in grant seeping.
We will need LSC help in distributing our Youth Programs Database.
Contact Nancy Baum at 773 288-5464 or nbbaum@sbcglobal.net.
PURE's
Schedule for Basic LSC Training. Training is free to individual LSC
members. LSC members may access LSC training funds if available. Pure
trainers are certified by CPS to provide LSC training and award LSC
training credit. The training will be held at PURE, located at 100
S. Morgan St. For more information or to pre-register (required),
please call 312-491-9101 or visit http://pureparents.org/data/files/LSClatefall08.pdf
What
LSCs and parents need to know about Title I and Open Meetings
Sheila
Wesonga is offering training on Title I opportunities and mandates
and Open Meetings Act mandates. Most
of the following information comes from her.
The
statute under ESEA/NCLB is L 89-10, 79 Stat. 27, 20USC ch 70. It provides
for financial assistance for local educational agencies to help educate
children of low income families (including homeless. (For teachers
it provides professional development in addition to what is in Title
VI.) Provision was strengthened by No Child Left Behind reauthorization
stressing accountability of results, classes/resources and training
for parents, more local flexibility, emphasis on measurement and outcomes
based on scientific research. The future of individual schools depends
on showing adequate yearly progress (AYP) over two years-- those who
do not face a variety of corrective actions. (The district and the
state board are legally responsible.) Of the funding the school gets
90%, parent programs 1% and the district 9%. Parents, the LSC and
the PAC are supposed to be involved in every stage (and LSC and principals
sign off on) the Title I allocation to the school. Parental involvement
has been show to be directly related to how kids do, in school and
through life.
There
is schoolwide funding (section 11.14) if 40% or more on free or reduced
lunch. (There is also targeted Assisted Title I funding (11.15 EA)
for families that has its own qualifications.) The school must have
a plan to address needs and a certified paraprofessional (parents
must be notified if these do not have all certifications). Schools
can opt out--- especially if there is not enough funding, for example
for evaluation. There is also a written complaint procedure and a
state review committee that has parent representatives. There is a
Parent Information and Research Center at Columbia College that helps
with such as resume writing.
Right to Know is robust for parents and communities-- exactly what
the status and metrics of the school are, teachers' and volunteers'
backgrounds and certifications, the racial and gender makeup.
There is a right to school readiness and career readiness. All these
amount to the school's Annual Report Card--which is to be online and
accessible before school starts and involve an annual meeting. (CPS
has been held to have incorrectly spent Title I money- they are 2
years behind in allocating stimulus money.) Parents
have options is the school faces corrective actions, including various
kinds of school choice and transportation to that school.
What
parental involvement entails (11.18): Meaningful communication and
learning activities and a Parental Involvement Plan and a Parent Advisory
Council.
Taking an integral role in the child's learning
Partnering with the school in decision making and involvement and
discussion on funds for parent activities.
There must bea district wide Parent Involvement Policy (should be
annually revised)
School must have a policy. It's financially spelled out in the SIPAAA.
There is to be a School Parent Compact that is to include parents
knowing what the kids have to know to pass tests.
Capacity building- most bring in an outside organization to set up
and evaluate all these.
Accessibility. Parents must have access to school's and child's report
card and the principal's models and plan, and the standards (vs just
grade requirements) by grade-- the curriculum must bed based on the
standard (which is confusing- state-district-school). Parents have
a right to be in the school- and should go frequently, including to
praise. The school has to offer flexible meeting times and numbers
of them to parents even if that means providing daycares, and serve
the homebound. Parochial schools have a right to a share in Title
I money.
Title I will pay for technology.
All
this amounts to involvement, shared responsibility, building capacity.
Updates
and trends
The legislature
made it easier to exclude LSCs in the schools they are "turning
around." Visit for one view http://pureparents.org/index.php?blog/show/Legislators_betray_LSCs.
If your LSC is
having trouble getting the information and documents's it needs, note
that the state has liberalized the rules on Freedom of Information:
Help is on the
way from the Illinois Attorney General and a new FOIA law. The new
law, among other things:
•Creates
a presumption that all records are public; if a public body claims
an exemption, it has the burden of proving that the record is exempt
by clear and convincing evidence.
•Shortens the initial time to respond to a FOIA request from
7 to 5 business days and the time allowed in an extension from 7 to
5 business days.
•Establishes the Public Access Counselor (PAC) as a permanent
position with subpoena power and the authority to review FOIA and
OMA complaints, issue advisory opinions to provide guidance or binding
opinions to resolve disputes, and sue to enforce the binding opinions.
•Allows the PAC to assess civil fines of between $2,500 and
$5,000 from a public body that intentionally violates FOIA.
Designs
for Change and others say there have been special impediments to sign
up to run this year, some of them connected to the high number of schools
on probation (where both principal and LSC are not allowed to prepare
the improvement plan) and lack of widespread knowledge that the anti
LSC Meeks Bill is in effect dead in committee.
Twenty-two
Local School Council, community, school reform, and educator groups
(Attachment A) today vigorously urged that the Chicago Public School
System's Chief Executive Officer, Ron Huberman, grant a two-week extension
of the deadline for candidates to register to run for their Chicago
Local School Councils. All groups involved in requesting the extension
are engaged in the effort to recruit LSC candidates.
These twenty-two groups and numerous individual supporters want the
candidate registration deadline extended from March 11 to March 25.
On March 10, there were 3,340 LSC candidates registered, while about
7,000 candidates have run in the past six LSC elections (contradicting
the assertion that candidacy has been in steep decline in recent years)
(see Attachment B).
The Chicago Board has extended this candidate recruitment deadline
in previous LSC elections, and the Chief Executive Officer has made
this decision.
Despite
stereotypes of LSC members held by some, a comprehensive research
study of Chicago's LSCs by the Consortium on Chicago Research at the
University of Chicago concludes that: ""The vast majority
of Local School Council members quietly oversee school policy and
carry out their official duties of the evaluation of the principal,
approving the budget, and approving and monitoring the School Improvement
Plan. ...They also help the school with a myriad of small and large
tasks," which include increasing parent involvement and developing
collaborations with organizations in the community. "These individuals
deserve our praise and our thanks...By devolving significant resources
and authority to local school communities and by expanding opportunities
for local participation by parents, community members, and staff,
this reform has enlarged the capabilities of school communities to
solve local problems."
These research findings are supported by:
• Senator Arthur Berman, former Chair of the Senate Education
Committee and a key sponsor of the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988.
• Clarice Berry, President of the Chicago Principals and Administrators
Association, who strongly endorses the request for the two-week extension
and praises the collaboration within an effective school community
to which LSCs contribute (see Attachment C).
The coalition argued that the time extension is needed because (1)
the Chicago school system's administration and Central Board have
undermined the recruitment process in several crucial ways and (2)
other critical events have had a negative impact on candidate recruitment.
How CPS Has Undermined Candidate Recruitment
A major impediment to candidate recruitment results from the fact
that up to 399 schools have been placed on probation by the Central
Board, a dramatic increase from the 71 schools that were placed on
probation for the 2000-2001 school year (see Attachment D). Probation
strips the Local School Council and the principal of their legal right
to develop a School Improvement Plan and school budget and empowers
the Central Board to impose these plans on the school.
This extent of probation in Chicago violates the original intention
and definition of probation in state law, which focused probation
on schools that were not making a serious effort to improve. By using
a percentage of 50% on the School Performance Score as the probation
cutoff, the Chicago Board has set a standard that, when its specifics
are examined, wrongly places on probation a large number of neighborhood
schools with good achievement that must address the fact that they
have several of the following characteristics that lead to an inequitable
School Performance Score: a high level of poverty, a high percentage
of students with disabilities, an uncertain enrollment since they
must accept whoever walks in their door and lives within the school's
attendance boundaries, outmoded and substandard physical facilities,
and a moderate level of student mobility (see Attachment E for elaboration
about this issue).
Between 1999 and 2009, the Chicago Board changed its probation policy
eight times. Further, over this period, Attachment F illustrates that
the Chicago Board 's decision to change its probation policy has had
an erratic relationship to the achievement progress of elementary
schools. For example, Attachment F, which focuses on the relationship
between elementary school probation and student achievement indicates
that the Board tripled the number of schools on probation between
the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years from 47 to 158, even though
achievement increased slightly between these two years. Further, the
number of schools on probation dropped from 181 in 2005-06 to 46 in
2006-07, primarily because the Illinois State Board of Education made
the Illinois Standards Achievement Test easier. Thus, schools registered
big gains in achievement, and the number of schools on probation plummeted.
Subsequently, the number of elementary schools on probation more than
tripled from 2006-07 to 2007-08 (from 46 to 171), even though school
achievement actually improved slightly over these two school years.
In each succeeding year (2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010), the
number of elementary schools on probation has steadily increased (as
reflected in Attachment F), even though achievement has increased
modestly but steadily over these three years.
"Clearly, the number of schools placed on probation has little
to do with improving school achievement, and reflects the desire of
the Chicago Board to reinstate centralized authority over schools,
moving us back to the time when Chicago was considered the worst big
city school system in the nation," said Dr. Donald Moore of Designs
for Change. "Further supporting this view is the fact that research
about schools placed on probation in Chicago has repeatedly shown
that probation has no long-term impact on student achievement.
Although LSCs retain substantial powers and responsibilities, even
if their school is on probation, many LSCs have been told that if
their school is on probation that they are blocked from playing any
further significant role. At Mann Elementary School, for example,
the principal told the LSC that they didn't need to meet anymore.
These negative experiences with the probation process are common knowledge
among many potential LSC candidates, and many decline to apply for
LSC membership-saying "What's the point in serving on an LSC
that is given virtually no authority?" As Attachment F indicates,
the number of elementary schools on probation has increased nearly
five-fold from 2003-3004 to 2009-2010. As Attachment G indicates,
nearly every non-selective neighborhood high school is now on probation.
Further, the coalition has concluded (as indicated above) that the
"point system" for placing schools on probation that the
Central Board currently employs works to the detriment of schools
that are not selective and/or educate a large percentage of low-income
students and students with disabilities (see Attachment D).
For example, among the schools placed on probation for the 2009-2010
school year is Kellman Corporate Community School (a 100% African
American and 92% low-income school in North Lawndale). 77% of Kellman's
students met or exceeded state (ISAT) testing standards Overall in
spring 2009-far higher than the city-wide average. And Kellman made
Adequate Yearly Progress under federal standards. Yet Kellman was
then placed on probation by Chicago, based on their School Performance
Score of 38%, for reasons analyzed in Attachment D.
A second major area in which the school system bureaucracy has obstructed
the LSC Candidate recruitment process is by its failure to adequately
facilitate the efforts of independent groups to recruit candidates.
For example:
• This is the first of the 12 LSC elections to date in which
the Chicago Board has made no effort to bring together all groups
working on recruitment to coordinate their efforts and share ideas
about effective strategies. Few groups working on candidate recruitment
can even name a significant number of other groups working on recruitment
(unless they have developed this knowledge through collaboration separate
from the Chicago Board.
• This is the first election in which the Chicago Board has
failed to produce daily school-by-school breakdowns of the number
of candidates registered at each school by role (Parent, Community,
Teacher, Student) every day during the last month of the recruitment
period. CPS has produced such lists only eight times in spring 2010,
with all documents supplied after repeated requests by school reform
groups several weeks before the first reports was provided on February
24. And the lists that were provided were inferior to the lists that
had been provided in all prior elections since 1989, since they failed
to list schools that had no candidates registered. Such timely complete
lists are vital, so that groups involved in recruiting candidates
know which schools to concentrate on.
Other Events Negatively Impacting Candidate Recruitment
Beyond actions by the Chicago school system, two other main issues
have undermined recruiting.
First, Senator James Meeks, Chair of the Senate Education Committee,
introduced a bill to eliminate all LSC authority on February 8, 2010-which
received a great deal of press attention, with the CPS spokesperson
calling Senator Meeks "a champion of school reform" after
he introduced Senate Bill 3063 (SB 3063).
Senator Meeks bill is now trapped in a subcommittee, and he has publicly
promised the bill's opponents (including a fellow evangelist who is
an LSC member) that he will not seek to advance the bill. However,
the lack of progress of SB 3063 has received no press publicity, so
the response of a number of potential LSC candidates has been: "What's
the use of running for an LSC? They are going to get rid of LSCs."
Second, there has been an overall decline in candidate participation
and voter participation at virtually every level of government. For
example:
• In 37 Democratic State House of Representatives races in Chicago
that took place in February 2010, the voter turnout was only 19%.
Further, in these races, only 30% of these elections were contested
and 70% were uncontested (i.e., the number of candidates equaled the
number of positions open).
• Of the 168 suburban school board races that were held in Suburban
Cook County in April 2009, 47% were contested and 53% were uncontested
Among the uncontested elections, 7 did not have a sufficient number
of candidates to fill all positions. Overall voter turnout was 20%.
"Local School Councils are held to a double standard," said
Matthew Johnson, a member of the Dewey Local School Council. "Low
turnouts of candidates and voters in state legislature races and suburban
school board races don't lead for calls to abolish these offices.
However, if there are recruitment problems in LSC races, opponents
of LSCs are immediately calling for abolishing LSCs."
"If the Chicago Public Schools spent a quarter of the time that
they devote to undermining LSCs to assisting them, we could have one
of best urban school systems in the nation," Johnson said. "We
urge Mr. Huberman to extend the candidate registration deadline.
For more information, and to view supporting charts and documents,
go to our Web site.
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Why
LSCs-- and good, trained and attentive members--matter and are endorsed
by the HPKCC Schools Committee. Particularly important in light of
repeated filing of bills to eliminate or eliminate the powers of LSCs.
Parents
United for Responsible Education (PURE) issued a "fact sheet"
on LSCs
LSCs
Improve Schools
The Illinois
Supreme Court in 1990 said that LSCs are essential units of educational
governance, empowered to make important budgetary, educational,
and administrative decisions regarding the Chicago public school
system. [t]he legislature has given them the primary responsibility
for school governance and improvement....
A 2004 report
by Archon Fung of Harvard uses LSCs as a model of empowered deliberative
participation. He found, according to the fact sheet, that LSCs
increase accountability, build social capital, held encourage parents
- especially minority- become more involved. Most importantly, the
study found LSCs t have a positive impact on student achievement.
U. of C. Consortium
on Chicago School Research studies such as "Charting the Course"
found high LSC effectiveness: principals gave a strong endorsement
of LSC principal selection, 70% of teachers said LSCs were helping
make their school better, and that the LSCs ar an overwhelming percentage
of minority elected officials in Illinois.
"The Big
Picture," 2005, Designs for Change, showing a correlation between
schools with up trending scores and effective LSCs. [Download "The
Big Picture" and other studies from the Designs for Change
website.]
"Sharing
Our Successes: The LSC Gold Star Awards for 2002" by Community
Media Workshop's Successful Schools Project highlighted LSC contributions:
- integrating
arts into the curriculum
- creating
collaborative school improvement plans that have lifted schools
out of probation
- successfully
advocating for new school buildings and facilities improvements
- involving
parents and local businesses in the school's Character Education
program
- implementing
a family literacy project.
LSCs-
real elected officials
Do LSCs represent
enough people to be making the important decisions?
Other school
boards are not challenged on these grounds [the ones that have elections!]
Northbrook
D 27- 10,000 residents. The top vote getter (unopposed) received
716. Glencoe D35- 6,000 eligible. Top of 3 unopposed 178 votes
(3%).
7,000 ran
and over 100,000 voted in every LSC elections. (465,706 voted
in the last mayoral election 15% and Mayor Daley got 324, 519
votes.) LSC elections in the 13th Senatorial District 15 ran per
school, with 1, 294 votes cast, an average of 321 per school-note
one can vote for up to five.
LSCs boast the largest number of elected African-American and
Latino officials in the nation.
Myth
v Reality: Challenges to LSC principal contract decisions
Non-renewal
arbitrations: Myth: All to principals lost. Reality-3 lost, 6 withdrew,
2 defaulted
Arbitration standard: Myth: Personalities and a student's grade.
Reality: Results are confidential but in one known, that school
ranked last in its area in nearly every category.
LSC members as unqualified to hire/fire. Reality: LSC members are
significantly better educated than average Illinois adults--31%
have bachelors (v 21%, 32% some collage v 25%. Only 13% lack high
school diploma v 24% Illinois. No
one is suggesting the 900 Illinois elected school boards be disbanded
or their powers stripped.
CPS role. Myth:
CPS is accountable for results so should select principals. Reality:
CPS already prescreens, and LSCs choose from these. Selection for
local needs is shown to do best.
Why
PURE support's HJR0071.
- Local School
Councils Work. Test scores have risen impressively at schools
that were lo-performing but remained under LSC governance and
not central office intervention v little progress in schools
that were low in 1989 but where decisions are made by CPS. Source:
The Big Picture from Designs for Change.
- The LSC
Law works. A check and balance where needed most- in the schools.
- The
cleanest unit of government in Chicago with over 20,000 having
served.
- Law
provides principals whose contracts are not renewed opportunity
for due process before an independent hearing officer. In
the 3 hearings lost, the principals lost and the LSCs were
ruled within bounds.
- LSCs need
more support, not less. CPS does not meet the need for training
and information:
- No guidebook
or training manual for members elected in 2006
- Funding
not renewed for a successful, independent conflict resolution
program
- CPS
takes public sides against LSCs and then sits in judgment
over them later: Supervision and monitoring must be move out
of CPOS into a neutral entity while CPS provides more resources
for the schools and LSCs.
Top
LSCs
have had other good reviews and defenders-- notwithstanding there
are drawbacks and they need not only good, dedicated people willing
to give the time but strong resources from downtown
PURE writes
March 16 2010. From the Sun-Times
"This
is the 20th anniversary of LSCs, an experiment unique to Chicago
to give parents and neighborhood folks a real voice in running their
schools. For the most part, research suggests that LSCs work, helping
schools function better and drawing resources and parents into the
schools. But LSCs are only as good as the people who run for them."
Joe Moreno,
newly-appointed 1st ward alderman, in the same Sun-Times issue:
Moreno...has served as a member of the local school council at Jose
Diego Academy..."What I can bring as a businessman and as a
local school council member is sort of a bridge and a connection
to those two entities because they really need to be working together,"
Moreno said.
What
the HPKCC Schools Committee concludes about LSC's greatest needs:
- Parent
participation including running for LSC
- Training
- Liaison
staffing and sound advice especially on complicated issues such
as the SIPA (school improvement plan, to which all the required
reporting, funding and school programs must relate); better
access to downtown experts and liaisons.
Feb.
7 2008 PURE files lawsuit re LSCs
The suit
alleges CPS closes schools and reopens them to have appointed
LSCs and strip them of powers invested by law. Julie Woestehoff
of PURE said the law exempts charter and Renaissance 2010 schools
unless housed in a building that uses to be a public school with
an LSC. But CPS has only token LSCs in such reconstituted schools
in older buildings. "CPS has embraced the exception but not
the exception to the exception." Woestehoff says that with
all the closings it is hard to find people who have a stake in
the schools. .
School
boundaries
Kenwood's
is 47th, Cottage, 60th, Stony, 56th, Lake Michigan.
Canter's is the Harte, Ray, and Shoesmith districts.
Murray is a magnet school so has no boundaries, an explanation left
off this map from the April 12 Herald.
Some
local school addresses:
- Canter
Middle. 4959 S. Blackstone
- Bret
Harte Elementary. 1556 E. 56th
- Kenwood
Academy High School. 5015 S. Blackstone
- Kozminski
Community Academy. 936 E. 54th
- Murray
Language Academy. 5335 S. Kenwood
- Ray
Elementary. 5631 S. Kimbark
- Reavis
Elementary. 834 E. 50th
- Shoesmith
Elementary. 1330 E. 50th
Timetable outline for Local School Council election (still under construction
for 2012-13- extrapolate dates))
Get the
Chicago Public Schools Office of School Council Relations Guide
to Local School Council Elections Timeline Outline. 773 553-1400.
Or contact pure@pureparents.org.
Next election spring, 2010- April 22 in high schools, April 21 in elementary.
Nominations
for LSC parent and community positions are due March 4 (3 pm downtown)
or 11 (3 pm at school), depending on means of submission (no faxes,
2 forms of ID needed when submitting). This year, candidacy was poorer
than usual.
March 15 Principals
post final list of candidates and any statements and sends letter to
parents with candidates, forum and election dates.
March 18 5 pm is
deadline to file challenges with law department- fax 773 553-1769 or
1702.
March 22 Law dept
sends list of challenged to school and area.
Candidate
forums will be held between March 22 and 26. Poll watcher credentials
are distributed, ballot position is decided by lottery at forum.
Any literature
to be sent home by the school on April 19 must be submitted to the principal
by 3 pm April 15 in packages of 35.
April
19 9 am Principal posts revised specimen ballots with names in lottery
order. Candidates lit. set. 3 pm deadline for inspection for ballot
errors/
April
19021 high school student nonbinding poll
April
20. Final corrections, posting of ballots, ballots secured. All campaign
literature removed by 3 pm
April
21 elementary, April 22 high schools. Election. Principal and Engineer
arrive by 5:15 am, judges by 5:30 am. Polls open at 6 and close at 7--
if open late, have to stay open the same amount of time.
After
the vote is final, principal posts final vote and enters all totals
into computer and notifies the Area Office before leaving the school.
April
30 5 pm final deadline to file challenges with teh Law Dept.- fax to
773 553-1769 or 1702- request and retain the fax receipt.
8 pm deadline for LSCs to convene and certify the results and break
parent or community ties by lottery.
May 3
12 pm deadline for LSC to file Certification of Results with Area Office.
Area Office breaks any unbroken ties and certifies results by 3 pm.
May 5-28
post election challenge hearings.
June 6
CEO or designee rules on challenges by 3 pm.
June 23
Board of Ed appoints teacher and high school student representatives.
July 1-14
Annual LSC organizational meetings.
Top
______________
Join
the Schools Committee, working to build LSCS and participation in
LSCs, elections- call 773 288 8343 or contact Nancy
Baum.
Top
Table
of public schools with addr/phone, LSC calendar, uniform policy, principal,
and lsc or alternative chairperson.
(Latest update partial August 2012.) This
list with a bit more by
itself printable.
| School |
Address |
Calendar |
Uniform |
Contact: |
| Ariel
Comm. Academy |
1110
E. 46th
(773) 535-1996 |
Meets
third Monday of the month at 8:00 am. |
lt
blue top, beige bot. |
Principal
Lynnette Coleman
Dean Lars Johansson
LSC Chair: Joann Brown
|
| Miriam
G. Canter Middle School |
4959
South Blackstone
(773) 535-1410x5 |
Meets
the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm preceded by PTO at 5:30 |
no
uniform |
Principal Colleen Conlan
Ass’t Princ: Eric Lewis
LSC Chair: Ed Jenkins
|
| Andrew
Carnegie |
1414
E. 61st St.
(773 534-0530 |
Meets
every other month second Tuesday time? |
yellow
tops, navy blue bots. |
Principal
Marlene Heath
Asst Jean Pate
LSC chair Tina B. Mohammed |
| Walter
H.Dyett Academic Center |
555
E. 51st
(773) 535-1825 |
Meets
the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm, room 139. |
none
or 7th-8th Black, gray and beige poo with Dyett logo |
Principal
Charles Campbell
LSC chair Valerie Carroll, Vice Jitu Brown |
| Bret
Harte School |
1556
East 56th Street
(773) 535-0870 |
Meets the second Wednesday of the Month in the gym at 5 pm (PTO
5:30?, PAC 2nd Thurs. 6). |
white
or blue tops, navy bots. |
Principal Shenethe Parks
Asst. David Dunlap
LSC chair Darryl Williams |
| Hyde
Park Career Academy |
6220
Stony Island
(773) 535-0530 |
Meets
the 2nd Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm |
navy
blue or white polo, khaki bots |
Principal
Antonio Ross
LSC chair Tina McKinney |
| Kenwood
Academy High School |
5015
South Blackstone
(773) 535-1350x6 or1351 |
Now
meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm in Library Media Room.
|
no
uniform |
Principal Gregory Jones, Asst. Karen Calloway
LSC president Ismail Turay, Sr. |
| Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. College Prep High Sch. |
4445
S. Drexel Blvd.
773 535-1180 |
Meets
the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm |
no
uniform |
Principal
Shontae Higginbotom
Asst. Walter Ornelas
LSC chair Eli Washington |
| Charles
Kozminski Community Academy |
936
East 54th
(773) 535-0980 x6 assist pr. Lynon |
Meets the 2nd Monday of the month at 6:30 pm. Indications LSC and
PtA now 2nd Monday
|
white
tops, navy blue bots |
Principal Myron Hester
Asst: Michelle Brumfield x5
LSC Chair: Latrice Wilson |
| Phillip
Murray Language Academy |
5335
South Kenwood
(773) 535-0585 |
Meets
the
third Wednesday
of the month at 600 pm. PTO 1st Wednesday at 5:30? 6:00
pm |
no
uniform |
Principal
Gregory Mason
Assist Princ: Youlanda Royster
LSC chair Nicole Hayes
|
| North
Kenwood-Oakland UC Charter |
1119
E. 46th St. (773) 536-2399 |
PTCO meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm room 204 except
meets October 14. (Note, another source says 4th Tuesday) |
maroon
polo tops,
khaki bots |
Timothy
Knowles, Director, (Stacey Beardsley)
Tanika Island Smith, Principal
Asst. Rodney Brown
PTCO chair not yet elected? |
| Florence
B. Price Fine Arts Elem. School |
4351
S. Drexel Blvd.
(773) 535-1300 |
SCHOOL
CLOSED |
white
tops, khaki/blue bots |
Principal
Justin Moore
Asst. Aisha McCarthy
LSC chair Katrina Wilson |
| William
H. Ray Elementary School |
5631
South Kimbark
(773) 535-0970 x8 |
Meets
the second Thursday of the month. 6 pm.
PTA
4th Thursday at 6
|
no
uniform |
Principal
Dr. Antonia Hill
Assist Princ: Tony Campbell
LSC chair Gordon Mayer
PTA Pres: Lisa Samra
|
| Claude
William Reavis Elementary School |
834
East 50th
(773) 535-1060 |
Meets
the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 am or 6 pm alternating months |
k-5
white or dark blue tops, dark blue bots
6-8 black tops kakhi pants. Black shoes all |
Principal
Gail King
Assist. Princ. D. Griffin
ddgriffin@cps.edu
LSC: Demar Campbell |
| Jackie
Robinson |
4225
S. Lake Park Ave. (773) 535-1777 |
Meets
the 2nd Wednesday of the month at alternating 7 am and 6:30 pm |
none
or white tops, Navy blue bots |
Principal
Sonja Spiller
Asst. Tracie Davis
LSC chair : Jeannette Smith |
| Beulah
Shoesmith Elementary School |
1330
East 50th St
(773) 535-1764 x7 |
Meets
the 1st Wednesday of the month at 5:30/5:45 pm |
white
tops, navy blue pants |
Principal
Sabrina L. Gates
Asst Nichole Neal
LSC chair Lael Dillard |
| University
Charter-Woodlawn |
6420
S. Woodlawn
(773) 752-8101
|
PTCO
meets the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00 pm |
navy
blue black and maroon top, khaki bots |
Director
Shayne Evans
PTCO chair Cherie Watson |
Top
PURE
(Parents United for Responsible Education) has assembled a guide to
elections. Here is a summary of key points. (this needs updating for
2010)
To
receive the book, call 312 489-9101.
Who
sits on the LSC? The principal, 6 elected parents, not BoE employees
2 teachers (polled) , 2 elected non-parent community residents
with no children enrolled in the school as of June 30 of the election
year and not relatives of the principal or BoE employees), in
high schools one student (polled).
The
LSC is the policymaking body for the school. Its responsibilities
are:
- approving
the School Improvement Plan
- approving
the school's budget
- evaluating
the principal
- hiring
the principal
The
meeting schedule must be posted in the school and is usually monthly.
Everyone can attend and except for executive sessions they are covered
by the Open Meetings Act. All votes must be taken in public. Meetings
are usually monthly.
A
parent of a child in the school or a resident of the attendance area
is eligible unless a CPS employee.
Elections
are held even years (every two years) in spring. (2006 Elementary
are on April 20, high schools April 20, 6 am-7 pm. Hint- it's always
Report Card Pickup Day. Note, U.S. citizenship not required.
The
Candidate Nomination Form requires: Name, address, type of candidacy
and proof of eligibility (2 forms of ID--parents must be listed in
school enrollment records or tax return or birth certificate. Community
residents must bring proof of residency.
Declaration of any economic interests at the school
Criminal Conviction Disclosure
Telephone Number Disclosure (for BOE and confidential)
Teacher or student information form for those in those categories
Candidate Statement (optional, one page, can include picture)
Hint:
get a copy of all forms and get a signed, dated receipt!
Remember
the deadline to file is March 17 [passed] and literature distribution
day is April 18--One 8x12 page. You furnish enough copies
for every child (the school is not allowed to make or copy),
divided into piles of 35--must be at school by 3 pm April 17.
Caution
again--No one can use school resources including staff, equipment
or material to endorse or promote andy candidate or slate. Staff may
not recommend candidates. If anyone sees violations, call CPS Law
Department 73 553-1700. Staff can be suspended up to 30 days.
Voting
- Vote
at every school where you are eligible--at least 1 elementary and
1 high school, maybe middle. Parents may vote at all schools where
they have a child enrolled. Election Hotline: 773 553-1400.
- You
do not need to be a U.S. Citizen, do have to be 18 or older.
- If
a school is not accessible, it must provide curb-side voting for
persons with disabilities.
- Bring
two forms of ID that include your address.
- Voting
is in person and by secret ballot and only for yourself.
- You
may vote for up to 5 candidates only, and each only once. Select
any combination of parent and community candidates.
(For
teachers: it is secret and in person, principal and assistant do not
vote, principal submits the 4 top vote getters to CPS, which appoints
June 28.)
Preparing
for the election:
LSC
(or principal) is to establish and LSC Judge recruitment committee.
None can be candidates or supporters of candidates. Judges receive
$100 for the day. Training is mandatory. Cannot be under 18, student
or staff at the school, Board employee, LSC candidate there or immediate
family/residing in same house as candidate or principal. Application
deadline is March 24.
Also
recommended: By January 20 Develop plan to publicize the election,
set date for Candidates Forum (for between March 27 and April 3),
set date for certification meeting (no later than April 28 8 pm).
Hold
the forum--place must be accessible; all candidates must be notified
and invited. Lottery for ballot position is held at this forum. Recommend
doing this as first item and using as order of speaking.
Coordinate
with Report Card Pick-Up. Greet parents and encourage them to vote
before they get report cards! Remove all campaign materials from the
school the day before the election by 3 pm!
Hold
results certification meeting by April 28, 8 pm.
Electioneering
must be more than 100 feet from any school entrance. Post this at
several places in the school.
Principal's
responsibilities:
Public
information: Post procedures, timeline, eligibility, boundary map.
Send two letters to parents. Dec. 1-9 nomination and challenge procedures,
timeline, eligibility
March 20 list of candidates, info on the Forum, election date-hours-location.
Post filing of candidates (within 24 hours of first filing) with statements;
update daily as changes occur.
Prepare literature distribution day April 18
By 9 am April 17 post revised ballot in lottery order. Candidates
can correct by 3 pm. At 4 pm it is final.
Post election results as soon as count is complete.
Assure that no school resources are used to promote candidates
Provide and collect nomination papers, forward copies to Area Office.
Accept applications for judge and forward to Area Office by March
24. (Note judges and monitors make all decision about the election).
Distribute 6 poll watcher credentials to each candidate at the Candidate's
Forum.
Prepare for judges a complete list of all staff eligible to vote for
teacher (not principal or asst.)
Provide a list all students enrolled in the school.
Conduct student non-binding advisory poll between April 18 and 19)
Receive all ballots and place in security envelopes in the school
safe.
Forward security envelopes to Area Office.
Poll
watchers. Candidates
or pollwatchers with valid credentials can witness all phases. Mx
is 6. Civic groups can ave a credential for every school inservice
area and every multi-school area. Candidates can have only one pollwatcher
in the polling place at any given time.
The
Challenge (which anyone can do) procedures are quite precise, including
hearing notifications. Eligibility is the main grounds in pre-election
challenges. Post-election challenges require signature of at least
5 vote-eligible. Note deadlines t file, hearing etch.
Results
must
be posted in the school after the count is final on election night.
Highest numbers are declared elected. Current LSC certifies by 8 pm
April 28 and determines winner in case of a tie. The public must be
informed of challenge procedures. Certification of Results is to be
filed by May 1. Teacher and student reps. are selected/announced by
the Board June 28.
The organizational meeting is between July 1 and 14. It can be called
by any 4 or more elected, but a quorum of 6 for elementary and 7 for
high school must be present to conduct business. This meeting: sets
time and place for regular LSC meetings, selects a parent member as
chairperson, selects a secretary. If less than a minimum of "eligible's"
are elected by a quorum is, the LSC shall fill vacancies (except teacher).
If less than a quorum is elected, CPS decides course--773 553-1400.
Removals.
Any
member may be removed by majority vote if the member has missed 3
consecutive regular meetings within 12 mo. There is due process. There
are other bases for removal.
Why LSCs?
Adult
Collaboration Improves Schools and student achievement. strong
academic expectations combined with trusting relationships make a
difference, research shows.
Successful
Schools have Common Practices. 1997 Designs for Change identified:
- Active
and effective Local School Councils
- Effective
principles who involve others in decision making
- More
teacher involvement in decision making
- More
teacher outreach to parents
- Students
who feel safe in the schools
- Teacher
collaboration and information sharing
- Teachers
who trust one another
- Teachers
who are encouraged to innovate
- An
overriding focus on improved student achievement.
Cooperative
Adult Effort Raises Academic Achievement
Social
Support Motivates Students to Learn, giving a sense of trust, confidence
and safety
Common
traits of collaborative LSC relationships
Shared
Knowledge of the Law and agreed-upon way of checking and reporting
back.
Shared
Information: Principals
proved timely, adequate information to the entire LSC including
giving each member a set of key school documents including school
improvement plan implementation et al.
Top
Strong
LSCs, selection of strong principals intertwined
From
Herald
March 22 [2006]. By Tameka Brown
....Among
its many duties, the local school council is responsible for selecting
and evaluating principals every four years. James Deanes, in charge
of LSC relations for Chicago Public Schools, said the council's role
in the selection of principals is important."A principal's
leadership sets the tone for staff [and] influences parent participation,"
Deanes said. "It's the most important thing an LSC can do."
In 1988,
the Chicago School Reform Act created the existence of local school
councils, which in most public schools in the city are comprised of
parent representative, teacher representatives and community representatives,
and in the case of a high school there is also a student representative.
The act entrusted decisions about student development, financial
management and principal selection to the representatives on a local
school council.
Zoe
Mikva, member
of Canter LSC and of the HPKCC Schools Committee says " LSCs
have real power and they are a wonderful way to stay involved in the
community." She works on the school improvement plan and budget.
"We work in tandem with the principal. I think it is important
that the administration of every school be accountable. LSC
is the group to whom they are accountable.
[Caution:
the strong lsc has to fight the temptation, including on the part
of parents, to select those thought more amenable and nice, or male
(thought by some essential as role models). And evaluating and selecting
the principal is the most important part of the LSC job-- trainers
should remember that.]
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