This just in, and don’t forget tomorrow’s big rally at Daley Plaza to protest the closing of more than 50 public schools:

 

 

 

 

CReATE has a petition that we are asking university researchers and education professors to sign on to.  After reading our brief on School Closings (url below), they can go to

createchicago@gmail.com and put SIGN SCHOOL CLOSING PETITION in subject line.  In your message, include your name, university affiliation, and an email address where you can be contacted (this will not be included on the petition).

DEADLINE –  MONDAY, APRIL 1ST at NOON. The signatures will be brought to a Chicago school closings press conference on April 2nd.

Thank you,
Stephanie Farmer and the school closures working group

JOIN CHICAGO AREA EDUCATION RESEARCHERS TO DEMAND THE CHICAGO BOARD OF EDUCATION REJECT CLOSING 54 SCHOOLS

We, the undersigned, call upon the Chicago Board of Education to reject the closing of 54 schools at their May meeting, and instead, to implement reforms that are guided by solid research and by a vision of public education that offers every child the very best that our city has to offer.  We also urge consulting with the professors in CReATE, who bring both scholarly and practical expertise on these issues.

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE), a network of over 100 professors from numerous Chicago-area universities who specialize in educational research, has reviewed the literature on school closures and conducted an analysis of newly released data to critically assess Chicago Public Schools arguments to justify school closures and to gain a better understanding of what Chicago residents can expect from massive school closures.  The history of previous school closures and school actions reveal that closures negatively impact academic performance and create more hardship for communities already suffering from social abandonment.  Our findings do not support CPS’ arguments for closing schools and we conclude that school closures will contribute to a separate and unequal educational system in Chicago.  To access the research brief, go to:tinyurl.com/cm9l7jd

1. Stephanie Farmer, Roosevelt University
2. Isaura Pulido, Northeastern Illinois University
3. Pamela Konkol, Concordia University Chicago
4. Kate Phillippo, Loyola University
5. David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago
6. Michael Klonsky, DePaul University
7. William Ayers, University of Illinois at Chicago
8. Erica Meiners, Northeastern Illinois University
9. Leslie Bloom, Roosevelt University
10. Therese Quinn, University of Illinois at Chicago
11. Sumi Cho, DePaul University
12. Federico Waitoller, University of Illinois at Chicago
13. Crystal Laura, Chicago State University
14. Diane Horwitz, DePaul University
15. Kevin Kumashiro, University of Illinois at Chicago
16. Isabel Nuñez, Concordia University Chicago
17. Horace Hall, DePaul University
18. Amira Proweller, DePaul University
19. Noah W. Sobe, Loyola U