'Raise your hand for illinois public education' suggests 'tlc' for cps's 'return to normalcy' for all

by Suzanne Hanney

Using $1.8 billion in federal stimulus dollars to bring Chicago Public Schools (CPS) back to normal is not good enough: what they need is a little TLC, student and parent leaders said in an April 28 press conference.

TLC, as in Trust, Learning and Care, is a detailed plan for how to use COVID relief money developed over the past six weeks by advocates with Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education. CPS may use the federal money to pay down debt and has not yet agreed to meet with parent and youth leaders, according to Raise Your Hand, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and Enlace Chicago officials.

“What we are asking for is [funding] for our needs, our reality,” said teen leader Catlyn Savado. “It is our reality that a student may not attend class because of an internet connection, that there are students who are homeless, Black and Brown students who have been deprived in this narrative.”

“We’re here today because we need to have a say in how this $1 billion is going to be spent in our schools,” said Chinella Miller, a CPS parent and Local School Council member. “Like Catlyn said, we keep trying to get back to normal but our normal is two different normals. Because you failed us before the pandemic, we need you to go back and fix those things first. We need more social workers, money for remote learners; they should receive a stipend so they don’t fall behind. My diverse learners are falling behind.”

Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd ward), who is also a CPS parent, said his ward encompasses five CPS high schools and 10 grammar schools. The ward includes Little Village, North Lawndale and the 60623 ZIP code, which had the highest number of COVID-positive people early in the pandemic. Simultaneously, it is the ward with the highest number of immigrants, and so the most people who cannot access personal stimulus money. CPS should use its federal COVID relief to bridge the digital divide and to deal with the mental health crisis caused by gun violence, he said.

“This money is not for debt, this money is not for anything other than the CARE[S] Act, for the pandemic,” said Rousemary Vega. “It is time it is used in the right, where it belongs: to our students, in our schools, in our communities.”

However, the prospect of the Chicago Board of Education using its stimulus money to pay down its $8.3 billion debt caused Standard & Poors to raise the CPS credit rating from BB- to B in early April, according to The Bond Buyer. That’s still junk bond status, which means CPS pays a higher interest rate to borrow money, as a measure of its low creditworthiness.

Raise Your Hand Executive Director Jianan Shi said that the Trust Learning Care plan would not demand the full stimulus payment.

Trust stands for transparency, as in a quality control team of parents, administrators and youth to monitor school buildings’ COVID safety; and more staff – even parents – hired shortterm to fill shortages.

Learning means “those who need the most, get the most.” Special ed teachers should not be pulled out of their designated roles and $12.5 million should be spent to ensure each student has a working computer and wifi. More professional development on teaching literacy remotely and on recognizing mental health issues was recommended, along with more bilingualcertified staff for smaller learning settings. A public tech support center, to field questions on remote learning, was also suggested.

Care means more mental health services, whether individually- or group-led; it also means social emotional learning built into the curriculum and pandemic learning plans when there is COVID in the family.