Marshall High and other turnaround high schools, in Chicago and nationally, face a thorny dilemma. Higher-performing students are being siphoned off through competition, driving down enrollment and raising tough policy questions about the future of these schools.
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What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
By: Alexander Russo / April 07, 2008
The CTU House of Delegates met today and voted to support a resolution expressing lack of confidence in Marilyn Stewart Arne Duncan. Click below for the press release and the resolution language itself.
UPDATE: Here PDF) is the motion to censure Marilyn that was proposed and refused, thanks to a reader.
UPDATE 2 (April 7): Latest comments focus on March delegates meeting, among other things.
TEACHER’S UNION VOTES
TO CONDEMN DUNCAN AND WILLIAMS
FOLLOWING SCHOOL CLOSINGS
Vote of No Confidence
Passes
CHICAGO – The
members of the Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates today unanimously
passed a resolution condemning both Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne
Duncan and Board President Rufus Williams following last week’s vote
to close, consolidate, phase out and turnaround 19 struggling schools.
The resolution voices
a lack of confidence in the leadership of both Duncan and Williams for
decisions made negatively impacting members of the Union employed within
the school system.
CTU President Marilyn
Stewart has sharply criticized the plan along with many parents, community
organizations and professional educators because it does not offer sound
solutions to improving struggling schools.
“Once again, decisions
have been made by individuals who have never spent a day teaching in
a classroom,” stated Stewart. “What does it say to those who
are entrusted to teach when their experience and input is ignored time
and again? The Board has also completely ignored the important
role of collaboration between management and labor in employment matters
and in doing what is best for Chicago’s children.”
Stewart reminded delegates
that at January’s Board meeting, Williams stated publicly that the
school closure plan was not a “fait accompli.” Stewart said,
“It is obvious by his (Williams) zero participation in public hearings
and the vote last week that everything Duncan and CPS bureaucrats propose
is a done deal.”
On the Monday before
the vote, the Union released a report on what should be done to improve
Chicago schools in addition to bringing in national experts in education
from the American Federation of Teachers in Washington and Ohio.
The report offered one possible solution—the Fresh Start reform initiative
in which the Union and Board are working collaboratively to turn around
struggling schools.
Currently Chicago has
eight Fresh Start schools in which the elementary schools have shown
double-digit gains in the past three years. In addition, the program
has a Peer Assistance and Review component where teachers are rigorously
mentored and evaluated. If they do not meet the program’s standards,
they subsequently may be removed.
The Union intends to
send copies of the resolution to Mayor Richard M. Daley and City Council
members, members of the Board of Education and state legislators whose
districts are within the City of Chicago.
###
The Chicago Teachers Union represents
32,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago
Public Schools. CTU, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers
and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, is the third largest union
in the country and the largest local union in Illinois.
For further information regarding
this press release and current CTU news, please visit our website at www.ctunet.com.
A RESOLUTION
VOICING LACK OF CONFIDENCE
IN THE LEADERSHIP
OF
CHICAGO BOARD
OF EDUCATION PRESIDENT RUFUS WILLIAMS
AND
CHICAGO PUBLIC
SCHOOLS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ARNE DUNCAN
WHEREAS, the
Chicago Teachers Union is the official bargaining unit for teachers
and paraprofessionals working in the Chicago Public Schools; and
WHEREAS, the
Chicago Teachers Union has entered into a collective bargaining agreement
with the Chicago Board of Education regarding the employment of Union
members in the Chicago Public Schools; and
WHEREAS, Rufus
Williams, as President of the Board of Education, is the senior officer
responsible for policy-making actions that affect the employment conditions
of the members of the Union; and
WHEREAS, Arne
Duncan, as Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools, is
the senior officer responsible for administrative actions that affect
the employment conditions of the members of the Union; and
WHEREAS, decisions
made by the Board of Education on the recommendation of the administration
of the Chicago Public Schools negatively impact on the members of the
Union who are employed in positions within the Chicago Public Schools;
and
WHEREAS, the
Union has, on numerous occasions during the tenures of Mr. Williams
and Mr. Duncan, been forced to file grievances in order to assure its
members of the rights and privileges afforded them through the collective
bargaining agreement between the Union and the Board of Education; and
WHEREAS, the
capricious and arbitrary manner in which the Chicago Board of Education
has implemented its “Renaissance 2010” program has ignored the important
role of collaboration between management and labor in employment matters,
violating the spirit – and, indeed, the letter in some cases – of
the collective bargaining agreement between the Union and the Board
of Education.
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the members of the Chicago Teachers Union voice
their lack of confidence in the leadership abilities of Rufus Williams
and Arne Duncan as they relate to their respective roles in the direction
of the Chicago Public Schools; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the members of the Chicago Teachers Union condemn Rufus
Williams and Arne Duncan for the blatant disregard they have shown to
their employees, especially as it relates to decisions that have resulted
in teaching and paraprofessional positions being vacated as a result
of school closings under the ill-conceived “Renaissance 2010” plan;
and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be delivered to Mayor
Richard M. Daley of the City of Chicago, and to Chicago Board of Education
President Rufus Williams, and to Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive
Officer Arne Duncan, and to the Chairperson of the Illinois Education
Labor Relations Board; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that additional copies of this resolution be delivered to
Members of the Chicago Board of Education, and to Aldermen of the City
of Chicago, and to all members of the Illinois General Assembly whose
districts include portions of the City of Chicago, and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that additional copies of this resolution be delivered to
members of the broadcast, electronic, and print media in the greater
Chicago region.
ADOPTED, by
the Executive Board of the Chicago Teachers Union this fourth day of
March, in the year 2008, and referred to the House of Delegates of the
Chicago Teachers Union for final action at its next regular meeting.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
So what else happened this month. Last we heard, a motion was passed to change the way the delegates voted?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
So what happened this month. Last we heard, a motion was passed to change the way the delegates voted?
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What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
How soon we forget!! The last administration agreed with the Board to establish 35 new charter schools.
What about that?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
test
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
"...I still think that a teacher with 20 years experience should be more productive at teaching. First of all, by that time, they've probably seen everything, and have answers to most of the problems they're going to see as far as classroom management, learning disabilities, differentiated instruction, etc..." (Cermak, Wednesday).
Yes.
And if we follow the most successful public high schools models, we'll see that this is indeed the formula. The Chicago area has some of the best public high schools in the USA, city and suburb.
Within the city, the "best" have long traditions (Lane Tech), more recent but lengthy traditions (Whitney Young), or relatively new traditions (Northside College Prep; possibly Payton; the verdict is still out on the others).
The same is true of the suburbs, from Evanston Township and New Trier out to Glenbard West and the Napervilles. A walk down that incredible hall at Evanston, showing decades of tradition, tells many stories.
One of the secrets of that success is the recognition that there needs to be a careful balance of veterans, FNGs, and others to make the mix work. A new teacher with lots of energy might have more time to do certain things (major sponsorships, for example) than a mid-career teacher who is raising a family. Later, a late-career teacher might have more time again, if not the interest and energy.
Only Chicago, with the currently ridiculous "business model" in place, has systematically been teacher bashing for the better part of this century and getting away with it. The most recent examples come from the show trials (and I use that deliberately, reminding us of the Purge Trials and other similar historical examples) against Copernicus, Fulton, Harper, Howe, Morton, and Orr. These were ugly exercises in teacher bashing, conducted with all the mendacity and cynicism of their esteemed historical predecessors.
But the trial itself isn't the worst part.
The latest flavor of the month solution ("Turnarounding") is even worse. It places an emphasis on the most shallow approaches (a lot of Mission Statements and Power Points by novices with little or no classroom experience) and an enormous amount of purging and massive security. (When we were at Sherman for the mayor's dog and pony show, they held the event in the north building -- where the little kids are -- because the south building is where the older kids are and they didn't want anyone from the media to see the part of the "Sherman School of Excellence" where the "F" word was still common.
At this point in history, Chicago has created every disincentive for teachers (at any career stage) to work with the hard core of the inner city, as I did for most of my 28 in the classrooms of Chicago's high schools. Once the wrong "standards" (so-called "standardized" test scores) were in place, any teacher who serves the children of the poor is going to be fired -- after being humiliated at one of those show trials -- for "underperformance" (or whatever other Orwellian nonsense Arne or his successor can spew against people who do a job he couldn't do for one semester without a police escort).
As long as Chicago is scapegoating teachers, this will continue, and get worse. One of the reasons for the increase in gang violence is that the veteran teachers who knew all the kids (and often came from the communities) have been purged, humiliated, teacher bashed, and, often, fired. The latest groups will be out of work -- thanks to "Turnarounding" and all the corporate lies that surround it -- by July 1, 2008.
I'll be covering those stories over the next couple of years, just as I've followed the fates of Dodge, Terrell and Williams (the first schools Daley and Duncan teacher bashed, way back six years ago in April 2002). But the rest of my colleagues in the "media" are going to take the easy way out and repeat the marketing slogans and stage managed events they're fed by the top dogs. It won't change reality, any more than "gun control" is going to stop the drug gangs. But it's a lot easier to earn a living as a "reporter" recycling nonsense than looking closely, over time and repeatedly, behind the screens.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
I'm about four days from the main deadline for our next print edition.
As of this point, I've e-mailed or phoned the main people at CTU asking for comment and clarification about the main story I will be reporting in May -- viz., that Marilyn Stewart and Pam Massarsky kicked everyone else out of the negotiating room during the final days of negotiations in August 2007 and then negotiated the contract that CTU members can (finally) read this week. The complete contract is eight months late. It should have been available to the delegates on August 31 when they were railroaded by Marilyn Stewart and the union's lawyers on that "Yes" vote and on September 10 when the union's members were railroaded by Marilyn Stewart and the UPC on that "Yes" vote on the referendum.
The details of how that contract was negotiated in the final days and how the voting was manipulated are going to continue to be important news, as well as to remain for a long time at various Internet sites. People will be able to judge for themselves how many lies they were told, and by whom, during those crucial weeks between August 1 (when Marilyn Stewart was beating the drums for a strike for a decent contract) and September 11 (the day after the referendum was rigged and reported, when Marilyn Stewart surrendered so many of the rights of the 31,000 men and women who pay for her and the rest of the CTU staff.
As a reporter, I'll quote anybody who has a counter narrative. But to date I haven't heard from any of them, and the deadline is approaching. As to other versions, we only print (in our print edition) letters from subscribers -- and signed ones at that.
So I'm waiting to hear from Marilyn Stewart and Pam Massarsky about those final weeks of (a) negotiations and (b) pushing through the agreement.
Since there seem to be many questions here about accuracy, that's the closest we come in reporting. Even in a court of law, where both sides have the right to discovery and cross examination, the process may get somewhat closer to accuracy, but I doubt anyone would refer to that result as "Truth."
When we published Marilyn Stewart's December 26, 2007, "In Solidarity" letter to Arne Duncan, I first verified its authenticity with sources at the CTU. I actually couldn't believe it was real (as opposed to Photoshopped). When we reported that Traci Cobb Evans scabbed during the 1980s, our reporter called and asked for a clarification or comment. Same same now here.
Many of us sign our own names here. We take on anyone who remains behind a screen of screed and cowardly anonymity. People who sign off with their own names deserve respect. Those who fetishize the cowardice built into anonymous blogging ought to rethink their approach here. This medium, which is very useful, is also surrendering its credibility more and more every day because it's so easily manipulated into Swift Boating and worse. Think about it.
Redo Impact Attendance 2007_08
After two days of PSAE testing--with room supervisors occupied completely both days--teachers at our high school were notified that they had "not submitted" attendance on Impact and were to go back thru the year, from Sept. 4 until April 24, and correct their attendance. For some people, this was two or three sheets of attendance. For others it was many, many more.
What's the problem?
1. Impact wasn't available until mid or late October and not fully in swing until November.
2. Attendance was submitted to the attendance office from the beginning of school on paper documents--a sheet provided by the school. No duplicates or prints out for the teachers. Teachers had to create their own system of attendance--remember this was the year of Impact, no CPS rosters, attendance fillers or greenbook.
3. CPS provided no rosters nor attendance record blanks, so teachers had no uniform way of tracking attendance for their classes.
4. At no time did teachers receive a print out of attendance for the week for their classes, under Impact.
5. Unless you keep duplicate records, on some kind of system you devise, you have no idea of the attendance in your class.
6. The only way to find attendance is to look up each student individually.
So, instead of preparing classes, evaluating student work or simply reading the literature you plan to teach, teachers spent the free hour or so on Thursday (no free time for room supervisiors on Wednesday) correcting Impact attendance.
7. On Wednesday, teachers were told--nothing in writing-- to simply mark the students present.
8. Teachers got new programs and rosters October 7 thru the first week in November and classes and rosters prior to the change disappeared from Impact.
9. Students had many programs changes and rosters were not accurate, if you had any at all.
10. Given the program changes: You might have a class in Am. History, period three from Aug to Oct 7.
However, now you teach Latin American History, period three because your program changed October 7.
The students in your Latin American History class [b]are not [/b] the students you had in Am. History.
The attendance your are asked to "submit" for period is for your current roster and this roster shows that it was current from Sept 4. Just as your American History class period 3, no longer exists, neither does that roster.
12. How does any of this lead to academic rigor? Not only did the attendance disappear prior to October 7th, but so did student accountabiltiy. Students were given full semester credit for classes they attended for one quarter and were told "your teachers can't flunk you."
13. Students know that missing class has no penalty for them and now, with these new corrections, the truancies and the class cutting will disappear.
14. Experienced teachers who are concerned about legal records have until tomorrow to get all "Impact" attendance finished.
New teachers are not being as vocal with their concerns.
15. Yes, people were asked to "submit Impact attendance" for classes they did not teach--because now having had the class transferred to them in October or November, the only teacher of record is YOU and if YOU do not submit attendance, YOU are insubordinate and violating the Employee Discipline Code.
16. Late Thurday, there was an intercom announcement from administration that said it would be all right for teachers not to do attendance prior to October 7 if they did not have the class.
17. Okay. All attendance is on Impact as far as the teacher is concerned--you've been taking it every day.
In this school, you were "cautioned" if you didn't take it within 15 minutes of the start of the period.
Your roster for period four has some students in it, who have been there since Sept. 4th.
Your roster has some students who came at different times--Impact does not show an [b]Enter[/b] day.
How do you know if the [u]student was there ...or not?[/u]
How do you know if MM, a[u] chronic truant[/u], actually missed division that day?
For some reason, you have a sheet which says you did not take attendance that day in January. Were you on a field trip?
Ill? and the sub gave the attendance to the Attendance Office? Did you really take it and it didn't record?
What records are you going to check? Or are you just going to mark everyone present, because even doing that is going to take hours.
Why? To submit attendance at this late day, you have to go into your roster, which will show today's date. You have to go to the calendar, and click back to the date you want, such as Jan. 28, and go thru class by class to submit attendance. Because it is an "old" date, you can't just hit submit at the bottom of the screen. You have to go to actions,pull down the menu, and hit submit.
Once you have gone thru your classes of January 28, you have to check your sheet to see what is the next "day" you did not submit and start the process all over again.
Now in the middle of the year teachers were called in because they marked students "present" who were not actually in school. Let's say Tommy Too is on your roster. He has never "arrived." However, Impact does not let your mark Enter or list any other reason. You don't mark him absent, because he never "arrived" and you have never seen him.
Was your roster corrected? Maybe yes, maybe no. But you are now on a list of teachers who do not take attendance properly.
Are the rosters accurate even today, April 24? No, students dropped from your roster are on your roster for the PSAE.
In a school where tenured teachers are E-3d and the employee discipline code is used to suspend employees without pay, who can risk being labeled insubordinate?
What other schools, especially high schools, are being asked to correct IMPACT attendance? Who actually gave the directive to change the attendance? The principal gave the directive and sheets marked for direction. Was that a local decision or a directive of the AIO? or someone even higher?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
blocked 1st amendment
Redo Impact Attendance Sept. 07 to present
After spending two days giving the PSAE, teachers at Wells High School were issued sheets for Impact Attendance. According to the papers, the teacher had not submitted attendance for that period or day.
Only one problem. Teachers are to make corrections from last September to the present. But students had many prgoram changes and did not even get a class until mid-October.
So, you could have an American History first period, Sept. 4th, which you submitted attendance on paper because Impact wasn't working. It didn't really kick in until about November.
Do you have a copy of that record? No, CPS did not furnish rosters this year to the teachers. The school did not furnish accurate rosters.
So today, you are to go back and correct that attendance for September 5th.
Does it matter? Aren't your rosters basically the same since September.
No, they are not. Teachers's programs, their rosters and the times they taught changed the second week in October.
The advice the administration gave was "just mark them present." That was yesterday.
The advice today is go by your records, but check and change each period you are listed as "not submitted" for attendance.
Impact didn't work. So now I can,in the hour of free time in the last two days, go back and redo my attendance.
To redo the attendance, you have to go to your roster, go to the calendar and change it for the day you want (Sept. 4), go thru each class which you have been told does not have attendance recorded, mark the student present or absent if you know he was absent, go to ACtions, pull down the menu, find submit, mark submit and continue.
I have a student, MM, who is chronically absent. Do I really know whether he was in division on Sept 4?
No. The paper record I turned in as all I had. I don't have a print out of any attendance records.
Even marking each student present, when you open up the listed roster for the day you are checking, it takes time.
Teachers had complained that students missed all of first quarter and got a semester grade based on one quarter plus two weeks work.
Not any more; after the Impact attendane is corrected, they will be "present" first quarter.
Is any other school required to do the same thing?
Silly me. I thought I'd use that hour to grade papers and prepare my classes.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Look the Union has allowed the enemy into its ranks. The Fresh Start program is a case in point, merit pay and emphasis on AYP are the very tools that the forces behind privatization use to justify school closings. The very organization responsible for fighting back against the threats to public education, has adopted the logic and language of the attack. We are at a point where this whole system is at the verge of being flipped to the corporate sector and we can look forward to becoming automatons conducting our scripted lessons in the classroom, at longer hours with reduced pay. We have to re-inject the joy of teaching and learning into our union, take it back, reduce the graft, implement time released officer positions to remove the luxury and power incentives to the posts and revive our base.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Look the Union has allowed the enemy into its ranks. The Fresh Start program is a case in point, merit pay and emphasis on AYP are the very tools that the forces behind privatization use to justify school closings. The very organization responsible for fighting back against the threats to public education, has adopted the logic and language of the attack. We are at a point where this whole system is at the verge of being flipped to the corporate sector and we can look forward to becoming automatons conducting our scripted lessons in the classroom, at longer hours with reduced pay. We have to re-inject the joy of teaching and learning into our union, take it back, reduce the graft, implement time released officer positions to remove the luxury and power incentives to the posts and revive our base.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Look the Union has allowed the enemy into its ranks. The Fresh Start program is a case in point, merit pay and emphasis on AYP are the very tools that the forces behind privatization use to justify school closings. The very organization responsible for fighting back against the threats to public education, has adopted the logic and language of the attack. We are at a point where this whole system is at the verge of being flipped to the corporate sector and we can look forward to becoming automatons conducting our scripted lessons in the classroom, at longer hours with reduced pay. We have to re-inject the joy of teaching and learning into our union, take it back, reduce the graft, implement time released officer positions to remove the luxury and power incentives to the posts and revive our base.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
"...The 20 year vet may not have as much energy as a teacher with 3-10 years, but they should have better technique and praxis..." (Cermak Road, earlier).
This is generally true. It's why Arne Duncan's teacher bashing is one of the main reasons why Chicago is going up for grabs right now. Every high school that's been destabilized by privatization and charterization (or, the latest, turnaroundization) means that dozens of experienced teachers are being dumped (after being publicly bashed and humiliated and slandered) and the resultant chaos is clearly the fault of Duncan (and the puppet master, Daley).
Chicago can't replace the praxis, or the experience of the veterans. The very idea that Chicago can hired a bunch of corporate "turnaround" people (or train them in some corporate shake and bake place like AUSL) is as ridiculous as much of the rest of the corporate modeling that's been going on.
Trouble is, the victims are often powerless to complain, and it only takes a couple of well placed purchases of "parent" leaders to fend off a closer look (Sherman; Harvard; all the way back to Williams).
Anyone who wants to see the value placed on veteran teachers (and coaches and others) needs go no farther than the high schools of Chicago's suburbs. While Chicago has been mesmerizing itself with all the "miracle" lies (and the teacher bashing that has spewed from them), the suburbs have been retaining talent and improving in almost direct proportion to the decline in Chicago.
The wind's been sown.
Yesterday (at CPS and out on S. Rhodes) was another example of what the whirlwind looks like.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
I am sorry for the delay.I just realized that such kind of post exist..
I read it..Mrs Sanders I could not believe that you went so extreme
with the "vibrator"story.
You never wrote such thing..Am I right ?
And "Things taht.." and "Love you .."I hope that you or your cousin never wrote it..Tell me if I am right..
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Thoughts
This Blog has taken on a rather personal nature and the comments are getting very
Un-cool. I don’t care about somebody’s vibrator.
The interjection of racial and personal attacks just indicates we hit a nerve.
And some of it seems very professionally phrased almost like the work of a lawyer.
Finally I personally knew a teacher who could not read! Yep it is true, sad to say.
However everyone knew it and in Chicago it is not what you know it is whom you know.
I also new city divers who could not swim and people pretending to be EMT’s who were not. If all my well meaning Bloggers want to get rid of incompetent people start with the
City Government first See if those unions will rat out weak members.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Thoughts
This Blog has taken on a rather personal nature and the comments are getting very
Un-cool. I don’t care about somebody’s vibrator.
The interjection of racial and personal attacks just indicates we hit a nerve.
And some of it seems very professionally phrased almost like the work of a lawyer.
Finally I personally knew a teacher who could not read! Yep it is true, sad to say.
However everyone knew it and in Chicago it is not what you know it is whom you know.
I also new city divers who could not swim and people pretending to be EMT’s who were not. If all my well meaning Bloggers want to get rid of incompetent people start with the
City Government first See if those unions will rat out weak members.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Thoughts
This Blog has taken on a rather personal nature and the comments are getting very
Un-cool. I don’t care about somebody’s vibrator.
The interjection of racial and personal attacks just indicates we hit a nerve.
And some of it seems very professionally phrased almost like the work of a lawyer.
Finally I personally knew a teacher who could not read! Yep it is true, sad to say.
However everyone knew it and in Chicago it is not what you know it is whom you know.
I also new city divers who could not swim and people pretending to be EMT’s who were not. If all my well meaning Bloggers want to get rid of incompetent people start with the
City Government first See if those unions will rat out weak members.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
If she's in a high school, there were no kids except juniors in the building today (nor will there be tomorrow), and the kids are there to take the ACT and PSAE.
Many teachers in our building are proctoring one day, and are self directed the other.
Got a problem with that?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Is it true that CPS central office has an internet alarm system? If you go on a restricted web site it goes off. Please, do not give Clark Street any more ideas for restricting us in schools, I fully expect like taking pirctures at Board meetings writing comments on this blog could be restricted. Wasn't there already a case of a lawsuit by a school district for something a teacher wrote on a blog in another state?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
At 10:01 a.m.you should be at work not bloging using school time and equipment.Refer to the Employee Discipline Code.
Asta la vista.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
From a union stand point: they should protect every job.
Using the bargaining agreement and labor laws there needs to be pressure from labor to stop privatization due to the lack of tax base dollars to pay salaries.
If the union, CTU for example, can not handle their duties then let each teacher negotiate their own contracts and pay scale.
Why pay the dues if the union does not work to protect the jobs of the rank and file?
Anybody here this one before. Well [i]if the principal like s you will be alright.[/i]
I get that all the time from the union.
I do not want to be a the mercy of someone liking me or not.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
George, I am in fact, not a teacher. Sorry if I ever gave that impression.
I still think that a teacher with 20 years experience should be more productive at teaching. First of all, by that time, they've probably seen everything, and have answers to most of the problems they're going to see as far as classroom management, learning disabilities, differentiated instruction, etc. Plus, most of them with that kind of experience also have additional degrees which probably help with pedagogy. The 20 year vet may not have as much energy as a teacher with 3-10 years, but they should have better technique and praxis.
Actually, I'm not sure it is fair to close schools based only on "performance" of the school. What I meant was, if a school is already slated for closure or turnaround, then having the union assist in picking out which teachers to let go and which to retain is consistent with UAW practice during downturns.
I don't support merit pay for teachers because it is too difficult to measure for it in a consistent way across the entire CPS. Just using test scores runs into problems with demographics, just using principal evaluations runs into problems with subjectivity, etc.
I do like the idea of using test score growth, however. That is test every student at the beginning of term, then test every student who has attended at least 95% of the year at the end of the year and see how much % growth the child has had. Even that wouldn't give you a perfect picture, but it would be preferable to just using end of year test scores. Student scores attending less than 95% of the time would be discarded because a teacher can't teach a student who's not there and 8 days is @5% of the school year.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
I was looking on http://www.championnews.net/
in the [url=http://www.championnews.net/salaries.php new=true]School Salary Database[/url]
in the suburbs it is opposite than here in the city.
veteran teachers make more than principals and office staff.
yes I saw some teachers making 150k.
Why are we teachers under paid here in ChiTown?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
What's up with that?
MS taking advice from all whites and non-union staff?
John O. non-union member and non-teacher, in fact he is a government official (conflict of interest)
Rose G. non-union member and non-teacher
The mother and daughter team hired by John O. Are they teachers or union members?
Who is non-white in her inner circle?
Any rank and file have input in her decisions to close schools?
Any rank and file have any voice in keeping schools free of murder?
Any rank and file making more than 100K working part-time?
Any rank and file making 200K?
[b]NO![/b]
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
George,
And when all the dust settles, after all the name calling gets tired, and I go back home....
.....you are still white men. Nothing changes. And until any one of you can stand and say I am not a white male, nothing about my observation changes.
Race IS a major issue in the Obama-Clinton political race. So you would say the world is full of "rogues, scoundrels, and whores" And so what.
As long as there are people of different races on this earth, race will be an issue whether it is sports, politics, employment, schools, health care and every other aspect of life. Perhaps as a member of a majority race and being a male it does not have the impact on you that it does on persons of other races. Or maybe you don’t see it, all three of you. But the fact remains that the three of you have no other conversation on this blog other than to bash that black woman (and now me). Considering this is a Union related thread perhaps this is not the place to have the race conversation but one day maybe there will be a thread.
My statement was:
"I have noticed that the main three people on this blog who constantly beat on MS are 3 white males? CR of orr, DR. K of hyde park, and GS of substance."
"Just so you know I don't even live in Chicago or work for CPS."
No one called anyone a racist, but if I had I would have added the term sexist. The only thing the three of you noted was race, but I very clearly said white MALES. The vulgar comments posted further demonstrated gross sexism.
......at the end of the day nothing changed. 3 w.m.
It is still something that makes you go hmmm.
The End.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Chris,
There is no need to ever again debate any of your banter. You have demonstrated what and who you are. And yes, the IP addressess are being investigated.
The End
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
One more comment:
Looks like your cousin likes my name.Cloning could be a fun but again think before you act.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Dear Mrs Sanders:
Before making any statement please check the IP address.
I do not care who ask you to write such kind of things but definitely it is not a proof of your intelligence and honesty.
I like you therefore I will not say "get lost".Your comments are without any sense.Be very cautious with posting names on the blog .You probably know very well that your days are counted.
Think before you act.By the way I hope you know what the "IP" means.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
The race bating here is a really nice touch. Last refuge of rogues, scoundrels and whore, I always say.
Are these racist attacks on behalf of Marilyn Stewart coming from the same geniuses who told the voters in 1994 (when I last ran for President of the CTU) that Tom Reece was black?
Or has Linda Porter (who is also excluded from all official CTU duties by Marilyn Stewart's palace guard) turned "white" (whatever that now is in 2008)?
Whoever spewed that bit of bilge ought to think this one through just a bit. Context and all that. On February 25, 2008, while the Board of Education poised to screw 18 (or is it 21) public schools in different ways, Marilyn Stewart excluded two of the union's five officers from the press conference at which she begged the Board to let her help with the firings. What are Mary McGuire and Mark Ochoa this week -- pickles?
I thought in this post-Obama era people were growing up. Only in Chicago...
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
"Cermak Rd goes no to indicate that using a criteria of lower performing schools being slated for closure may be legitimate. Cermack Rd also discusses some issues related to teacher seniority and performance..." (yesterday)
Here is the problems with those statements (there are actually several, and the tensing here is deliberate).
In January, Arne Duncan attacked 19 public schools (21 if each of the small schools at Orr is a "school" for this count) in Chicago as part of the massive privatization and gentrification program -- "Renaissance 2010."
Not one of those schools was the "lowest" by any measure.
Not one.
And only eight of them (again, if Orr is three) were slated to be closed for "performance" issues. The other ten (or 12) were on the hit list for other reasons. Arne had promised Nobel Street Charter School and UIC the Gladstone building, for example, so Gladstone became "underutilized." Arne had promised the newly minted millionaires in their McMansions the Irving Park Middle School building, for example, so Irving Park became "underutilized" and the Old Irving Park community "underserved". (That particular bad joke needs a separate episode of Saturday Night Live).
The minority of greedy Yuppies in Bucktown/Wicker Park don't like the average people attending Andersen, so Arne is wrecking Anderson to put in a special school for a smaller group of millionaires (if they haven't "leveraged" too far now that the recession is hitting) in Wicker Park Bucktown. So the area near Andersen became "underserved" and Andersen "underutilized."
Having examined all of the records (incomplete though they still are) in all of the February 2008 hearings and closings, I can confidently report that every one of them was based on some kind of official lie. In some cases, Jimm Dispensa rigged the "utilization" data for the mayor. In other cases, Ginger Reynolds rigged the "performance" data for the mayor. In all cases, Arne's staff lied. So, Arne lied.
Now if you want to believe the official version of reality, it's your privilege, Cermak. But you've been in a classroom long enough to know most things are worth a second look. And this time around, the amazing part is that every piece of this jigsaw was a lie. Not just the majority of the pieces. Every single one.
If the free press in Chicago weren't so lame, this would be the Page One feature for a week or two. Instead, we're on to the next screamer of the week headline.
How does this relate to CTU?
Marilyn Stewart ignored most of the school closing hearings, went AWOL form the February 27 Board meeting, and when she did speak out her words were so stupid (or so anti teacher) that they might as well have been scripted by Mayor Daley. The press conference she held two days before the Board voted to screw all those schools was singular for its combination of arrogance, irrelevance, and ignorance.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Stop attacking President Marilyn Stewart! She is not making any decisions. She might be the President [i]in title[/i], but she is a follower in reality. She is not the leader of the CTU. She doesn't know anything about grievances, lobbying, budgeting, negotiating, or anything else about the crucial functions of the CTU. I'll tell you who does know about these things. Koffman, Massarsky, Ostenberg & Poltrock. Hey, wait a second, we voted all of these people out of office in 2003. How the f--k did we let them come back. These people have been screwing the members out of service and dues money for over a decade.
Oh, I remember, "The Debbie Lynch Contract".
Stewart is a figurehead and no matter what she does, she will be learning until she is removed. The longer it takes, the more the membership will suffer.
It's time for real change and real solidarity in the CTU.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Chris Rudzinski,
'
'I made a choice -I am with my Union .
Do you love me?Buy a vibrator I will pay for a battery.
Have a good day.
Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 7:21 PMBy: I love you Chris/Things that make.. What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg. I love you Chris..I bough the vibrator should I put the battery in ..
I mean inside?I follow your direction.I will bend if you wish..
oops I am practicing..lost my vibrator..wait I will try the hairdryer..
oops I lost both I will have to find something bigger...."
Your current postings are vulgar and are an insult to those in the teaching profession. Your current postings are an embarrassment to men, of any race, and union members of any union. Why have you stooped so very low. Do you think it will make people want to follow you? Chris, you are a Chicago Public School employee. You don’t think that your vulgar statements can be traced and possibly linked to other behaviors of yours, and cause you more trouble than you want to imagine. Is telling off or showing out on a blog worth all that?
I generally have great respect for people who earn respect, are fair, intelligent, kind, and maintain couth and decorum regardless of color, background, ethnicity, sexual preference, or profession. You have done none of the above. You have demonstrated yourself to be a common male who thinks that you can say and do anything to anyone without ramifications. You once blogged about liable and slander and that people should be careful what they say before they end up with a lawsuit. Practice what you preach because every nasty, threatening word you have said is easily traced.
Perhaps you should realize that your vulgar statements are blazoned into time via the internet and will probably haunt you as you aspire to be instrumental in the creation of another caucus and seek future employment. There is an old saying: Do not put anything in writing that can not be posted on a billboard. You failed that test.
You have demonstrated yourself to be a common male who thinks that you can say and do anything to anyone without ramifications. You once blogged about liable and slander and that people should be careful what they say before they end up with a lawsuit. Practice what you preach because every nasty, threatening word you have said is easily traced. And the First Amendment does not protect your conversations
There are parents, students, Chicago Public School administrators, CPS friends, relatives and many others reading this blog and posting. I will hope that anyone who reads it will know that you DO NOT represent the masses.
And so what if you are one of those three white males. You are. You have posted your name, email address, website, work location etc. Everyone knows George Schmidt and Dr. Kugler posts links to all of his great accomplishments. So did anyone lie when they said you were all three white males? NO. Perhaps all the protesting to that statement points toward something else; l something no one wants to talk about; the proverbial elephant in the room that no one wants to recognize or talk about. Yeah-you guys beat up on MS something fierce. You would not even give her a break when her mother died. What kind of person are you? You could have just said, Well, isn’t that a strange coincidence.
Chris, you emailed my personal email when you started this campaign to get back at Marilyn and I told you then that I did not support it, as did many others. You have spoken ill of me but so what. Well, you have shown the world why no one should align themselves with you and your psychotic vulgarity.
Dr. Kugler, what is your point. You also list your personal data on a blog and wonder how someone knows you are a white male. Well, aren't you? Don't you maul Marilyn Stuart at every chance you get? And isn't she black. Duh.
I am glad the conversation is on the table. It is a positive that so few responded in such a negative way. It is sad that a few CPS teachers have responded to it in such an immature, non-professional way. You show yourselves for who you really are. And thankfully, that is not the norm.
You have previously pointed the finger at me and say I am the reason for the downfall of the union, I am the problem, but your comments are indicative of someone who is working towards the downfall of mankind.
As for my cousin who made the observation, well, I know when she gets back to the computer she will handle your comments in her own way.
L A Sanders RN
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
I love you Chris..I bough the vibrator should I put the battery in ..
I mean inside?I follow your direction.I will bend if you wish..
oops I am practicing..lost my vibrator..wait I will try the hairdryer..
oops I lost both I will have to find something bigger....
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
1:41 kugler again: So what you are UPC or helped with the election. that has nothing to do with your current posting. stick to the point
[b]It is MS that is not loyal to the rank and file that elected her to protect our jobs.[/b]
It is important because that validates my view that she sold the union out. I helped her get elected because I believed she was the best candidate to stop the school closings and help protect my rights to a safe work place.
The facts are that she lied.
She is not stopping the closings and in fact they are now accelerating because of the five year contract she negotiated.
She is not protecting my job nor is looking out for my safety.
All I remember is the slogan No More 4 Year Contract.
Hmmmmm you do remember that lie don't you?
Thanks again for your post.
The more I read your post the more info I get about why this union is broken and corrupt.
Please post some more so we can get more info from the insiders making that easy blood money.
Shall we go on?
Lets talk about that pay cut we took for after school teaching.
................................................................
we need to clone you chris!
AAA
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Dear Colleagues:
According to our Constitution our Union "secures and protects the inherent and fundamental equity in our jobs".
In return for our dues we are expecting efficient support from the Union.Otherwise we do not need to pay over $800 a year.
No protection-no money.Do not try to protect M.S.she is not performing.It is simple.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
How do you know Kugler, Chris and GS are white males?
Why would you call TD a traitor if you were only an "independent" observer reading the blog for the first time?
Yes you called me, Chris and George racists by your remarks that we are white and pick on a black woman, Marilyn Stewart.
It is not [i]tit for tat [/i] you entered the blogosphere and now you want to pull back your forward motion when you have been shown to be untruthful, a bigot, and silly. You choose to blog not me. I love the blog.
It is real and unforgiving.
Your statements stand on their own merits.
You are a union insider trying to play the race card against people you do not even know.
Did Chris mention he also is a UPC dues paying member?
The Facts:
You Lie
You are the racist.
You do not know what you are talking about.
You are a great help to the opposition.
Thank You
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Dear Things..Anonymous.
You were waiting too long.I am sorry for the delay but I do not use my school time for personal purposes.
I am not going to call you mentally ill because I am not allowed by law to practice -I am not a psychiatrist.Yo know better .
Please pay attention :
1.Ask my African -American wife about my personal point of view regarding people of color.
2.Please be aware that M.S by her negligence hurts African -American children.By schools closures they lost stability.
One of my students told me "Mr R do you know that our school is the best place to be?"(27 school related deaths so far)
3.M.S.can not explain what happened to millions of dollars (our money).
4.I was the person who made our members believe in her leadership.100% votes.
5.M.S.is writing checks without consent of her elected Treasurer.
So all spendings are made without the authorization of the House that means membership.
6.After all I am representing my members.I am doing that with dignity and honesty.Sounds unfamiliar?
7.I prepared motions to dissmiss Arne's schools closures proposals and presented before hearing officers -again-spelling my name.
8.I will not accept lack of accountability and stupidity.I am not afraid.As you know I am certified as an administratoor including Director of Special Education.
I made a choice -I am with my Union .
Do you love me?Buy a vibrator I will pay for a battery.
Have a good day.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Dr. K,
i am not going to play that tit for tat game with you. it really means nothing. i stated that i did not live here and was simply observing this blog. as i sit here visiting and reading i made the observation which incited anger but you could not dispute. i at no time inferred or implied that anyone was a racist.
and yes, freedom of speech gives me the right to state those observations.
since you are so techno astute count the numbers and quote the statistics.
diversions don't work; you said racist, not me. for me the ranting and ravings don't elicit fear, it is more like pity.
and so what; these are things that make you go hmmmmm.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
2:42 PM
[i]I am an independent person reading a public blog who noticed a disproportionate number of negative blogs by the same people against the same persons.[/i]
[i]3 white males
big 3 w.m.[/i]
[i]Isn't it interesting that from day one when the deb locked the doors [b][i]ms has been under attack[/i][/b] and [i][b]according to these three guys[/b][/i] she can't even breath correctly. [b][not only did you lie in your original post but then in your response you did lie again][/b] [/i]
12:45 PM
[i]you don't criticize TD for anything. he is the savior-another white male, a Judas.[/i]
[b]Not too independent.[/b]
Here let me explain how a blog works.
1. Freedom of speech
2. Public Record
3. Labeling yourself
4. Loss of Credibility when you lie.
Last week it was the nurse now it is someone else working the blogs.
What you all need is some net training and see that this is one of the most wonderful mediums to communicate with because truth gets weeded out really quickly.
It does not matter what position you have, in fact, more views and sides make the discussion better. What you all do not know is if you have ulterior motives [i](deception, confusion, misinformation)[/i] on a blog it comes out really quick.
As I have said in the past:
We love you [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll new=true]trolls[/url] !
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Cermack Rd raises a good point on the issue of trade union negotiating when closing are inevitable using an analogy to the UAW. Cermack Rd goes no to indicate that using a criteria of lower performing schools being slated for closure may be legitimate. Cermack Rd also discusses some issues related to teacher seniority and performance.
The last issue first, in the trade union movement nationally and internationally older workers even if more skilled are expected to be somewhat less productive than younger workers. Seniority pay increases are not necessarily linked to increased skill gained with age, but rather to a philosophical precept of the trade union movement looking at financially preparing older workers for retirement. I think conceptually older teachers at a certain point even if incredibly efficient at teaching will simply in most cases lack the intensity and productivity of teachers who are in their third through tenth years of teaching. Which historically were commensurate with the age ranges of about 25 to 35 years old.
Cermack Rd I think accepts the paradigm of being paid commensurate with your individual productivity as a teacher. Such a concept, i.e. merit pay or pay for performance is fundamentally alien to the trade union movement and is conceptually an idea propagated by the ruling elites of our country. Many of whom are not so productive themselves, but are not subject to merit pay since they are the owners or members of the Board of Education in our case.
The basic idea of trade unions and pay for teachers is that we all bring different levels of instructional productivity to the job, and the level of productivity can very based on numerous individual issues such as having your own children requiring care, care of elderly parents or relatives, or health issues for teachers which may decrease your individual productivity. In the case of a school district the size of CPS you have the productivity impediments of the location of your school and its social economic composition, the competency or in competency of principals, the particular luck of the draw of the students you get in any one year, and on and on. As a trade union we try to establish a uniform wage that reflects the educational productivity of the teacher work force as a whole.
I would respectfully suggest that Cermack Rd become a stock broker or a Personal Injury attorney if he wants to experience real merit pay.
The idea of using low performing schools as a logical way of closing schools when we are faced with declines in enrollment is not consistent with how these enrollment declines are taking place in Chicago. In other words many communities on the north side closer to the lake have had high declines in enrollment, but have fewer so called failing schools. Very few schools in these areas have been closed, but in the south near loop and west of UIC numerous schools were targeted for closure, some weak academically and others not. The union should be fighting every possible elementary school closing, because smaller elementary schools are just plain and simple better places to teach and in particular better for low income children to learn in. There are some buildings that simply can not cost effectively be saved because CPS let them rot and that is sad.
In short there is very little that Cermack Rd stated that I agree with, ideas such as these are destroying our union and teachers unions nationally from within.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
1:06-that is the normal response on this blog; anger and pointing a finger that i must work at the mart. Just so you know I don't even live in Chicago or work for CPS.
1:38-Kugler-i did not call anyone out of their name and definitely did not call anyone a RACIST. You chose that word. i just made an observation. an observation which must really touch some nerves. i did not criticize your teaching and did not speak to your personal relationships; that is not the issue.
1:41 kugler again: So what you are UPC or helped with the election. that has nothing to do with your current posting. stick to the point
1:47 Reese: why should she have to defend to you? Oh please. You are no judge or jury. And I don't think you want her to produce a "pay stud".
1:53 who else-AGAIN, I NEVER USED THE WORD RACIST OR DESCRIBED ANYONE AS SUCH. I STATED AN OBSERVATION. I BET IF YOU COUNTED THE POSTINGS YOU WOULD FIND MY OBSERVATION HAS MERIT.
1:59 Kugler again; I never said you were around during the debbie days. I said ms had been under attack since then starting with the lock change. I am an independent person reading a public blog who noticed a disproportionate number of negative blogs by the same people against the same persons.
Things that make you go hmmmm....why are you all so ingrained in defending yourself as a racist. struck a nerve huh. Sometimes the fact that people defend way too vehemently and with so much anger SPEAKS VOLUMES. REMEMEMBER YOU USED THE WORD, I DID NOT.
WHEW, I can’t wait for CR to post up. He will probably call me insane, state I need mental health, blah blah blah.
COUNT THE BLOGS-YOU WILL SEE.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
I wasn't even around during the Debbie years.
I was working in a factory for William Wrigley Jr. Co.
How stupid can you be?
You do not even check how long I have been in the system.
What is nice is that we have the MS group on record trying to label the opposition as racists.
Thanks for making our work so much easier.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
i guess TD is a racist too.
make sure you tell Connie that.
she should know.
Imagine these people making these statements of racism are[not] running our union.
................................................................
sold us down the river like Marilyn.
Evans had a chance to refute the claims. She did not.
She still does, just produce the pay studs that show she did not work that week. Very easy to prove or disprove. Once a scab always a scab no matter race or gender. Scab lover is also a scab no matter race or gender.
Yes, the union will survive not MS or TE and the rest will go too.
................................................................
HPA was PACT school. I helped Marilyn win this school.
I am also a UPC member.
Need to check your facts next time.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Say I am a racist to my Japanese wife and my African-American students I take on all-expenses paid trips to Mexico and introduce then to directors of a school in Cameroon.
Hmmmmm have you ever helped anyone achieve success?
How about that scum bag?
[url=http://www.hydeparkcps.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=64804&type=u&rn=7469437 new=true]My work is public record[/url]
If anyone is a racist it is Mary Mcguire and Marilyn Stewart making fun of Chris at the last house meeting regarding his accent.
You are pretty stupid to call people racists and do not even know their backgrounds. MS staffer at work again no doubt. It just proves how incompetent they are. Can not even get their facts straight before they attack.
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Don't even go there! This is not a race issue nor a gender issue. Members will judge individuals by their actions. You are evidently just trying to stir controversy. Too transparent.
Slow day at the mart? I guess we should be grateful that you showed up to work today. How about returning some of our calls once in a while instead?
What Happened At The CTU House Of Delegates Mtg.
Having read through this entire thread and I decided to look up the most regular bloggers. I have noticed that the main three people on this blog who constantly beat on MS are 3 white males? CR of orr, DR. K of hyde park, and GS of substance. Isn't it interesting that from day one when the deb locked the doors ms has been under attack and according to these three guys she can't even breath correctly. isn't it interesting, the real power mongers in the down fall of cps are 2 white males and 1 black male and you don't beat on them. isn't it interesting that you keep accusing one black female of being a scab, show no real proof other than "people saw her" and we know how accurate that is. there are thousands of people out there who in the last 75 year have worked for cps, are members of ctu and may have worked for ctu and scabbed at some point. isn't it interesting that you don't criticize TD for anything. he is the savior-another white male, a Judas.
i bet that is how you treated Jackie Vaughn. You probably believe the only person who did anything positive for the union was reece-another white male. like another person said, teaching is a female dominated profession. there are some females out there who are not thrilled with ms, but it is the big 3 w.m. who spew threats of physical harm, constant negative statements, nastiness and plans to over throw the union on a regular basis, day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute. isnt' it interesting that this union has stood for 75 years and it will survive this too
things that make you go hmmmm.