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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

NJ Save Our Schools March Update, October 2012Save Our Schools

NJ Save Our Schools March Update, October 2012Save Our Schools:


NJ Save Our Schools March Update, October 2012


NJ Save Our Schools March Update, October 2012

  • Chicago Teachers Union hangs tough and wins a significant victory. I won’t go into the details as the event has been well covered and analyzed extensively. In my opinion, one factor that’s worth mentioning is that the union fought for the rights for teachers, children and the schools in Chicago started as a small rank and file study group, CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators) intent on questioning and inevitably challenging and winning against the entrenched CTU. Many of us feel helpless against the bureaucratic wall of our unions and there are many lessons to be learned from democratization of the CTU. Blogs, articles and open forums discussing the rise of this CTU are happening as we speak to encourage other union members to fight back against sweetheart unions and anti-union politicians.

  • Check our website out for more actions, articles and information. It is also noteworthy to mention that the 


    Webinar; The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve

    Save Our Schools Webinar
    The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve.
    Core Caucus Leader Sarah Chambers and CTU Teachers
    Thursday, October 4, 2012 9:00 PM Eastern Time [ET}
    Please Join Us!
    Sarah Chambers, Core Caucus Leader for The Chicago Teachers Union [CTU] will moderate the Webinar.
    CORE is The Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) is a group of dedicated teachers, retirees, Paraprofessional School Related Personnel (PSRPs), parents, community members and other champions of public education. We fight for equitable public education and hope to improve the Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) so that it fights both on behalf of its members and on behalf of Chicago’s students.
    The strength of CORE helped elect Karen Lewis CTU President. These Rank and File educators were instrumental in leadership roles leading up to and during the strike.
    Sarah will share the overall context and history of the teacher’s union movement known as CORE, the strategy’s used to build unity, understanding and commitment within the rank and file membership. She and CTU Teachers will also discuss the highly successful efforts made to involve and inform the parents and the community at large.
    Teachers Paula Madden, Tamara Laird, Rosalva Acevedo, Angel Perez will discuss the process of coming to a 98% vote to strike. The daily picketing and actions in the community will also be a topic for discussion. The decision to end the strike…There is much to talk about.
    The Chicago Teachers will focus on the experiences they shared on the picket-line. Each will offer insights, learnings, challenges, and hopes. The Educators will share the thoughts and experiences that led to them, personally, to favor a strike. During the action realizations abound. Now, upon reflection, the Teachers acknowledge that the event was their teacher. Community support contributed to the lessons learned.
    Each of these people, teachers, counselors, aides, parents, students and the local clergy amassed a abundance of knowledge. As they got to know each other and became unified on the issues that make a difference in theirs and their student’s lives. Together they went on strike to provide The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve.
    Paula Madden has been teaching in Chicago Public schools for more than 25 years and is very active in advocating for the Schools that all our Children deserve.
    Angel Perez teaches 5th grade science at Salcedo. Last year Perez taught at Marquette. That school was closed and turned around this past year. Angel has been teaching since 1995
    Rosalva Acevedo currently teaches 3 and 4 year olds in Salcedo’s head start program. She has 10 plus years teaching as well as ten years experience as a Principal.
    Tamara Laird also teaches in the Head Start program.
    Please join Sarah Chambers, Paula Madden, Tamara Laird, Rosalva Acevedo, Angel for the Thursday, October 4th Webinar…9:00 PM Eastern Time [ET].
    If you were there, in Chicago, on the picket-line, or wish to live vicariously and feel as though you were, please partake in Chicago Teachers Union Strike. Parents and Teachers Take It to the Streets


    Review: Anti-union movie ‘Won’t Back Down’ is a step backward

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    *Review: Anti-union movie ‘Won’t Back Down’ is a step backward* *Originally published September 28, 2012 at eschoolnews.* If you believe there’s something fundamentally wrong with America’s public schools, there are plenty of complaints to choose from. Teachers might say that parents have abdicated their responsibilities. Parents might say that tax cuts have eroded the revenue base. Revenue generators might say that teachers unions have protected bad educators. And a reasonably well-educated film critic might say that nobody in this complicated equation is teaching kids or their ta...more »

    Thank You Parents!

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    Thank you for your support in our fight for quality public education and a fair contract. Parents, students, teachers, PSRPs, and clinicians joined together to demand what our students need and deserve. Chicago Teachers Union members’ determination and your support … Continue reading →

    Letter to Obama Campaign Reference…CTU Strike

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    *Letter to Obama Campaign Reference…CTU Strike* *Save Our Schools* Jennifer Psaki Obama For America P. O. Box 803638 Chicago, Illinois 60680 September 18, 2012 Dear Ms. Psaki – The Steering Committee of *Save our Schools: A National Call to Action* is compelled to respond to your comments during a recent press briefing regarding the Chicago Teachers Union strike. *SOS* is a national organization dedicated to public education as the cornerstone of a democratic society. It is committed to education policy and actions shaped by the diverse voices of classroom, fami... more »

    Chicago Teachers Strike Ended

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action www.saveourschoolsmarch.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: UPDATE: THE STRIKE ENDS !!! This afternoon we heard the word; the Chicago Teachers strike ended. We saw the reports, Teachers End Chicago Strike on Second Try The … Continue reading →

    Parents and Teachers United; CTU September 18th

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    *A morning on the CTU Picket lines* *By Bob George. September 18, 2012*Dear All I had the privilege of spending the morning on the picket lines with CTU teachers and the parents and students who support them. The sense of community I experienced is palpable. Teachers had learned what it means to struggle together for the common good. They have developed trust and increased the respect for each other and for the parents and community they serve. The parents and students were there with the strikers every day on the line. They showed their support tangibly by providing a hot home co... more »

    NJ Save Our Schools March Update, Fall Actions, 9/17/12

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    *NJ SAVE OUR SCHOOLS MARCH UPDATE, FALL ACTIONS, 9/17/12* *Members of NJ SOS MARCH tabled at the *Occupy the K-12 Public School Narrative on Saturday, September 15* in Washington Square Park, NYC. There were also breakout sessions that joined parents, students, community and education activists to discuss: corporate reform, teacher education, high stakes testing, opting out and the continuum of resistance. There were upwards of 60 participants and much information and ideas for future actions to educate the public and in general protect the further corporate takeover of our publ... more »

    A Morning on the CTU Picket lines

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    *A morning on the CTU Picket lines* *By Bob George. September 14.2012*Today I had the honor of walking the Chicago Teachers’ Union Picket lines. I joined students, parents, nurses, counselors and Teachers. They are united in a common cause. Each fights for the schools that the student’s deserve. Throughout the day, parents united, stood on the picket line, with the Teachers. In the morning, Mom and Dads brought breakfast to the educators. Then. later, more parents arrived; home-made lunches for the strikers in hand Students joined their mentors on the picket lines. Whole familie... more »

    Chicago Strike

    Server at Save Our Schools - 5 hours ago
    *Chicago Strike* *Originally Published by Deb Meier, September 10, 2012* Forty five years go, fresh from Chicago, I began teaching kindergarten in Central Harlem. Instead we went on strike. A year later we did it again–and on issues that remain (to this day) open to fierce arguments among friends. They were tough strikes–and yet I remember them with both sorrow and joy. The students in my own children’s schools joined their teachers in off-site sort-of schools after the picketing was over. Relationships between teachers and students blossomed. But there was also great divisiveness ... more »