As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
Join the conversation
We encourage our readers to leave comments and engage in dialogue about our stories. But before you do, please check out our "rules of the road."
Current Issue
It's time to change the statistics on education
One thing is clear. We all want what’s best for our kids and our kids are better for it when we come together and communicate respectfully. These are complex problems and we may have different views on how to solve them. That’s okay.
By: Lisa Kulisek & Cheyney Wortham / October 15, 2012
-
Lisa Kulisek -
Cheyney Wortham
We all know the statistics.
By the age of 25, just 6% of students who enter CPS high schools as freshmen will have a bachelors’ degree. For African-American and Latino students, that number drops to just 3% who will hold a four-year degree. This is a systemic problem that starts at birth, but is exacerbated by inequities in a school system. There is a 28-point gap between the percentage of Caucasian and African-American students who meet and exceed reading standards in 3rd grade. In 11th grade, the gap is 40 points.
As parents and citizens we will not stand by and let generations of children become a statistic. That is why we have become parent leaders of Stand for Children.
Stand for Children’s mission as an organization is to ensure that all children, regardless of their background, graduate from high school prepared for, and with access to, a college education.
We believe ALL children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Public education is the key that unlocks the door to success. Far too many children, through no fault of their own, aren’t getting the education they need to make it in life. We are passionately committed to righting this wrong.
What does this mean for us on the ground in Chicago?
It means that 150+ public school parents (and quickly growing) are currently enrolled or have graduated from Stand University for Parents (Stand UP) in the past six months. Stand UP is a 10-week course that is a research-based, family engagement curriculum for parents of elementary school children focused on actionable steps parents can take immediately to get involved in their children’s academics and to ensure their children are on track for college.
It means that hundreds of public school parents are learning how to be advocates for change through ‘study circles’ and trainings to understand how CPS operates, how schools are funded, how they can advocate for their children and communities.
It means we have a team in Springfield that is fighting for equitable funding for our classrooms, focused on our most at-risk students, and for policies focused on the highest leverage strategies available to stop this negative trend of statistics.
It means that we challenge a system that has been failing our children for too long, regardless of how challenging those conversations can be.
We view CPS as a three legged stool: the administration, the teachers, and the parents. You cannot have one without the other. You need all three to be engaged, informed, and bought in for true change to occur. Unfortunately, we live in a city where all three sides are in conflict with each other and our children are caught in the middle.
Stand for Children is unique in Chicago. We are one of the few parent organizations with representation from the North, West and South Side, with all races, ethnicities, and socio-economic levels included. We work with parents in traditional public schools, public charter schools, turnaround schools, magnets, and selective enrollment schools. Bottom line, we believe in quality public schools and parent involvement. Simple as that.
For those in the education community who would belittle parent involvement from any sector of CPS, or deem some public schools ‘real’ versus ‘fake,’ we wonder how our district will ever move forward together.
One thing is clear. We all want what’s best for our kids and our kids are better for it when we come together and communicate respectfully. These are complex problems and we may have different views on how to solve them. That’s okay. That enriches the debate. But when we attack each other instead of focusing on our shared goals, we all lose.
(Editor’s note: In recent weeks, Catalyst Chicago has published several op-eds from parents or parent groups. This op-ed from Stand for Children is the latest. Previous op-eds were from Wendy Katten of Raise Your Hand, Rebeca Nieves-Huffman of Democrats for Education Reform and Melissa Lindberg.)
Lisa Kulisek is a parent at Smyth Elementary.
Cheyney Wortham is a parent at Bradwell School of Excellence and a recent Stand UP graduate.
Exactly!
Lisa and Cheney - thank you! This is exactly the kind of inclusive and collabortive dialogue we need to have about our schools. We need to stop approaching these issues ready to fight and start talking about the system as a whole. What's working, what's not, what are other people's experiences, and how can we all work together to improve our schools. This is not about pitting one side against the other. We're all in this together.
Agreed!
Every parent's voice needs to be heard. Every teacher's. Every administrator's. When we yell and drown out voices part of the solutions to this problem are potentially lost. In the end we all have one goal as parents...the best education possible for our kids and their peers. We need to support equitable funding for our schools and we need to pay attention to the effects of our students' home lives and the impact on their school performance. If we can work together, without labels and recriminations, we may actually start to get somewhere. It's all connected.
I'm all for change, just not your kind of change.
Until the organization you're a part of--Stand for Children--can publicly admit to being a national, politically driven, non-profit lobby group supporting privatization of schools and union-busting, I can only read this article as a disingenuous attempt at swaying the minds of Chicagoans through half-truths. Your rhetoric in this op-Ed is lacking depths and specifics. If you really want to "work together" and have all voices heard, then you need to make Stand for Children an organization focused on actual education reform, not political power and payoffs. And please don't suggest that I must be a divisive, "status-quo" and racist teacher because I believe that fixing the issues our public schools face will take a lot more than busting unions and paying off politicians downstate. I'm truly worried about neoconservative, financially powerful lobbying groups like yours are taking over our public schools. For the last 150 years, various people have been convinced that our public schools are failing, even as statistics show that more people are being educated than ever before. It's just scary that this new round of Stand for Children-esque reform is the first push to truly destroy democratic, free public schooling.
interesting
Lynn, you have set the threshold for your cooperation so high that it is almost impossible to work with you under any circumstances. You have here real parents and reasonable perspectives and yet are hung up on conspiracy theory nonsense.
SFC, some people are gonna be haters no matter what, but please continue to bring forth your parent voice.
Be Honest
Please be honest and tell parents Stand For Children is a charter school advocate.Is there something so wrong with charters that you don't want parents to know?
I'm really concerned about Stand for Children
When your co-founder Jonah Edelman is talking proudly about anti-teacher initiatives, privatizing education, and outright lying about the data on the longer school day (at the 9:10 mark) it's concerning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kog8g9sTDSo
When an organization does this it's hard to believe them when they say they're advocating for children.
Seems to me they are being
Seems to me they are being pretty clear that they work with all public schools with this line:
"We work with parents in traditional public schools, public charter schools, turnaround schools, magnets, and selective enrollment schools. Bottom line, we believe in quality public schools and parent involvement. Simple as that."
VAM
Could you clarify your position on value added testing to use standardized test scores to evaluate teachers? Also, what is your position on vouchers?
Not sure, but I found this on
Not sure, but I found this on their website: http://standleadershipcenter.org/what-we-stand
No Anonymous "Moms" Please
Please use your name so we can be sure of who is actually making these comments, thanks!
Stand For Children is Shameful
They lie abt who they are so they can turn schools into charters and break the teachers' union. They don't stand FOR children, they stand ON them. Mary Anderson is from Mike Madigan's office and Stand for Children is NOT grassroots. Stand for children is FAKE!
WRORNG!
A. Get your facts straight. Mary Anderson did not work in Mike Madigan's office she was a senior advisor for Lisa Madigan. B. What difference does it make. Let's keep the distractions to a minimum. Here are parents who have a valid concern and opinion on schools and what should happen. Why beat them up because they disagree with you? Why negate their right to voice what they believe and want to see happen with education? It's ridiculous that this debate has to be so nasty and mean. I'm tired of seeing people on here act like mean high schoolers--quick to belittle, berate and intimidate.
Be honest.
As soon as Stand on Children are honest about who they are and what they stand for they will stop encountering so much opposition here. They are pro-charter, pro-voucher, pro-value added testing. Why are they so reluctant to come clean about that? Their leader, Jonah Edelman made a very public, though failed, effort to bust the Chicago Teachers Union and bragged about "ramming SB7 down their throats." And this article seems like a thinly disguised effort to help rehabilitate their image. Sorry, but some of us refuse to buy the spin.
You be honest
I suspect you like many of your like minded buddies will continue to attack and whine no matter what. The article (like has been shown elsewhere on this thread) indicates they are supportive of charter schools. As for vouchers, that's a question for another day and BTW not as cut and dried as you make it out to be and finally from what I've seen Stand isn't the only org that supports using student growth to determine what's happening (or not) in class rooms. It's a national movement with school districts across the country looking at student growth. Don't make this a Stand IL issue. The changes in the district teacher evaluation were a result of state changes that PRE-DATED Stand coming to IL.
Background
SFC was founded by grassroots parents in Oregon who quit when their voices were ignored in favor of funder priorities.
Historically, this is not a parent voice organization, it's an anti-parent voice organization.
Will Mr. Gonzalez change that in the latest iteration? That remains to be seen. If the organization would move off of the same billionaire priorities, to something different (including plenty of things that I disagree with) that'd be a sign.
http://parentsacrossamerica.org/tom-olsen-another-former-stand-for-child...
Missing the point
It seems to me these two parents believe in the work his organization is doing. 150 parents graduation from a parent university??? In this town, we need 150 THOUSAND parents getting involved in schools. The whole point of these articles is we need to work together as a city. Even if we disagree. It's sad to see that most of the commenters are missing the point.
Honesty is the best policy
I didn't say they were the only ones who believe in these hateful policies, just that they should be honest about the fact that they support them. "Anonymous" apparently thinks asking them to be honest is "attacking and whining." It is not. But I refuse to naively be sucked in by their spin merchants.
Stand for Children is a National Advocacy Group
Stand for Children's mission is to ensure that all children, regardless of their background, graduate from high school prepared for, and with access to, a college education. I believe these ladies are sincere in their desire to improve schools for their children. However, characterizing Stand for Children as a grassroots effort is not accurate. The Portland, Oregon-based organization was the driving force behind Illinois' 2011 Education Reform Act (SB-7).
Stand for Children’s major funders include some of the most influential players in education reform, including the Walton family (founders of Wal-Mart) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. SB-7 was part of
Stand for Children’s coordinated legislative effort impacting ten states, including Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon,Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Stand for Children put up $600,000 of their own money and raised another $3 million to draft legislative proposals, lobby the legislature and organize public support to win significant concessions from the states’ teachers unions. Stand for Children worked closely with a number of Illinois players, including Mayor Emanuel, Advance Illinois,the State Board of Education, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU). They also have a political action committee that has endorsed candidates all over the State of Illinois.
Visit their national website at http://stand.org/national/about, and their Illinois website at http://stand.org/illinois/about to find out more about this organization.
Did you ever think that
Did you ever think that people don't put their full name on comments because it's almost guaranteed that you will be attacked personally?
I've seen it happen all the time in these comment sections.
If I told you my full name, my children's ages, where they go to school - I don't trust the lot of you not to make personal comments about it all.
And that's simply sad and what seems like exactly what these two authors are trying to address when it comes to the civility of these debates.
Well, we do
We use our names and risk a lot more than getting personally attacked.
I have yet to personally attack anyone, and I don't intend to start. I will expect that people take credit for their actions, and that organizations be judged on their conduct toward the community.
Riiiiiight....
So what you all are actually saying is you believe these parents are sincere but they are OBVIOUSLY too simple to know for themselves what they are getting into. They are OBVIOUSLY being tricked because they couldn't on their own come to any of these conclusions. They must be SAVED from the evil Stand for Children Empire because they (the parents) must either be paid, tricked, intimidated or out of touch with the "real parents" and teachers who disagree with them and they, of course, know better.....wow how paternalistic & arrogant you all sound.....
Don't say your full name
people like Xian attack personally but in real life, act easy-going, it's a little hypocritical. This is despite being him fired and let go from several positions.
Naive
What ever Xian. One need only look to any number of these comment threads and you can see the personal attacks. While you say you haven't done so don't even pretend to NOT SEE what others have done and continue to do on here. Its a free for all. In fact I know personally of parents who have spoken their opinions and had nasty notes left at their houses or been personally confronted in a threatening way at their kids schools or in their neighborhoods. It happens so don't act like people are afraid and wary of using names for nothing.
opinion
I have no beef with their opinion. However it would be refreshing just to hear the opinion of a regular parent, teacher, and principal.
I use my name
I always sign my name. I have not been personally attacked yet. It is way too easy to throw anonymous bombs, so I don't. And I can't speak to the credulity of these two women, but I am not naive enough to believe the Stand on Children party line. Sure, sure, sure. They are just concerned parents who care about children. But who is funding them?
Stand 4 Children Illinois stands 4 billionaires &corporations
Stand for Children Illinois, like its nation parent organization, claims that it is fighting to reform the education of children, but on further examination of its Web site, it is no more than a tool for corporations and its billionaire supporters to wage class warfare against working-class families, poor families and poor children.
http://austintalks.org/2011/04/stand-for-children-illinois-stands-for-bi...
Point to where I have
Point to where I have attacked a stakeholder personally.
I am not "implying that parents are naive or don't know what they are talking about".
I am merely saying that there is "selective voice" going on in these high funded organizations.
I respect any parents choice to voice their concerns. I think the surrounding facts are also important.
If you look at this conversation, it should be pretty clear. I have used a reasonable tone in my name, and I'm been personally attacked by an anonymous supporter of Stand who points out my firings.
Let me be blunt. I was fired the year I was recognized with a national teaching award BECAUSE I actually Stood for Children in my name.
When Stand funders can say the same, they deserve equal voice. As for Stand parents, they can make their own decisions. Butz certainly posts in his own voice and I respect that while we disagree on much.
Everyone calm down
Here's the bottom line - you've got parents who align with groups like SFC, you've got parents who align with the CTU, you've got parents who align with that Raise Your Hand group.
Isn't that the point that there are organizations out there that can work with all sorts of people? Not everyone agrees, not everyone is right. That's ok.
I personally don't care who funds an organization, having worked at or with non-profits for years you get the money where you can get it. It's great that the CTU can collect dues and not have to worry about funds, but other orgs do.
Let's all take a deep breath, not associate organizational donors with real people and all just try and get along.
Stand for Children is a group
Stand for Children is a group put together by billionaires to promote privatization. They want more charters, more testing and more computer-delivered curriculum in order to cut teachers and weaken unions.
First, I would like a STtand mom or dad to show me a district where fewer teachers and larger classes have reduced the gap in test scores.
Second, I would like a Stand mom or dad to know that based on NAEP scores, while the gap remains, all groups are doing better, and minority groups have made significant gains.
Third, the highest performing states are MN and MA, each with the lowest rates of childhood poverty and strong teacher unions.
Fourth, the vast majority -- 87% -- of charters perform worse or the same as neighborhood schools, (Stanford CREDO study and others like the Rand study confrm this). This confirms common sense observations; poverty and its attendant ills are more to blame than teachers for low test scores among the poor and minority students.
It would be nice if Stand had real reforms that many parents could get behind. But it has only supported the agenda that privatizers can profit handsomely from -- more tests and charters.
So why doesn't Catalyst ask CREATE, RYH, 19th Ward Parents, and Teachers for Social Justice, Parents 4 Teachers, among the many less well-heeled groups to weigh in on specific issues?
Why not start with the question -- can CPS afford more testing and more charters now?
Funding
Are you serious? Do you really think that getting funded by billionaire charter advocates doesn't matter? The CTU money is a drop in the bucket compared to what Stand on Children gets. Please do some real research.
Add your comment