No to Attacks on Community Schools

The Chicago Board of Education is continuing its attacks on public education. Instead of improving schools, it is attacking community general education schools, and replacing them with various forms of privatized and charter schools.

In response to this, over a thousand teachers, parents, and students turned out in freezing weather on Wednesday, January 28th at the Board of Education to oppose these attacks. They spoke at the Board meeting, booed Mayor Daley’s appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with no background or experience in education–Ron Huberman, most recently head of the CTA, and then marched in the streets.

The march was from the Board of Education to the Commercial Club of Chicago– sponsor of privatizing the public schools known as the Renaissance 2010 plan. The march then went to City Hall to target Mayor Daley as the government official running the schools while not allowing the voice of people power to be heard via Local School Councils or other forms of grassroots control. Main chants included “Save our Schools!” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho – Renaissance 2010 has got to go!”

Senn Teacher Speaks to the Board– More Resources for Senn. Navy Out

Brian Roa, a science teacher at Senn High School, spoke at the 1/28 Board of Education meeting about the inequalities that often exist between Renaissance 2010 schools and traditional public schools. As an example, he said, “Rickover Naval Academy (RNA) began occupying our school four years ago despite unified student, parent, teacher, and community opposition, just another example of the undemocratic process of Renaissance 2010.” He offered a quick list of inequalities that exist within the two schools:
• Since RNA came took over a wing Senn High School, Senn has lost nearly 40 positions. Arne Duncan (former CEO, now Secretary of Education), told us we would lose none.
• RNA got all new science labs “which are nicer looking labs than what I had in college. At Senn, even though I am a science teacher, I teach in a regular classroom with no science lab equipment in my room. How are students expected to get an equal education in a separate and unequal environment?” • RNA students get preferential treatment in the lunchroom and the hallways. RNA students can walk through Senn’s hallways, but Senn students cannot walk through RNA hallways. Senn students feel like second class citizens in their own school. • Finally, RNA dumps the students they don’t want. “We have received several RNA students who have been removed from the RNA enrollment.”

Why does RNA get better resources and preferential treatment? “CPS wants to inflate the perception of a certain type of school (Ren 2010 schools) and demonize the others in order to justify schemes to privatize education, bust the teacher’s union and support gentrifying neighborhoods which push out currently enrolled students. CPS expects schools like Senn to have the same test scores as schools which are given preferential treatment. RNA receives better resources and is allowed to dump the students they don’t want while Senn is expected to pick up the slack.

“You, as CPS Board members, are complicit in the destruction of equitable educational opportunities for all students. By promoting Ren 2010’s growth, you deny equal opportunities and thus success for thousands of young people.”

Join in. Rally & March– Demand – On the 6th Anniversary of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq:
–End the occupations NOW! Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine! –Stop the Government’s War on Immigrants!

There are plans for a Chicagoland protest to oppose continuing U.S. wars abroad and war on immigrants at home on Saturday, March 14. You just need to double check the date with us since the City is challenging our right to have a protest on that date. Call 250.3225 to get an update, or check the SaveSenn.org web site.

The plan is to rally at 12 noon sharp with a short rally at Marshall Boulevard & Cermak Road (2 blocks from the “California” stop on the Pink Line “el”), and then to march into the Pilsen area for a rally there.

Join in too the weekend of Saturday, March 21 in Washington, DC to march on the Pentagon! Chartered buses will leaving Chicago 5 p.m. Friday, March 20 and return by Sunday morning, March 22. Tickets will be about $100, though money is available for those who are short. Call 250.3225 for information.

Military Recruitment Is Not Going Smoothly And Soldiers Are Speaking Out

Recruiting for the military is not going well even with the economic crisis. The National Priorities Project (NPP) says that the government figures on recruitment are false. The Defense Department announced at the end of January that more people are signing up to join the armed forces, with plans being to boost the active-duty Army by 65,000 soldiers, to a total of 547,000, by 2010. An NPP study found that not be the case when the numbers who actually showed up for duty were counted.

The military has spent hundreds of millions of on recruitment, but with growing opposition to the illegal and unjust U.S. wars, enrollment is down.

To get more direct information on reasons to not join the military, consider attending Acts of Valor: GI Resistance to the “War on Terror,” Wednesday, February 18, 6-8 p.m. at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan, Congress Lounge. Hear from conscientious objectors , AWOL GI’s, and other GI resisters against “The War on Terror.” This is an Iraq Veterans Against the War panel, to be followed by discussion.

Military suicides continue to rise

For those thinking about joining the military, there is a lot to consider– the legality of U.S. wars, innocent civilians killed or maimed, and other risks. One such is risk is shown in a new report– that the suicide rate is continuing to rise in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. The Army rate is now the highest in its history. Army Brig. Gen. Loree K. Sutton says active-duty service members are under tremendous strain– “They’ve been exposed to the most corrosive environment known to warfare– physically, psychologically, spiritually and morally.” ( “Military suicides continue to rise” by Courtney Kube and Alex Johnson, NBC News and msnbc.com, 1/29/09)

One Soldier: Courage to resist unjust war “I served in the Army as a Photojournalist until being honorably discharged last summer after over four years of service in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Philippines…. I received a letter from the Army ordering my return to active duty, for the purpose of mobilization for Operation Iraqi Freedom…. This occupation is unconstitutional and illegal and I hereby lawfully refuse to participate.” —Matthis Chiroux Another Soldier: Resisting involuntary activation “The question for IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) members is whether or not they should leave their new civilian lives behind so soon after being discharged to fight in illegal aggressions and occupation. The benefit is certainly not for veterans who, if they have not already been so, stand only to get wounded, killed or sustain psychological trauma in the form of PTSD. I encourage all IRR service members to start questioning what they are being told by a military system that will tell them anything to fill its quotas.” –Benjamin “Benji” Lewis, Marine IRR member facing June 2009 recall.

This entry was posted on May 9th, 2009 and is filed under News and Updates.