Troy LaRaviere is the outspoken principal of Blaine Elementary School. He has spoken out repeatedly and publicly against Mayor Emanuel’s policies. He wrote an article showing that Chicago public schools outperform its charter schools. He chastised the Illinois State Board of Education for neglecting the children of Chicago. He encouraged the children in his school to opt out of the state tests. He supported Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in his challenge to Rahm Emanuel.
Then last week, he spoke on a panel at the Chicago Civic Club, and he lambasted the status quo and the Mayor’s policies.
That did it! The Chicago school board passed a “warning resolution,” which may be a prelude to firing him.
Still defiant, LaRaviere wrote on his website:
“That resolution had absolutely no effect on me curtailing my desire to articulate and help the city of Chicago understand how backwards and corrupt this system is,” he said. “If anything, it intensified that desire.”
With a few people like Troy in every city, we could send the privatizers back to their country clubs, shamed by the righteous wrath of the brave and the bold.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Sounds to me like he would make a great Governor or at minimum Mayor. He needs to do it and show them all the people want leaders like him not the current string of progressives that are holding the state hostage.
LikeLike
Here’s the article:
—————-
Principal Known as Emanuel Critic
Reprimanded by The Mayor’s School board
by Juan Perez, Jr.
August 27, 2015
Lakeview school principal who’s a frequent critic of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education policies has been formally reprimanded by the Chicago Board of Education — a move that could eventually lead to his dismissal.
Blaine Elementary School Principal Troy LaRaviere, who this week excoriated Chicago Public Schools during a panel discussion on the district’s finances, was the target of a “warning resolution” that board members quietly approved Wednesday.
Reached Thursday, LaRaviere said the school board action was partly linked to his opposition to a controversial standardized test launched last spring. The board’s public rebuke came months after LaRaviere served as an education adviser and outspoken supporter of Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who challenged Emanuel for mayor.
LaRaviere said the sanction was the result of “someone putting pressure on somebody to make an example of the principal that was at the school that seemed to be most effective at getting kids to opt out.”
The warning resolution posted on the board’s website Thursday doesn’t detail what spurred the action, instead offering boilerplate language the district uses in these types of cases.
The document stated that LaRaviere “has engaged in unsatisfactory conduct” and that “dismissal charges” could follow “if said conduct is not corrected immediately, and maintained thereafter in a satisfactory fashion following receipt of the warning resolution.”
CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey said the district does not comment on personnel issues. Such warning resolutions are regularly approved by the board for a variety of infractions. On Wednesday, two other employees received them.
Board Vice President Jesse Ruiz abstained from voting on the action against LaRaviere, but voted for the others with the rest of the board. The district did not say why Ruiz abstained from the vote, which came a day after the board vice president sat near LaRaviere during the panel discussion on the district’s finances put on by the City Club of Chicago.
Last month, LaRaviere published on his website a recollection of a confrontation with Ruiz that he said came during and after a principals-only meeting on the CPS budget.
LaRaviere has long worked to raise his profile. He frequently uses Twitter to promote his appearances and statements to more than 1,000 followers, publishes a stream of blog posts that criticize the district and pens heated op-eds to city newspapers.
His opposition to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam came amid a broad backlash to the test. In March, LaRaviere told the Tribune that CPS administrators pressured him to “cease and desist” his actions.
McCaffrey said at the time that the “cease and desist” directive was given to any principal whose conduct could be construed as not following district policy in giving the state exams.
On Thursday, LaRaviere declined to share a detailed copy of the district’s warning until he wrote about the issue on his website.
“That resolution had absolutely no effect on me curtailing my desire to articulate and help the city of Chicago understand how backwards and corrupt this system is,” he said. “If anything, it intensified that desire.”
LikeLike
I don’t think you’d like him – he’s progressive.
LikeLike
Laraviere, that is, not Rahm. As noted below, there’s nothing progressive about Rahm.
LikeLike
Nothing progressive about current leaders.
LikeLike
Tony LaRaviere is a very knowledgable and honorary person fighting the horrors of what is happening in Chicago under the Emanuel nightmare of the privatization movement, the step known as the “sell-out”.
Just think of the possiblities for Chicago, or the state of Illinois if there were to be a Mayor or Governor LaRaviere!
The great city, and perhaps the state as well, would undergo such a positive transformation…and students and teachers, parents and public schools, decent and concerned citizens would reclaim the respect, honor, and dignity stolen from them under the moneyed intersts of the current mayor and governor whose fingertips are so far up the financial dikes, that the entire nation can see.
Mr LaRaviere, I do not live in Chicago…nor in the state of Illinois…but you have my support, as well as millions of other Americans across our great nation…we support you, we stand with you…and we will fight alongside of you.
Our promise to you comes from the heart…as does the promise you hold for our children and their families.
LikeLike
Mr. LaRaviere,
Thank you for speaking out.
LikeLike
Oh, education desperately needs more people like this courageous principal! Thank you, Mr.LaRaviere! You are a hero!
LikeLike
Parents are stepping up resistance. Troy and the Dyett protesters are ‘walking the walk’. Now, tell me, where are the teachers unions in this struggle. You want to send the privatizers out to pasture, then unions must throw their chips into the game. If that happens, then more Troys will appear. from the rank and file. So, once again, where are the unions?
LikeLike
Good question.
LikeLike
The Chicago Teachers Union has been very aggressive in support of public education. They kicked things off with the strike authorization in 2012, outwitting the politicians attempt to ban strikes by requiring a 75% authorization. They got over 90% authorization.
Of course, if you’re asking about the AFT and the NEA, now that’s a good question.
LikeLike
When I wrote my post, I meant to explicitly exclude Karen Lewis, the exemplary leader of the CTU. As for the AFT and NEA, yes those are the bystanders in the struggle that need to pony up. Please don’t tell me that Weingarten’s visit to was for anything more than a brief cup of coffee. She needs to bring the AFT into the struggle for the ‘whole meal’. Without parent unions’ support, Rahm will passively or aggresively roll over Dyett and every other moment of resistance.
LikeLike
Here’s a long post, where former Chicago CPS CEO Jesse Ruiz—now back to being a CPS Board member who’s now out to fire Troy LaRiviere— makes the incredible comment that he (Ruiz) is so glad there’s no elected school board in Chicago, because then he’d have to actually take into account what the public desires—and all that stress of an angry public— instead of carrying out the marching orders of his corporate privatization masters.
Yeah, he really said that.
Immediately following this—in the latter part of the post—is LaRiviere’s first-hand the confrontation he had with LaRiviere with Ruiz at a principals’ training that was full of privatization propaganda.
Here’s the post:
——————–
HOW PUBLIC SCHOOL GOVERNANCE WORKS IN CHICAGO:
Jesse Ruiz, a current appointee to Chicago’s unelected School Board, appeared at a forum held at the City Club of Chicago last February 2, 2015. It was a discussion about whether Chicago should keep its appointed (by the mayor) school board, or return to the old system of having citizens elect a board. The return to an elected board was overwhelmingly endorsed by Chicago’s citizens in a non-binding vote last spring.
In defending the unelected Chicago School Board upon which he sits, Jesse opened his mouth and made some “WTF-did-he-just-say?!” statements that were, thankfully, captured for posterity on video.
NOTE: Earlier this summer, Jesse was also briefly the interim Chicago Schools CEO (not Superintendent… schools are a business in Chi-town) when the then-CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett had to resign after prosecutors announced an investigation of her conflict-of-interests in spearheading a multi-million-dollar contract to a principals’ training organization that she had ties to… but that’s another story.
Anyway, back to Jesse Ruiz, who, years ago, was also appointed to the Illinois’ State Board of Ed, where he served for several years. At Ruiz’ aforementioned appearance at a City Club of Chicago forum, Jesse started talking about how hundreds of school districts in Illinois had elected boards, and while serving on the Illinois board, he got along well with the members of those elected boards—he calls them his “colleagues”.
However, Ruiz nevertheless argues that Chicago must not have an elected school board, and made the following justification: (here’s the video.. go to about 06:58 – 07:35)
(06:59 – 07:35)
JESSE RUIZ, Chicago Board of Ed.: “But for our city, I honestly do believe that it would be best left as it is, as an appointed school board, because it’s an incredibly complicated and diverse district. There are very difficult decisions to be made, and sometimes they’re not very popular decisions, and I would have to—I WOULD HATE to have to worry about my next election when making a vote.
“I NEVER worry about that. I’ve NEVER HAD TO worry about that, or worry about WHO, WHO… uhhh… I am pleasing, or un-pleasing with my vote. All I worry about is what’s best for the students in the city of Chicago. And so therefore, that’s the system that I prefer.”
—————————
I don’t know about you, but Jesse’s really “un-pleasing” me with his justification for the 20-years-and-counting cancellation of popular democracy in the governance of Chicago’s public schools, and where the corporate reformers and profiteers that bankrolled Rahm Emanuel’s election now drive the policy… and not Chicago’s citizens.
How about you? Are you as “un-pleased” with then-CEO and
But seriously, istn’t that how democracy works?
When some policy implementation is unpopular and “un-pleasing” with the citizen-taxpayers—no matter how much Board Member Ruiz, or any elected official is desirous of such implementation—that fear of being removed from office in an upcoming election is a necessary check-and-balance, one that reins in Ruiz and his fellow Board members from doing something that the voters—his ultimate “bosses” in a democracy—do not want to happen. The will of the people will prevail in this scenario… theoretically, at least.
This was particularly relevant when Ruiz and his un-elected Board closed 50 traditional public schools—with them replaced by privately-run charters—despite overwhelming polling saying that the tax-paying citizens of Chicago would be very “un-pleased” by this. (I know, I’m beating the “un-pleased” joke to death… that was the last one.)
At the very least, these schools being closed had elected Local Schoolsite Councils (LSC’s) made up of parents and community members, with albeit minimal decision-making power. The privately-managed charters that are currently in the process of replacing them, however, have no such LSC’s, and thus, the parents have ZERO input. Parents are barred from the meetings of that board, which are held in secret, and chaired by businessmen who have ZERO experience as teachers and/or administrators.
MORE ON…”Board Member Ruiz” in my next post.
This Hispanic Jimmy Fallon-look-alike Jesse Ruiz is not the pleasant, engaging, and mild mannered politico that he presents himself as in the ABOVE video. Again, here’s the link:
To contrast this, see how Ruiz behaves when the cameras are off, according an account of activist principal Troy LaRiviere in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
LaRiviere is a proponent of having and elected school board, and who backed Chuy Garcia, Emanuel’s opponent and Ruiz’ boss in the recent election.
BELOW is LaRiviere’s first-hand account. In the story that follows, LaRiviere put his job on the line, and boldly confronted Ruiz at principals’ budget meeting, days before Ruiz was replaced as Interim CEO of CPS. LaRiviere took Ruiz to task about how Ruiz and his unelected board diverted $2 billion dollars of school funds to organizations who had backed Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s successful re-election bid.
(NOTE: Years ago, Mayor Emanuel had appointed Ruiz to the Board, and also appointed Ruize to briefly lead the board as its interim CEO earlier this summer.)
In a real mano-a-mano confrontation, Ruiz clumsily attempted to refute LaRiviere’s contentions, but eventually became flustered and gave up, calling Ruiz a “loud-mouthed principal.”
All very entertaining stuff… read on…
This is an enlightening look into how zero free speech and non-democracy reigns with an unelected school board.
http://troylaraviere.net/2015/07/16/adding-insult-to-injury-a-look-inside-a-cps-principals-budget-meeting/
————————————————-
————————————————–
Outspoken Principal Troy LaRaviere goes at Chicago Public Schools
CEO Jesse Ruiz one-on-one: (days before Ruiz was replaced)
Just before this excerpt begins, LaRiviere has been asking to have to floor, and speak at the principals’ budget meeting, when…
———-
TROY LARIVIERE:
At that point, interim CEO Jesse Ruiz stood up, projected his voice, and with a somewhat stern and agitated tone stated, “You can get your question addressed outside in the hall with me.”
Once again, a CPS official was, in effect, stating to the audience of principals, “Everyone will hear US (CPS administration), but NO ONE will hear YOU (people not in CPS adminstration, be that the public or principals or whoever), and NO ONE will hear OUR response to YOU.”
(Ruiz’) standing up was a bold move, seemingly intended to either intimidate me, or to make other principals think twice about seconding my question.
“My question needs to be addressed right here with the principals in this room,” I replied.
“YOU are disrupting this meeting,” Ruiz said.
“And YOU are insulting the intelligence of everyone in this meeting,” I countered.
At that point, my network chief asked that I accept the CEO’s offer to step outside the meeting; so I did. As I left I told principals, “If anyone else is interested in his answer to the question, we’ll be right outside the door.”
TROY LARIVIERE: (continued)
No principal took me up on my offer. When we got into the hallway, we began to engage in what I can only describe as a testosterone-driven, back-and-forth aimed at little else except besting the other’s last comment.
I’m sure there is quite a bit I’ve left out due to the limitations of my own memory, but here is—to the best of that memory—how it went once we left the auditorium.
LARIVIERE: “That political propaganda had no place in a principal’s budget meeting.”
RUIZ: “If you’re so unhappy with CPS, why do YOU stay in it?”
LARIVIERE: “To save it from people like YOU.”
RUIZ: [I can’t remember his exact words, but it had something to do with the budget]
LARIVIERE: “Your mayor has diverted over $2 billion tax payer dollars to his campaign contributors.”
RUIZ: “He’s YOUR mayor, too.”
At this point Ruiz launched into an extended critique of my involvement in the Chuy Garcia campaign.
(NOTE: Garcia was Mayor Emanuel’s opponent, who made history by being the first non-machine candidate to force the machine incumbent into a run-off. Garcia backs keeping traditional public schools—not closing them and replacing them with charters, and also backs going back to an elected school board. JACK)
LARIVIERE: “Please. Don’t lecture me on the ethics of principals being involved in election campaigns, when you work for a mayor who repeatedly pulled CPS principals out of their buildings during work hours to stand on stage with him at his campaign events. Let’s get back to the point. Your mayor diverted $2 billion taxpayer dollars to his campaign contributors (both Daley and Emanuel).”
RUIZ: “And what is your source for that?”
LARIVIERE: “Forbes Magazine.”
RUIZ: “Well, I’m sure they didn’t cite any evidence.”
LARIVIERE: “They cited about a decade of receipts from City Hall’s vendor checkbook.”
RUIZ: “You’re nothing but a loud-mouthed principal!”
“Did the CEO of CPS just resort to name-calling?” I thought. The exchange had already sunk low enough. I wasn’t about to sink to name-calling—especially with my boss. I will tell my boss a truth he doesn’t want to hear, and raise questions he doesn’t want to answer, but I’m not calling him names.
It was after the “loud-mouthed principal” comment that I decided to end the exchange.
LARIVIERE: “It’s obvious I’m not going to get my question answered here so I’m going back in to listen to rest of this nonsense propaganda.”
RUIZ: “If you think it’s nonsense, why would you sit through it? I would not sit through nonsense.”
LARIVIERE: “That’s because you’re too busy dishing it out.”
[I walked away and returned to the auditorium]
We had left the auditorium because Ruiz invited me into the hallway with the understanding that he would address a question I posed about CPS’s reckless spending. However, the exchange we had outside that room quickly degenerated into a chest pounding stand-off, much of which had nothing to do with my question about CPS spending.
I had allowed him to lure me into a verbal cockfight. The CEO of Chicago Pubic Schools and one of its most successful principals were going toe-to-toe like two overstimulated teenaged jocks—in public. It was certainly not my proudest moment, and I doubt it made Ruiz’s top ten list.
LikeLike
The City Club of Chicago had a forum to debate whether they should keep the unelected school board it currently has, or return to an elected school board. On the panel were the then-CEO of Chicago Public Schools Jesse Ruiz—who favors privatizing schools and keeping the board appointed, and not elected—and future hunger striker Jitu Brown, a community activist who favors an elected school board, and is against turning over schools to privately-run charters.
Brown references the long-standing fight over the future of Dyett High School, and how during the mayoral campaign—and on that very day, earlier that morning—Mayor Emanuel made a campaign appearance at LIttle Black Pearl’s headquarters, one of the private charter groups who put in a plan to privately run a school in the former Dyett building, with the former Dyett students.
At one point in this forum, Ruiz claims that keeping the board appointed also keeps forces from “inserting more politics” into Board operations, and prevents union-backed candidates from having influence on contracts. Jesse insists, “I don’t have to raise a dime from anybody. I don’t have to worry about my next campaign…” to get elected or re-elected.
Jitu Brown, a community activist, and proponent of having an elected school board, counters this, referencing the cushy no-bid contracts, where school buildings / annual school budgets are turned over to the Charter Management Organizations like the “Academy for Urban School Leadership” (AUSL), while former/future AUSL officials are serving on the board.
Can you say “conflict of interest”?
Jitu also references the community’s grassroots fight to keep open Dyett High School, the only remaining traditional (non-charter) public high school (“open-enrollment”) in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
( 30:24 – 31:42 )
( 30:24 – 31:42 )
JITI BROWN: “I got a question for you, though, Jesse.”
JESSE RUIZ: “Yes?”
JITI BROWN: “How could it be any more ‘POLITICAL’ than it is RIGHT NOW?? I mean HONESTLY! You have the Chief Operations Officer for Chicago Public Schools who’s the former CEO of ‘The Academy of Urban School Leadership.’ (AUSL charter chain)
“You have the Board President of the Chicago Board of Education, who is the former Board President of ‘The Academy of Urban School Leadership’ . They (AUSL) get schools (turned over to them) with no-bid contracts. They (AUSL) just—and despite the fact that they (AUSL) have (failed initially and) had to turn around THEIR OWN turn-arounds at two high schools TWICE! They (AUSL) have had to restart Phillips (High School) TWICE! They (AUSL) have had to restart Orr (High School) TWICE! How could it be more… (political)’?
“Right now, right now, the mayor of Chicago… was… this morning was at (Charter School organization) LITTLE BLACK PEARL, which is a politically-connected arts organization when we have been fighting like wet cats for (to save) Dyett High School (as a traditional non-charter school), in Bronzeville, saying that we don’t want to loser our last open-enrollment neighborhood high school, and the mayor is getting a political endorsement at (from) an (privately-run charter) organization that is submitting an application for (taking over) Dyett (High School)???!!!
“Do you ACTUALLY THINK that we that this is FAIR??!!
“How could it possibly be MORE ‘political’?
“You just had a (CPS) board member (Deborah Quazzo, was later forced to resign over this) who was caught taking profits, her company taking profits. So how can it be more ‘POLITICAL’ than it is right now???!! I mean, HONESTLY!!”
LikeLike
One more thing… Ruiz’s reply to future hunger striker Jitu Brown defies belief. He promulgates the whole idea that, with an appointed school board, you can save money—i.e. money incurred from the expenses that go with having elections.
(Notice how Jesse doesn’t address a single one of the facts or points that Brown makes… presumably conceding them.)
Instead, Jesse then counters Brown by saying that he doesn’t want Chiago’s CPS to be like (Los Angeles’) LAUSD, where it is expensive to run a board that manages lots of schools, and has a messy, expensive election process, with money outside the city coming in from New York billionaires. (Hey, I don’t like that either, but the fact remains that the pro-public education forces still beat the privatizers, despite all their spending… Mike Bloomberg alone wrote Steve Zimmer’s opponent a $1 million check.)
(31:42 – )
(31:42 – )
JESSE RUIZ: “If we want to be like Los Angeles (i.e. have an elected school board… Ruiz cites the negatives of money impacting elections)…I’d rather not see that happen for my city and our schools.”
(Jesse, a messy democracy is better than no democracy, which is what you have in Chicago. When the people in Los Angeles had a choice, the corporate privatization candidates lost, even though they outspent to pro-traditional schools candidates 3-to-1, or 5-to-1, or in one case 42-to-1.
Brief recap of LAUSD elections:
In 2011, 30-year teacher Bennett Kayser won, despite being outspent 5-to-1 by the corporate privatizers.
In 2013, 17-year teacher Steve Zimmer won, despite being outspent 5-to-1 by the corporate privatizers.
In 2013, 13-year teacher Monica Ratliff won, despite being outspent 42-to-1 by the corporate privatizers.
In 2014, teacher & principal George McKenna won, despite being outspent 5-to-1 by the corporate privatizers.
In 2015, teacher & principal Scott Schmerelson won, despite being outspent 5-to-1 by the corporate privatizers.
Jesse knows that, just as they did in Los Angeles, that his side—the corporate privaters’ backed by money-motivated, predatory billionaires—would lose at the polls if the public had the opportunity to choose a school board.
SIDE NOTE: undaunted at all his candidates losing, Billionaire Eli Broad others announced that he was pumping $1 billion dollars into charter expansion in Los Angeles… even though the voters have vehemently rejected this:
Just like in Chicago, the arrogant attitude of Broad, Gates, the Waltons, etc. is… “We don’t give a sh#% what the citizens, the parents, and the taxpayers want. If we can’t buy control of the the board via the election process, we’re still gonna shove money-motivated privatization and charterization down the public’s throats whether they want it or not. So those unwashed masses should just shut up and accept it!”)
Back to Jesse Ruiz….
Corporate stooge Jesse Ruiz makes the laughable argument that an electoral system “costs millions” of dollars that “could be used to educate kids.” You could say the same exact thing about the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Reps, State Senates, State Assemblies… and multi-million-dollar elections for who would serve on them:
“Hey, think of the money that we could save if the President / Governor appointed the members of the Senate, or appointed the House of Reps, or the State Senate, or the State Assemblies. We could then use that money saved to go towards public works that benefit citizens.”
Asinine!!! Boy that argument really “un-pleases” me!!! (O.K., that was the last “un-pleases” joke)
Brown, no-dummy-he, fires back a Ruiz.
While noting the messiness of democracy, with unions and special interests participating, Brown cites LAUSD’s accomplishments:
(32:20 – 32-45)
(32:20 – 32-45)
JITU BROWN: “But what you CAN say is that Los Angeles (LAUSD’s school board) has passed some of the most progressive (school board) legislation in this country. Their ‘A-thru-G’ legislation that says that where that child goes to school, they have to have curriculum that prepares them for college…. They (LAUSD officials) have it, and are addressing it (college requirements). But (in Chicago), we (instead) are addressing it by closing schools, and by displacing families.”
LikeLike
We have to speak out! If we don’t, think of the consequences. The deformers are raping our young.
LikeLike
Go Principal LaRaviere!
LikeLike
Here’s the coverage of the warning resolution by Chicago’s other major newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times: (I said “major”… there’s also The Reader, with great education coverage by Ben Joravsky)
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/915392/principal-critical-emanuel-formally-warned-cps
—————————-
Principal Critical of Rahm Emanuel
Formally Warned by CPS
by Laura Fitzpatrick,
August 28, 2015
A vocal Lake View principal who’s been a thorn in the mayor’s side has been formally censured by Chicago’s Board of Education in a warning resolution that’s an early step in the district’s termination process.
Troy LaRaviere of Blaine Elementary School lambasted Mayor Rahm Emanuel as recently as Tuesday, when he took part in a panel about the district’s finances at the City Club of Chicago.
On Wednesday, he was named in a warning resolution approved by the Board of Education, an item that did not appear on the agenda.
CPS did not release the contents of the resolution, citing personnel matters, but LaRaviere posted a copy and his reaction to it on his personal blog where he frequently writes about the district and the mayor.
Contacted by the Sun-Times on Friday, he said his blog post spelled out his feelings about the matter.
Both alleged actions took place under former CEOs. But neither Barbara Byrd-Bennett nor her immediate successor Jesse Ruiz filed any formal action against LaRaviere.
The resolution was signed by Forrest Claypool, Emanuel’s former chief of staff who was recently appointed as CPS’ leader, though CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey said Ruiz began the process.
“For any employee, failure to correct behavior cited in a warning resolution can lead to termination,” McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey denied that the discipline came in retaliation for LaRaviere’s work as an education adviser to mayoral challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. The mayor’s office did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Asked whether he believed he was targeted for criticizing Emanuel, LaRaviere said, “I think people can take that into consideration and come to a conclusion on their own. I can’t get into their heads. It’s a reasonable conclusion.”
The veteran principal is accused of acting “in public defiance of CEO’s PARCC testing directives” by writing an open letter ahead of the spring testing season and publicly supporting Blaine’s PTA’s initiative to skip the state-mandated test.
“Due in part to your open opposition to PARCC testing, more than 50 percent of Blaine students did not take the test,” Claypool wrote.
“Blaine had the highest number of elementary students not taking the PARCC test than any other elementary Chicago Public School.”
LaRaviere also was accused of “insubordination directed toward the CEO” during a July 13, 2015, budget meeting in which he “asked a provocative question from the audience attempting to highlight financial missteps of the Board and demanding an answer to those missteps.”
When Ruiz, the interim CEO at the time, said he’d answer outside the public forum and then accused LaRaviere of disrupting the meeting, LaRaviere is said to have replied, “And you are insulting the intelligence of everyone in this meeting.”
The argument continued in the hallway, conduct the resolution characterizes as “unbecoming a principal of the Chicago Public Schools.”
Board members voted 6-0 to approve it, with Ruiz abstaining. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
Two other CPS employees were also warned for other reasons; their resolutions passed unanimously, according to the district.
LaRaviere wrote on his blog that “CPS is not interested in anything that contradicts its ideologically driven anti-public-school privatization agenda; an agenda which includes, among other things, over-testing students, and the diversion of public education funds away from students into the hands of private interests. It was action I took against both of these backward elements of the CPS reform agenda that led to Board’s warning resolution against me.”
He continued, “In the resolution, the board cites me for insubordination, in part, because Ruiz asked me why I worked for CPS if I were so unhappy with its leadership, and I responded, ‘To save it from people like you.’ It is important to note that Ruiz asked me to come into the hallway where he called me a ‘loud-mouthed principal’ and asked me that question. In essence, the board is attempting to discipline me for answering his question. If he didn’t want an honest answer, he should not have asked the question.”
LaRaviere also said he was notified about the resolution on Monday telling him to respond to the allegations on Tuesday at 1 p.m., when he was already scheduled to speak, along with Ruiz, on the finance panel.
“I chose to keep my appointment on the panel and thereby miss my opportunity to respond to this absurd resolution,” he wrote.
LaRaviere has been at Blaine, 1420 W. Grace, since 2011. The elementary school of about 900 students holds CPS’ top rating.
LikeLike
LaRaviere made an excellent speech.
http://troylaraviere.net/2015/08/26/city-club-panel-on-cps-bankruptcy/
The timing of the warning sounds like a distraction tactic.
LikeLike
If our schools were filled with leaders like LaRaviere, teaching contracts would work and we wouldn’t be living with the “teachers are impossible to fire” myth. This guy has some backbone and does what’s right.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Lifelong Quest.
LikeLike