If everyone can kindly take your seats, we can begin the meeting. President Hardin, before we begin today's meeting, I would like to read a few announcements. Good morning. Welcome to the 10/08/2025 agenda review committee meeting. Before we start the meeting, I would like to share a few safety points and next meeting announcements. Please note that the primary exit and entrance to the boardroom is the door which you used this morning to enter this morning. If you are leaving the room, please use this door. The restrooms are outside the boardrooms to your left. During the meeting, we ask that you keep all aisles and exits clear.
If you need any assistance during the meeting, please waive the attention of one of our security officers. Please mark your calendars for the upcoming meetings. A public hearing on waiver application is scheduled for Thursday, 10/23/2025 at 9AM to 09:30AM to be held just before the regular board meeting. The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 10/23/2025 at 10:30AM. The public hearing and board meeting will be held at 42 West Madison Street, Garden Level Boardroom. For details on how to register to speak or observe at the meetings and to
learn about the speaker lottery process, please visit the Chicago Board of Education website, cpsb0e.org. If you have any questions about registration or public participation, please contact the board office for assistance. Thank you for joining us today. President Hardin, we are now ready for you to begin the meeting. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Chicago Board of Education event agenda review committee meeting. Today is 10/08/2025. I'm president Sean b Harden on behalf of my fellow board members. Thank you for joining us today. We're holding today's agenda review committee meeting in the boardroom at the CPS Loop office,
42 West Madison Street Garden Level. I'd like to note that the board members and senior leadership are physically present in the boardroom. Registered speakers may join us in person or virtually if they've opted to do so, and registered observers are joining us in person. The agenda review committee meeting of Wednesday, 10/08/2025 is hereby called to order. Board secretary, please call the roll. Member Lozano? Present. Member Lopez? Present. Member Velez? Present. Member Boyle? Here. Member Wallace? Present. Member Custer? Present. Member Pope?
Here. Member Rosenfeld? Here. Member Rivas? Here. Member Brown? Here. Member Rio Sierra? Present. Member Biggs? Present. Member Thodakura? Here. Member Blaise? Present. Member Zachor? Here. Member De Berry? Present. President Harden? Present. We have 17 members present. We do have a quorum. I'd also like to recognize doctor Macklin King, interim superintendent chief executive officer, Elizabeth Barton, acting general counsel, Charles Mayfield, chief operating officer. Thank you. The other meeting will be as follows, public participation, recess, we'll reconvene from recess, go
into our first call session, reconvene from call session, go into presentations, including special education updates, custodial operations, charter school, and contract updates, discussion of agenda review committee meetings, items one through 16. Going to second call session, we'll reconvene from call section call session, and then finally adjourn. Let's now proceed with today's poll participation session. Thank you for joining to share your comments with the board. In compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act, poll participation, sometimes referred to as public
comment, is the portion of the board meeting or hearing that grants district stakeholders the opportunity to address the board with their concerns and comments. Note that poll participation is a time for the board and CPS senior leadership to listen and hear from you rather than a time for dialogue with board members during or after your remarks. While we can't discuss personnel matters, whole participation is a key component of transparent governance, and it provides us as board members as well as senior leadership an opportunity to
listen to everyone who has signed to speak. This board takes equity of voice seriously. And while we may not address your comments directly during poll participation, CPS leadership is always present at our meetings and are able to address concerns as follow ups after the meeting. As a district and as a board, we also have many other spaces for authentic dialogue. For example, each and every one of our board members host board office hours so that you can have a conversation.
Please use our website, cpsb0e.org, if you want to meet with the board member during office hours. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with board members outside of a board meeting. Thank you for attention and consideration. And as a reminder, the only representatives will be allotted five minutes to speak before public participation, and any elected officials will be allotted five minutes to speak after the conclusion of poll participation. Board secretary, please share the rules for public participation. Thank you, president Harden.
Members of the public who registered to speak were given the option to attend in person or via an electronic format. For those who prefer to attend via an electronic format, they were given information to access this meeting by dialing a number and using their phone. We did this so that speakers with limited or no access to the Internet or who may have weak Internet connection could still participate using their phones. Also, members of the public may submit written comments for Board of Education meetings via the written comments form on the board's website at cpsb0e.org or mail to 42 West Madison Street Garden Level.
Written comments received between the day the public agenda was posted through 5PM the day after the Board of Education meeting will be submitted to the board and published within five business days on our website at cpsb0e.org. Speakers, please listen while I provide directions for public participation. I will call your name and number when it is your turn to speak. For speaking speakers joining us virtually, as a reminder, to unmute, please enter star six. Once you hear your name, please state your name for the record. I will then start the two minute timer. When there are thirty seconds remaining, I will inform you so that you can proceed to conclude your remarks to allow for the next speaker to begin.
For anyone standing with the speaker, note that in order to comply with the city's fire code, please stand along the glass partitions on the marked spots to keep aisles clear. Thank you. President Hardin, before we begin calling registered speakers from the speakers list, we do have union reps who would like to address the board. Okay. Sorry. For the record, I do wanna note that, board member Smith has joined the meeting at 10:37AM. Thank you. And before we we'll begin with, union representatives who would like to address the board. Jackson Potter, CTU vice president, who is here in person.
Good morning. Good morning. Board member Velez, welcome. Superintendent King, board members, I I think you'd be happy to know that, my singing to you went viral Last, board meeting, the, you know, right wing authoritarian Twitter's Twittersphere went bananas. So, I guess we're on the right track there. Maybe it should be a theme song. Like you, most likely, and you can tell us otherwise, I was able to make it here today without being tased, pepperballed, shot by rubber bullets, or accosted by federal
agents. That is not something I can say for everyone, however. So it's with that recognition that I hope you will take extra care to listen to voices today. Many who have come after experiencing a lot of trauma over the weekend and are now braving a federal invasion and occupation to ask for your support. Their parents from another charter operator who is deciding to pull the rug from under its school community, their educators who have had to resort to filing ISB complaints around
special education violations, and asking for intervention, from the state to investigate these operators who have not fulfilled their part of the agreement. And because we need the funding to do both of these things properly, we are asking you today, and they're asking you to do the opposite of what the president of The United States is doing, to take care of our students and their families. While there is not much I would ever do to applaud this president or what
his administration is doing. What I will say is that they are expressing boldness, and they have remade the country in a short period of time in the same amount of time that this board has been ceded. So you may also move with exped expedited force to ensure that our families are protected and safe. You may revise traditions you've inherited that are not serving them well or correctly. You know, whether it's the charter operators that cheerleader when schools were closed in the
black community and now sit on the sidelines while these charters are being shut down, you know, we would ask you to review your policies and procedures with all due speed and fix them so this stops happening. Parents are currently being bold in dropping their children off. Young people are being bold despite the troops that threaten their families in classrooms. We see union members being bold, coming out in the streets, doing walking school buses, working with the district to provide training and support from Broadview to Bronzeville to Brighton
Park. It's gonna take all of us together, not just to withstand the occupation, but to reconstruct, rebuild what's been broken, to demonstrate that we can do better and differently, and build something transformational, not just more of the same that leaves parents and families, you know, in the lurch. We have yet to hear from CPS, about what plan there is to implement the green schools resolution that this body passed back in June. So many parents, students, community members have come to advocate for those resources to be
applied appropriately. Time is ticking on federal funds. Trump lost no time in canceling past December solar subsidies for schools and residential. You can go out and get that money, but it requires a political will, you know, working with the COO and making sure that you apply for all the grants before they expire. We have not seen evidence of that. Similarly, you know, we are doing a full court press in Springfield. We are starting to see signs that the legislature is listening. It means we need to press the gas and go together.
October 29, we are sending, at least five buses, and we will doing it with transit partners and coalition, parents and families. We're doing it, with other school districts and union, locals across the state. So it's only rational for this district to send out an email like one would do. It'd be better than anything prior. You know, that all deliberate speed, that kind of focus and execution for our families, that clarity of purpose, you know, we get to do our version of that.
So welcome that solidarity. Thank you for the time today. Thank you for your comments. The next union rep is I'm sorry. I lost my place. The next union rep is Carolyn Rutherford, CTU charter division division vice chair, who is here in person. Good morning, members of the board and CEO King. My My name is Caroline Rutherford, and I'm the vice chair of CTU's charter division and a teacher at Acero Marquez Charter School. I have been a charter teacher for the last fifteen years.
And in those years, I've learned about charter budgets. I've talked to staff at charter schools. I built relationships with the administration of charter schools and networks. And I gotta say, the current charter school closings and the cuts that we are seeing were predictable, and we warned you all that this was coming. We asked for CPS to provide more oversight and support. We told you the charter model was not sustainable. Nobody listened. Just told us this is how things work.
And now thousands of our students have been forced into fighting for their schools instead of learning, growing, and thriving in them. Public schools exist to serve the public. Decisions about the future of schools cannot be made in isolation from families, staff, and communities they impact, but that's what the corporate board of directors at charter schools have been allowed to do. We had to fight hard to be a part of the conversation when Acero attempted to close seven schools, and now they are facing the same issue at EPIC and
CHI Arts. Charter board of directors choosing to close schools without talking to their communities and with no accountability. Those are CPS students. CPS welcomed charter operators into the district, issued, and renewed their charters, and now CPS has to take responsibility to support these school communities. We spent all all last year fighting to keep our Sarah schools open, and you all heard our cries. We were able to keep five of the seven schools open and transition them to CPS at the end of this year. The resolution passed in February states, maximize the retention of students and staff.
CTU is close to reaching an agreement with CPS on how to maximize retention, but your chief talent officer is not willing to commit any positions at these schools to their current staff. Our members will be laid off from Acero for the next school year in a couple of weeks, and staff at the five will have to decide. Do I bump another colleague and go to a different Acero school, or do I wait and hope that I have a job and stay with my students at my school? How can we ask people to take that kind of risk?
What efforts has CPS made to recruit the qualified teachers and staff to stay? Epic Academy students entered the school year excited to dive back into their high school experience only to find out just a few weeks later their school would close at the end of the year. The juniors will have invested three years in this school only to be told, sorry. You can't graduate here. Actually, it's worse than that. If this board doesn't act, even the seniors might not graduate at EPIC this year. CPS renewed EPIC's charter giving them the privilege of running a CPS school just months
before they announced their closure. EPIC spent millions of dollars that could have gone into classrooms to buy a brand new building, a building that will never be used. How is this allowed to happen? Are you prepared to keep these students from paying the price? Will the school community be offered a chance to stay together, offered a space at a top tier district school like South Shore? Espirit Charter Network also informed us that they'll be doing significant layoffs across their schools. Their alternative school, Pantoja, will lose its credit recovery educator.
How can they run an a tell alternative school without credit recovery? A spirit was also renewed last spring. Did they communicate to CPS or this board that they were facing financial instability? The Shirets board made the decision to not renew their contract with CPS behind closed doors. The Shire Arts school community, which is the students, families, educators, and artists that make up the school, were only informed after the decision was made. Just like at EPIC, a corporate board of directors may be able to walk away
from running a school. Shire Arts has been a remarkable school, and we hope that the board will take quick action to save it and stabilize it. We hope that you will welcome the teachers, staff, artists, scholars, and parents into the process You have thirty seconds. Of imagining a future as a district managed school. Parents called for ISBE to take, called yesterday for ISBE to investigate this rash of charter school closings and the flaws in CPS's renewal process that it continue to allow it. Charter operators should be investigated, and we, alongside parents, hope you will choose to act
to be proactive, to listen to us about the continuing instability and be partners in just in not just saving these school communities today, but planning for the long term. Without with our government attacking our city, schools must be safe spaces for our students that are stable. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next union rep is Kia Banks, CPAA president. Good morning. These are some of the quotes came directly from some of the principals and assistant principals we represent. I cry almost daily trying to wrap my head around what the actual is going
on. What can I really do right now to keep my baby safe and their families from feeling as though they're going to be kidnapped? My anxiety is through the work roof. I personally do not feel safe either. ICE concerns are currently taking about 50% or more of most of my days. Preparing to be a principal doesn't teach you how to approach men in sunglasses, unmarked van vans who are lurking around your dismissals or your entries like they're hunters stalking their prey. There needs to be a strong pause on some of these requirements.
It's simply not sustainable. Many of our school leaders are facing immense firsthand and secondary trauma by what's going on around their schools. Let me be clear. We've been a part of weekly briefings and meetings over the past few weeks, putting together detailed plans and protocols for how to address ICE or law enforcement issues once people come on school property or if they attempt to enter our buildings.
What we're not prepared for is what happens when masked men and guns are across the street. People are jumping out of vans, grabbing people, or jumping off helicopters on the roof. What we need right now is more assistance with protecting the areas around our schools. We need that radical unity right now to ensure that when our students leave school property, that they are walking home safely, that they have transportation, that they may have
additional food to go home where families are afraid to go to the grocery stores, where people are afraid to go to work. People are scared. It's like moving, trying to respond to a moving target. This craziness didn't come from CPS. It didn't come from our mayor. It didn't come from our CEO or this board, but the solutions and how we are struggling to or how we will work together comes from everyone in this room. There are a few very specific asks that we're making today. One, we need city coordination to expand the safe school zones.
We need to include sidewalks, bus stops, and bus routes. We need the ability to to deploy emergency support teams, real time mental health, food, legal, translation services to assist parents that are desperate for answers and answers that we cannot provide. We are very well prepared to handle what happens in our schools. We have protocols that have been established collaboratively between CTU, SEIU, CPS, and CPAA.
We evaluate these protocols weekly to see how we can improve or enhance them. But it's what's happening beyond our walls that are gonna take a coordinated effort. It's gonna take a radical unity. It's gonna take an urgent response. We need coordinated, trusted community protection. Unfamiliar faces are not what our children need to see right now. They need to see the people who they interact with most. They need to see those of you that they see on television and making statements outside, familiar faces.
We wanna protect our staff. School leaders are under immense pressure. We need them to be supported. They need the staff and the resources available to them immediately. We need to work on and fix our attendance metrics. It is tone deaf right now to ask about enrollment and attendance when parents are afraid to take their children to school, when when they see vans parked and they drive past so that they can make sure their families are safe. We need to convene a strategy session that is beyond CPS and our labor partners.
We need each of you. We need our mayor, who I wanna thank for the executive order to ensure that this activity doesn't happen on city property, but we need more. We need you to come to the table. We need you to bring your resources, bring your connections, bring your political ties, and have them address the people who are being impacted, being hunted. This is so familiar. This is not new. Our country continues to choose cruelty over care. They continue to manufacture crises that are recycled over generation and generation, And it is
time that we set aside all of our differences and support our brothers and sisters to ensure that we are mitigating the trauma that they're feeling today and for years to come. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next union rep is Tremaine Reeves, SEIU local seventy three, director of the CPS division. Good morning, president Harden, board members, and doctor King. This past week has been very stressful for the residents of the city of Chicago due to the ICE rates and the, assertion of the National Guard, primarily in the
black and brown communities. But what we wanna do as SEIU Local seventy three is uplift, the school safety protocols that have been implemented by safety and security of keeping our buildings safe, keeping the students and staff safe during those times, at least on CPS property. And with that, it was implemented by safety and security, but it's executed by our members, the climate team and the flex team, who you see in the room and in the hallway, central office security, and school based security. We also wanna uplift the weekly meetings with CPS and labor partners as they have
been fruitful, but there are some blind spots that needs to be addressed right away, such as creating additional safety call protocols for bus aids and seekers as they trans as they transition students from the bus to the schools and vice versa. The key to this success has been consistent communication and collaboration with labor partners during these trying times. Now to switch gears a little bit, we do have to talk about the cleanliness of the schools. And presently, there are changes. There are challenges due to the change of the transition of the former private custodians
coming more custodians, and I believe they're trying to work some bugs out. But the major concerns or the immediate concerns, I should say, is still unaddressed as the worker deficit of 500 custodians, not including the 200 that were laid off during the 2024. There must be a plan to restore this workforce in order to ensure that all buildings in the district are clean for students and the staff, especially with cold influence easing coming upon us.
The current workforce of 1,950 custodians should not be threatened with discipline or low evaluation ratings due to their failure to not be able to clean at the same level that 2,600 custodians were previously providing. So, hopefully, there is a plan to restore that workforce. There is a plan to ensure that the work gets done as best as possible, but also understanding that nineteen fifty cannot execute at the same level that twenty six
hundred has. So we will be speaking out against any type of retaliatory discipline and or low evaluation ratings as a result of members not being able to do more with less. So thank you for that for that consideration, and we look forward to an actual plan to get this done sooner rather than later. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. President Harden, we are now ready to call speakers from the speakers list. But before we do so, I do wanna note for the record that board member Gutierrez joined the meeting at 10:48AM.
The next 13 speakers are from Chicago High School for the Arts, starting with Sean Looney, speaker number two, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Sean Looney. Thank you. Please proceed. Ladies and gentlemen of the Chicago Board of Education, I appreciate you providing me with the opportunity to speak today to advocate on behalf of my daughter's school, Shy Arts. Very specifically, what I'm asking this board to do today is to add a discussion of the future of Shy Arts as part of CPS to the board's agenda for
the October 23 board meeting. Three reasons why I believe the future of Shy Arts warrants discussion at your meeting. First, our country and our world need the arts more than ever right now. Education in the arts is not a luxury, but an imperative. I think from you what you've heard, from the other speakers this morning about what's going on outside of this room today, speaks to that same point. And, I just speak that, an education in the arts is extremely important with what's going on in our world today. Second, Chicago is a city steeped in the arts.
The Art Institute, the Bean, Second City, Stepanwook, these things are synonymous with Chicago as Wrigley Field and with what I still call the Sears Tower. The young people that go to Shire Arts are gonna become the people that put art on the walls, that stand on the stages to make you laugh, and put their own being in a city park somewhere else. They're gonna do that because the unique opportunity that they have as students at Shire Arts to participate in conservatories with working artists as instructors. It is crucial to keep a school like Shire's and its fine arts conservatory model
intact. Finally, Shy Arts is one of the few schools that makes an education in the arts available to students across all neighborhood seconds remaining. Socioeconomic strata. My family and I moved here from Texas so that my daughter could attend Shy Arts. My wife and I had the privilege of our careers to make a choice to move here because we believe that was in our daughter's best interest. When I ask you to put shy arts in the board's agenda, I don't ask you to do it for my family. I ask you to do it for all the families at shy arts that don't have our resources, can't move their families to a neighbor new neighborhood or a city
to handpick a school for their child. Because what I've learned about Shire Arts since the news broke last week is that for many families, Shire Arts is not just a fine art school. It's a sanctuary. It's the only place they found where their kids can feel safe, accepted, and loved. It's the only school they know where their kids can be themselves. And because of that safety, that acceptance, that love, Shire's becomes the place where their child not only learns, but finds belonging, finds purpose, and finds confidence. So for our country, for our city, and for our and for these young talented artists of the present and future, please show your commitment to adopting Shy Arts as
a CPS school by putting them on the agenda for your board meeting. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Emily Page, speaker number three. Thank you for having me. Thank you for listening to us. Can you please speak into the microphone? I am a parent. My name is Emily Page. I worked in the film industry, and I also taught, young filmmakers for over thirty years at Columbia College and also at DePaul. My life, has been about art and education.
I am currently the, director of a pre k through eighth grade private school, and it is a school where my daughter once attended. I chose education for my daughter through eighth grade, but in high school, it was her choice. Her focus on the arts led her to a shadow day at Shy Arts, and that same day, she found her future home. She could have remained private, and she saw the value and convinced us that there
was value in the art education from working with professionals, of being with students from all 50 wards who were driven artists but didn't all have the same access to training or education that she'd had. At Shy Arts, her world has opened up truly. Students at Shy Arts work hard from 8AM till 5PM daily, and many work even later for exhibits or rehearsals for performances. Their young lives are spent with dedicated teachers and mentors and friends from all over
the country thirty seconds remaining? From different economic backgrounds and diverse ethnicities, and they accept each other as fellow scholar artists. My child is now a junior. She loves school. She's an a student taking APN honors classes, and she spends our eighty minute commute daily telling me all about what she's learned and what she's excited about and what inspires her as a young artist. She found her voice at Chey Arts and has become the best version of herself. I want young artists to have this opportunity for two thousand two hundred and twenty
pre professional hours of training that does not cost them money regardless of what their parents are able to afford to pay. Please conclude your remarks. I humbly ask CPS to take over management of Cheyenne Arts and to maintain the conservatories. There is no school like Cheyenne Arts. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Lupi Leon, speaker number five. Hello, board members and community members. My name is Guadalupe Leon, and I have been a Spanish teacher for thirteen years.
The most recent seven have been here at the Chicago High School for the Arts, Shy Arts, where I am the current department chair. I have served hundreds of students and coached many teachers, one of which is on your board. I know what it takes to run a school, and I know firsthand that operators like Shy Arts' board need to be held accountable. Last week, when our school's executive director and school board unilaterally announced that they would not seek renewal and did so without the community's input, it didn't surprise me.
That's because the school is only the special place that it is because of our students and our staff. Despite our inexperienced school leaders that continue to cause instability for our students, we, as a staff, create a safe haven in our city. We are likely the queerest school in the district with a diverse student body, 43% Hispanic and 37% African American, set in the middle of Humboldt Park. There is no doubt in my mind that if CPS does not do the right thing and absorb Shirets, we will not only lose a community, but a home.
Please do not waste all of the hard work that our school community puts in twenty four seven to help our school, afloat despite our school leaders. This year, for the third year in a row, I helped repair scheduling crisis seconds remaining? Caused by a lack of oversight from our executive director. I have trained substitutes in our department to help various vacancies caused by unnecessary play, layoffs. I have I've been used as a translator for various school functions. Why do I do all of this? Because I am shy arts. We, the teachers and families, are Shirets.
We will not let the Shirets board and executive director lead us through our next action steps. Us, the actual Shirets community, is here to step in and demand change instead. I'm asking you, the board, to please help us absorb our school into CPS. Please continue to rush. Lose this school because it represents too much for our city. We fight and will always continue to fight no matter what. Yes. We can. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Diana Ramos, speaker number six. Hello. Thank you for allowing me to speak today, board of education.
My name is Ayanna Ramos, and I am currently a junior creative writer at the Chicago High School for the Arts. Shy Arts has been a sanctuary for students since 02/2009, providing academic and artistic opportunities for students alike. In Chicago currently, there are only two devoted art schools within its area, Shy Arts and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. While the academy for the arts offer similar programs, shy arts offers programs with no intense costs or tuitions. The most we've ever asked for is for students to attend fundraising and even perform in them.
Shy arts has weaved opportunities upon opportunities for over 1,600 students within their time of opening up until now. Ruining an opportunity for 550 or 570 students would not only hurt them, but ruin their chances for greatness. In a recent ABC news report regarding our unrenewed contract, a student named Zamario Ramos, a freshman at Shireard, spoken up stating, normally, when you have acting classes, you don't have to pay thousands of dollars, she adds on. I don't know about y'all, but I don't have thousands of dollars to pay for acting and singing classes.
That's why I came here. These past two weeks have been terrifying for Shireard students and parents. Where will we go if our school shuts down? Coming to Shireard has been a dream for me since I was young, and just to have others lose the opportunity hurts more than anything else could. Just like any high school, this new year starts with new freshmen, new sophomores, juniors, and seniors who put their work in their portfolios, auditions, being given the golden ticket just for thirty seconds remaining? Just for for it to be turned ashes into their hands. It isn't fair. What happens if this only chance for those freshmen to get their word out, their
art, their music, acting, dancing? What happens if the curtain closes and yet the students can't bow? It's unbelievable. I believe that shy art should be able to thrive no matter what, whether we need to increase on fundraising, on performances, the on the need to get the word out, to be seen. Students have stated they are willing to stand up for shy arts. Tears have been shed, words have been said, and yet students like us refuse to give up. Art lessons for teenagers should not cost thousands. They shouldn't be a privilege or a chance. They should be an opportunity. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Casey Weldon, speaker number eight.
Good morning. I'm Casey Weldon, a visual arts instructor at Shy Arts. I'm a professional artist with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a master's degree in drawing. I am here today all because of a publicly funded admission by audition arts high school. In 02/2006, I received my acceptance letter to attend the Alabama School of Fine Arts. My experience as a student there changed my self confidence, work ethic, worldview, and built the foundation for my life as an educated artist, active citizen, and deeply empathetic arts educator. The arts education I received at such a formative age saved my life.
I'm here to plead for the survival of the Chicago High School For The Arts. Please do not punish our current and future students for our leadership's corruption, greed, and negligence. Shy Arts financial problems could have been solved by making cuts from the top years ago. Instead, our leaders are jumping ship, and the private foundation founded to fundraise for our arts programming is taking the money and running, leaving our future to be determined by you. The world is a rapidly declining state of turmoil. LGBTQIA teens are more than four times as likely to die by suicide than their
peers. Students of color drop out of high school at significantly higher rates than white students. At Shy Arts, we practice anti racism. We respect pronouns and provide free counseling to all students because we know what's at stake. Now more than ever, creativity must be valued and our diversity should be celebrated. Shy Arts does this in our curriculum by teaching culturally relevant art history while focusing on teaching the technical skill sets of visual arts making. It is unlike any other school. There is no doubt that Shy Arts raises skilled and skilled and informed artists, but
y'all know it's even deeper than that. Art education changes lives and artists change the world. Your decision on the fate of Shy Arts will make a lasting impact on the creative youth of every neighborhood in the city of Chicago for better or worse. Save Shy Arts because Shy Arts saves kids. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Nuria Johnson, speaker number nine. Good morning, CPS board. I am Nuria Johnson, a junior vocalist at Chicago High School for the Arts, AKA Shy Arts.
I want to speak on how much how on how much my school means to me and why this fight matters so much to me. I've known from a young age that I was born to be a singer and that I want to use my gift for a lifelong job. Shy Arts has made that dream come alive. When networking within school and meeting people who share the same interest as me, which I've never had before Shy Arts. Shy Arts is so much more than you think. It promotes inclusion. It raises hardworking teenagers with a school day from 8AM to 5PM, and it helps you grow better in your gift, like how I've grown to be a better vocalist.
Not only do we connect with each other, we make connections with our educators as they become important people in your life. We need them. We need you. Also, it's free. Art schools like this is extremely hard to come by, especially because shy arts is a one of a kind in the city of Chicago. Instead of an expensive art program, we need shy arts. If CPS doesn't absorb our school and continue our conservatory style model, we lose a community that teaches students and their creativity is important. Our executive operator and their poor decisions have impacted me and my dream and will
impact others in their dreams. And we, as students, need CPS and the State Board of Education to take action. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is John Terry, speaker number 10. Good morning, board members. Thank you for listening to us today. I just wanna tell you a story, about why we came to Shire Arts. I'm John Terry, a sophomore dad, and the three of us silly willies left the very quiet, melancholy suburbs to come to a very interesting opportunity here in this beautiful Berekwa. We came to attend a very progressive concept of a collegiate style high school for
art focused teenagers. My straight a daughter researched this school and felt very passionately that this would be in her best interest. And although, if accepted, we would have we would be required that we have to sell our very lovely home in our very quiet, safe little town and, sell about everything that we own so we could fit into a tiny condo to be next to this school. Alright. Night after but there's what I thought about it. Years of of night classes and night classes and vocal classes, acting classes, improv classes
here, over there, everywhere. And then to find out it was all in one place. There's one facility. This one place is like an oasis for artists. This very cool school is, not just these young missionful teachers, but it's an environment of professionals, professional artists teaching and training and coaching the next generation with the same passion as the Padawan. Never seen that before. We not only hoped, for something like this school, but we found it on another level, and we experienced the results of motivated teenagers.
We've met teachers. We've met faculty and directors and instructors, and we are truly grateful to have this one facility with all these people in it. We came to Shy Arts for a rare and special opportunity to explore and accelerate my daughter's passion for the arts. So we're just one of the many stories that are here and happy to be here and thriving to be here. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Before I call for the next speaker, I do wanna note for the record that
board member Bannon joined the meeting at 11:16AM. The next speaker is Tracy Franklin, speaker number 11. Good morning. My name is Tracy Franklin. I am a daughter of Chicago, a proud product of CPS, professional artist, and for over eleven years, a teaching artist and department head at the Chicago High School for the Arts. This city shaped me. And through Shy Arts, I've had the honor of helping shape the next generation of artists. Scheid Arts is unlike any other high school in this city, a place where rigorous
academic and conservatory level arts training come together to shape not only artists but whole individuals. Here, students don't just earn diplomas. They discover their voices, their confidence, and their futures. Through the arts, I too found my voice. Thank you, miss Mac. Transforming my lived experiences into creative expression that challenges norms, heals traumas, and celebrates resilience and identity. As CPS fully absorbed Shaiart's, we stand at a pivotal crossroads. One that offers the potential to strengthen our school, but only if CPS remains committed
to preserving what makes Shaiart's extraordinary. Our conservatory model, our teaching artists, and our unique mission. At Shaiart's, the arts are not simply enrichment. They are a daily practice woven into the very being of our scholar artists, a practice of freedom, creativity, and self discovery. Shaiart is a cultural treasure for Chicago, a living testament to the transformative power of art and education. To absorb this must mean to protect its spirit, celebrate its legacy, invest in its future, ensuring it continues to nurture the and empower generation of young artists across the
city. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Skye Butt, speaker number 12. Okay. Okay. Hi. I'm Skye Pahut. I'm a junior musical theater major at Shy Arts. For me, Shy Arts was always my top pick. I didn't wanna go anywhere else. From the moment I walked into the school, I was blown away by the talent and drive. When you walk through the First Floor during the conservatory time, you can hear music from playing all around due to the vocalists and the instrumentalists.
It's truly inspiring. Every single student comes to school and works nonstop till five. We all have a drive and passion for our school and what we can accomplish. This school prepares you to be the future actors, artists, and musician of this generation because we are being taught by these very people. And every day, I look forward to seeing my arts teachers who I know will be there for me and will teach me something new. As a young trans girl, I've never felt more accepted than at a place like Chi Arts. In so many places of the city where arts programs are being cut due to
funding, this is a place where teams from all 50 wards get to come together and make art and learn. We have such a privilege to have a public, accessible, and inclusive institution dedicated to the arts and making people's dreams come true. We feel that our administration and board has failed us with lack of support, oversight, and honesty about our future. On the day after we learned about this possible shutdown, the whole school community of parents Thirty second. And students surrounded the school to show support and provide protection in the face of
ICE. In that same vein, we are looking to you to help us have our backs as well and save this unique school by absorbing it. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Megan Riley, speaker number 15. Good morning. My name is Megan. I am a math teacher and department chair at the Chicago High School for the Arts. Last Thursday, staff, families, and students learned that our school board and executive director, Tina Boyer Brown, had made the unilateral decision not to apply for contract renewal with Chicago
Public Schools. This was devastating news. It is not what we would have wanted for our school. The future of our school now rests entirely with you. I ask of you three actions. First, absorb Shy Arts into CPS management and maintain our unique conservatory programming. This model is how we shape CPS students into professional working artists. Our school is unlike any other in the state, and we are an obvious asset to CPS. Second, do not let the Shirets board members and executive director who ran our school
into the ground abandon us without consequences. It's not right, and you have the power to hold them accountable. After all, they made agreements with you to operate this school. Their failure is an insult to you as much as it is to us. Finally, as a board, it is time for you to reform the renewal and accountability processes for contract operators. You need to ensure the way you measure the success and validity of these operators is robust enough. You have thirty seconds remaining? We are not the first school to be abandoned by their operators, and we won't
be the last unless you reform the charter and contract assessment procedure. You have been granted an incredible privilege to make a positive impact in a time when our children are so vulnerable. You can do the right thing where other adults have done wrong. Again, please vote to absorb Shai Arts and maintain its conservatory program in full, hold the Shire Arts board accountable as well as the executive director for their failures, and reform CPS's renewal and accountability process so this can't happen again.
Thank you. Thank you for your silence. The next speaker is Joseph Claire, speaker number 21. Good morning. My name is Joseph Claire. I am a lifelong Chicagoan, a resident of Subdistrict 4 B, and a parent of a current sophomore at Chicago High School for the Arts. There are two things you need to know about my scholar artist, my beautiful sophomore at Shay Art. First, he is a great artist. And it's not just me saying it. It's national and local arts organizations honoring the art my son produces. They know about his art because the working artist at the conservatory system at Chey
Arts go beyond just providing excellent arts education. They prepare our scholar artists to contribute to our society by putting their work out there. These students learn that art is important, that it makes lives worth living, and through this, our beautiful scholar artists learn that they are important. The second thing you should know about him is that my son is trans. If my son must go to another CPS school, I have no doubt he will survive. He is tough. He's driven. Make no mistake about it. If he stays at Chi Arts, he will thrive and succeed beyond his wildest expectations. In all frankness, that will not happen at another CPS school today.
He will be safe, but he will not be appreciated and loved for everything that he is, and every student deserves to be loved for exactly who they are. As you weigh this decision about how to allocate the district's limited resources, I ask you hold on to two thoughts. First, my father as a CPS principal believed that you can only educate everyone if you're willing to educate each person individually. The conservatory model educates students in a way that is not available to other CPS schools, and the district needs this opportunity. Second, this is not a binary decision for CPS to manage their school directly in
perpetuity or end the the arts education program for good. We would love for CPS to permanently absorb and then try a new conservatory model at Shire Arts, but we can also transition to a different, more inclusive managing entity to lead the contract school where the current board has failed. We just need the time. Please give us that time. Commit to keeping Shire Arts open until a permanent solution can be found. Give the current students, the Chicago arts community, and specifically my beautiful trans scholar artist the chance to prove to you all how absolutely necessary this school is. My grandfather was a CPS building operator, so my dad could be a CPS principal,
and I can be an engineer so that my son could be an artist. He's a great one, and I humbly ask that you meet with us, challenge us, expect more from us. We will do the work. We just need the one thing that only you can give us, the time to get it done. Thank you. Thank you, The next speaker is Isabel Cabrera, speaker number 25. Morning, member of of our board in attendance. My name is Isabel Cabrera. I am a parent a from a freshman student in tri arts.
My daughter has a neurological disorder that was discovered last year. She's under a far off poor plan. Her love for for art and her school help her to heal and go through it. Tri arts focus on her mental health, practicing meditation and recognition of her feelings. A journey and try art starting this school year. And in the past two months, I've been experiencing grateful moments full of joy. I've seen my daughter finding I'm sorry.
I've seen my daughter finding her true self, looking for her identity, and feeling comfortable in her own skin. My daughter showed her love for art in early age. She believes that by expressing and understanding people's emotions, we can make a change in our world. She sees art as a form of a healing and contribution to our society. My daughter feels that she belongs in the school. She feels safe to be herself. She's able to show her creativity without judgment. She enjoys studying because she trust her teachers.
The interaction with her teacher are more collaborative than demanding. She feels the support her teachers provide, which makes a more harmonious environment. I am happy to speak to her. My daughter from school with a big smile on her face talking to me about her day in school. I love to hear her singing when she's at home dancing or acting. The joy our arts provide to us as family is very contagious. It has it has brought more harmony to our home. I strongly believe in the collaboration between school home, school, and community to help us
introduce good individuals to our society. I ask you members of our board to keep supporting our school, child arts, and our families. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The last, registered speaker for the Shy Arts group is Araceli Madrigal, speaker number 30. First of all, I wanna thank you for allowing parents to speak today, for giving us the opportunity to share what Shay Arts means to us. My name is Araceli Madrigal. I'm the proud parent of a 15 year old in the music conservatory at Shay Arts. I'm here today to beg, to implore that Shea Arts be saved and maintained in
all of its uniqueness. There is no other place like it in Chicago. No place that takes children from all zip codes, all walks of life, and weaves art into the fabric of their day. What happens inside shy arts is something magical, therapeutic really. The students are able to express who they truly are in a safe, supportive environment. They don't have to hide, pretend, or shrink themselves. At Chey Arts, they are celebrated for being authentic. Bullying feels nonexistent. The energy is positive, driven, alive. It's a school where kids don't wanna cut class.
They wanna show up and create. It gives teens a liberal arts college experience while they're still in high school, preparing them not just academically, but emotionally and artistically for the real world. I can say without exaggeration that this school saves lives. Before Shayards, my child attended a school where her preferred names and pronouns were not honored. I was able to go to court and legally change her name because every child deserves to be seen for who they are. When I arrived at Chey Arts, there were no questions and no explanations about her
name needed. Thirty seconds remaining. It was simply who she was. The only name on her ID, the only name that mattered. Shy Arts doesn't just teach art. It teaches acceptance, confidence, and courage. It gives students the tools to express the beauty and truth inside of them, especially at a time when so many young people feel uneasy, disconnected, or unseen. My child has found her tribe. She even went on a date last week. And I know that that sounds so small, but for a teenager learning to love and trust the world again, this means everything.
Please save Shy Arts. Save this sanctuary for creativity, diversity, and hope. Help this school continue producing extraordinary young artists like Raven, an alum who just performed at Lollapalooza this past summer. Please conclude your remarks. Shy Arts changes lives. It's changed my daughter's life, and it deserves to keep changing many more. Thank you for listening. I believe that you all have the power to ensure Shy Arts continues to inspire and uplift generations of young artists. Please make the decision that honors their potential and keeps this incredible school alive.
Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next four speakers are from Epic Academy beginning with Summer Duke speaker number four who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Good morning, CPS board members, EPIC family, attendees. Thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of not only my daughter, but my EPIC family. My name is Summer Dukes. My daughter, Dream Dukes, is a freshman at Epic Academy. My use of the word family was not chosen lightly. My daughter comes from a school environment that has been a part of our family
from pre k to eighth grade graduation. So making the decision to attend Epic Academy was chosen with great consideration. I wanted my daughter to have the same outcome for high school. From day one with my Epic family, I have my daughter has felt as if she has been a student at this school for more than the few months she has been. From the principal to the teachers to the support staff, she is so welcomed and comfortable with voicing her opinions, asking for assistance, and gaining a new group of friends. Every day, I ask my daughter how was her day at school.
As she goes through the cycle of explaining, she always ends with the real I really love my school. I'm sad that they are closing. I hoped I would graduate with my friends. As a parent, this is disheartening to hear as we all want the best for our children and for them to have their heart's desires. Closing Epic Academy mid school year remains some of these fresh relationships will be severed prematurely and could cause great emotional distress that could potentially affect the student's academic success. My Epic family and I ask that you step in and be the bridge for our students. Allow them to finish the year with their school family.
And I am calling on supporting health and family together into the future. My family and Epic need your understanding and support. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Cornell Johnson, speaker number seven. Good morning. My name is Cornell Johnson, and I have the privilege of being a paraprofessional and a coach at Epic Academy. I'm here today not just as an educator, but also as someone who deeply believes in what this school means to our community. Epic Academy is more than a building. It's a home for learning, growth, and second chances.
Every day I see students walk through the doors who once doubted themselves, now raising their hands with confidence. I've watched students discover their voices, build character, and learn that their future truly matters. To close EPIC or any school for that matter in the middle of the year would do more than just end classes. It would disrupt lives. Students will lose consistency, relationships, and support systems they rely on. Many of our students have found a sense of belonging for here here for the first time.
Taking that away, midyear will send a devastated message that stability doesn't matter when it truly does. I understand the challenges, financial, structural, even political, but I also know that when a community believes in its young people, we find a way. Teachers are willing to step up, parents are willing to help, and our students are ready to prove that Epic Academy deserves to keep its doors open. I'm here asking that you do whatever needs to be done to ensure the the EPIC Academy is open for the remainder of the school year.
Beyond that thirty seconds remaining? The board needs to make a plan for EPIC's community's future. The school changes lives. I've seen it every single day. Let's not take that away in the middle of their journey. Let's work together to find solutions to keep hope, learning, and opportunity alive. EPIC Academy matters, and so do the students who call it home. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Will Collins, speaker number 26. Good morning, members of the board. My name is Will Collins, and I have been a teacher, resident of Chicago, and
employed at Epic Academy since 02/2020. I was drawn and keep coming back to Epic because of how special the community and the students are. I have viewed so many students at EPIC grow close in their classes, come back to EPIC as alumni, and share their experiences from college. Students at EPIC have a close knit homeroom that they have been in since their freshman year with the same group of peers growing and learning, not only to think critically, but lead each other through discussions, create projects with our career partners to expose
them to not only college skills, but the path they want to take in life with any degree. I am also here because of the incredible staff that we have. EPIC's closure would have a devastating impact on our students, families, and staff. I know the budget is a crisis, and Trump is withholding millions from our schools. But do not let these very real facts distract from the real students who choose to go to EPIC, who still choose to go to the school after news of
their closing is published. They choose to go to this school in 2025 America where schools are under attack. A lot of donors have not a lot of donors have stepped in to save a small school in the South Shore community. You have the opportunity to help this school on 80 Third in South Houston and and stop them from becoming the first school disclosed midyear in CPS. As board members said at the last meeting, let's stop our students from becoming just a number. Let's support a school who excesses in our five essentials, a great school that is
also suffering from the max exodus of families in dropping enrollments. Please help them avoid this nightmare of continuing their education in different school with students and teachers they don't know. I implore you to keep EPIC open through the end of the year and beyond. Help keep our school community together. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The last speaker from EPIC Academy is Christian Clark, speaker number 29. Good morning, doctor King, president Harden, and other members of the board. It is a privilege to stand before you today.
My name is Christian Clark. I'm here for Epic Academy, and I've been a teacher for this is my seventh year. I'm here to speak on behalf of my students because the fate of their twenty twenty five, twenty six academic year hangs in the balance, but you have the capacity to help. High school years are some of the best times in a person's life or so I'm told, hallmarked with fond memories of meaningful and joyful times. You remember your high school experience, don't you? I hope it was super fun. I hope reminiscing about it puts a big smile on your face.
And at the very least, I hope your school didn't close in the middle of the year. Disrupting learning, scattering you and your friends and trusted adults across the city. Imagine how traumatic that would have been. Imagine how that could have impacted your adolescent self. I don't have to tell you that Epic Academy is a commendable school serving marginalized families. But you might not be aware that it is a wonderful choice for a high school because our students are cared for and nurtured academically, and they have enriching experiences
too. I love my students, and I hope that they too will be able to reflect fondly upon their high school experiences in the future. Please put us on your agenda seconds remaining? Ensuring that EPIC remains open until June 2026 and keep our school communities together beyond this school year. What could be a good valid reason to not support us? I can think of none, and hopefully neither can you. It would be unconscionable to be knowledgeable of the plight of Epic Academy and to
have the wherewithal to assist in keeping her doors open and choose not to do so. Our students are your students. Again, you have the capacity to help, won't you? Hopefully, you will. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for your comments. Before I call the next speaker, I do wanna note for the record that vice president Bautista joined the meeting at 11:38AM. The next speaker is Jennifer Torres, speaker number 13, who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Good morning. My name is Jennifer Torres.
I'm a parent at Inter American Magnet School. I'm here to speak on behalf of all the CPS students and families who fear being targeted by ICE. These families are afraid to leave their home, afraid to send their children to school, and afraid to go to work. They're listening to drones over their homes at night and watching for Texas license plates on cars during the day. Yesterday at 11AM, a photo was posted by a Spanish speaking driver at 20 Fourth And Ridgeland of an ICE agent with a face covering who stopped a young girl
walking to school alone. Our children are not safe. Their families are not safe. One parent says, where my son goes to school, they don't open the door even a minute early before school starts, and the anxiety is terrible. Another parent says at school pickup, the parents are at risk if they have children in different schools and have to wait several minutes outside each of them to come out. I will share a formal letter written by our school's parent led sanctuary team, which I will also submit to you by email. Dear chief king and members of the board of education, Our immigrant communities are being
terrorized and harassed by the heightened enforcement efforts of US immigration and customs agent. Parents are afraid of stepping out of their homes and are opting to keep their children home You have thirty seconds remaining. From their children, detained, and deported. We're reaching out to you today because we need an emergency policy for excused absences. And we understand as we understand the current policy, children who miss school as too many unexcused absences may be reported to DCFS. We would like to see schools instead ensuring absent students are getting their assignments and
any support they may need not to fall behind. We request the district explore ways they can make the virtual academy and remote tutoring available. We request clear written guidance Please conclude your request. Administration for absences when students must remain home due to safety concerns related to immigration enforcement activities in their neighborhood or community. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Michael Brunson, speaker number 14. Hello, everyone. I recently queried, AI, which I usually don't do because I personally believe that it
it's an elite conspiracy to destroy the capacity for critical thinking, independent research, and dialogue. However, it says that the election process is fundamentally important to a democracy as it is the primary mechanism through which citizens grant legitimacy to the government and ensure a priest a peaceful transfer of power. Free and fair elections are the basis for self governance, holding leaders accountable, and reflecting
the will of the people. That being said, first of all, I want to applaud this board and the new CEO for their efforts to open the budget process to the public, that our school system serves. However, there was no need to reinvent the wheel, and you don't have to make a circle more round. The problem was already solved by the state legislature back in the late eighties and early nineties with the creation of the local school councils. But now the local school council movement, which actually came from a people's movement, has
been undermined by bureaucratic overreach and malicious meddling. I can only say too much so much in two minutes, so let me, get to my solution here. I propose Is this their second amendment? This board form a special committee to review and oversee the LSC and LSCAB elections and the performance of the office of local school council relations. I would also like to meet with any of you that are interested in these issues, And I have the current, and the current process, and I would like to
also discuss this with the new CEO, miss King. And finally, I would like to say, please, listen to me and listen to the complaints that you're getting from the office of local school council relations. Because if you go to that department and ask if there are any is there any wrongdoings or improprieties Please conclude your remark. Asking a burglar if there's any stealing going on. You have to talk to the people. So I'm asking you to talk to me. I'm Michael Brunson. People just call me Brunson.
No mister. And I wanna thank you for listening because a a a fellow LSC activist spoke to you about a month ago. I think it was August 28. And Please complete your remarks. Thing but lip service and runaround. So I'm hoping somebody talks to me or at least responds to my emails, and I would especially like to talk to CEO King. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Allison Jack, speaker number 16. Superintendent King, president Harden, and members of the board. I'm Allison Jack from INCS.
And at INX we believe in school choice. I think you've heard today how much it means for a family and a student to get the school that works best for each child, and we believe in that at INX. It is so important. No one, especially not charter leaders, have ever cheered the closure of a school. No one is cheering it. And when when Caroline said that, it's absolutely wrong. I'll tell you what's really disappointing is when CPS announced that they were gonna close urban prep a couple years ago, a CTU operated school, a CTU an organized school,
CTU was nowhere to be found to try to defend urban prep. So they have not been consistent on that. She also talked about how familiar she is with charter school budgets. Then she should know that charter schools are chronically underfunded. The state says that charter schools should get 97% of the PCTC, and they're not getting that right now. And that's one of the reasons you're seeing all these closures in addition to the problems with go CPS, which is not helping charter schools to recruit students because charters are hidden on the system. And I know doctor King, hopefully, we're gonna work with you and make some quick
fixes because go CPS is open right now. And the same language around corporate boards, charters are governed by nonprofit boards, not corporate boards that are subject to annual audits, which maybe CTU isn't, and the open meetings act. As board member Riva stated last week, charter schools are or last month, charter schools are hold held more accountable than district schools. You all have way more data on charter schools than you have about your district schools. So I just wanted to point that out. And then what you probably don't wanna hear is that by threatening and sometimes actually
executing strikes, CTU has pressured charter schools into signing contracts they can't afford. And so at first, the teachers might get a raise, but then they've seen a lot of reductions in forces. You can ask the Acero teachers about that. It's why we're seeing union organized charters closing at a higher rate. In fact, all the all the school closures from since 2021 have been union organized charter schools. It's true. Charters are not a failed experiment, and they are not for profit operators. They are public schools just like their district operated counterparts who are trying to serve
students in this really, really challenging environment. And they're offering programs that families are asking for and need and sometimes are a matter of survival as you've heard from the passionate parents from CHI Arts. I really appreciate your time today, and I wish I had more positive comments for you, and I appreciate the work you do. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next group of speakers are from the Acero Charter Schools starting with Eduardo Baldera, speaker number 17, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Eduardo Baldera, speaker number 17, please enter star six to unmute.
Hello? Yes. Thank you. Please proceed. Good morning. My name is Eduardo Valderas. I'm the PE teacher here at Tamayo, and I've been the PE teacher for almost eighteen years. I would like to talk to you a little bit about my fellow Tamayo teachers. One of the most remarkable things about my colleagues is their genuine commitment to students. Whether it's a teacher staying late, running an after school academic class to help students catching up or improving their learning, or a coach teaching our students how to play sports, or a counselor supporting a student or family through difficult time, Everyone at the
Mayo goes above and beyond their daily responsibilities. This shared dedication create a school culture where students and families feel valued and supported. Due to very unfortunate current events, as you may know, I have nothing nothing but admiration for this amazing staff, and I can firmly say that my colleagues are more than coworkers. They are partners, mentors, and friends who share a common mission to help every student reach their full potential. CPS, respectfully, please keep our amazing Tamayo educators at Tamayo.
Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Christine Binder, speaker number 18. Good afternoon because it's afternoon. My name is Christine Binder. I, first of all, am the very, very proud parent of an extraordinarily successful shy arts graduate class of 2021. Secondly, I am a teacher at Sandra Cisneros Elementary School, and this is not my first time in front of this board. Cisneros is not just a building. It is the heart and soul of a community. We've weathered every high and low together, and we're standing still as our school because
we are built on connection with our students, our families, and one another. Once you make that connection with a student, everything shifts. Learning happens. Trust grows. Magic follows. And that's the power of a whole stable school community. In February, the CPS board passed a resolution calling for the transition to maximize student and teacher retention. To do that, CPS must guarantee jobs at our current schools for qualified educators like myself and my team.
Right now, that just isn't happening. In a few weeks, every teacher and staff member in the building will be laid off by Acero. We will be forced to choose between bumping a colleague at another school or taking the risk and staying at our current school with no guarantee that CPS will rehire us. That's not what the resolution promised. You have thirty seconds remaining. They promised to our families or our schools. We fought to keep our school open and our students and our community together. We shouldn't have to stay to fight to stay with them.
Respectfully, that is not what keeping communities whole looks like. Our students can't afford any more instability in their lives. They deserve teachers who already know them, the ones that have cheered their victories, calm their fears and shown up for them day after day, keeping them safe. We fought to keep our school open because we believe in our kids and this community, and we're asking you to do the same to make sure CPS keeps their word. Keep our school family together. Let us keep doing what we do best, which is teaching, connecting, changing lives, and
really loving on kids. Thank you for your time and for standing with us, not just in words, but in action. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Shannon Phillips, speaker number 19, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Shannon Phillips, speaker number 19. Please enter star six to unmute. Hi. My name is Shannon Phillips, and I am a STEM teacher at Tamayo School. Tamayo is one of the Acero charter schools that is transitioning to Chicago public schools. As part of that process, we've spent a lot of time thinking about what makes
our school special and what makes Tamayo Tamayo. For me, one of the most important factors is the knowledge, the knowing. As part of my role, I work with the same students for five years in a row. I get to know the students and their needs so well. I get to know which students need help with writing or who needs a little extra time to complete their work. When we do a project about animals, I know which student will pick a cheetah every single time. But there's a lot we don't know.
We don't know what our schools will look like right next year. I don't know if I will have a job at tomorrow next year. I don't know if I will be here to do these interactive science activities. I don't know if my colleague will be here to support struggling maters. I don't know if our Spanish teacher will be here to support bilingual teaching. I just don't know. Last year, the board made a resolution stating that the school should maximize student and staff retention, but we have not received that commitment from our future employer. We don't know whether we'll have jobs next year or not.
We don't know what classes, programs, supports, and field trips. You have a third secretary. We just don't know. Please give us a guarantee. Let us know we will have our jobs next year so that we can focus on what we do best, planning and preparing for our students. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Reyna Rodriguez, speaker number 22. Dear CPS board members, we got one favor to ask. We'll now have this, statement translated. Dear members of the board, hello. My name is Reyna, and today I stand before you to speak on behalf of
our Santiago community, especially the children who call this building their home. In the past year and a half, they have faced unprecedented challenges and stress. Stability has become a rare commodity in their lives, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they don't lose the one place they know as a sanctuary aside from their own homes. For fifteen years, this building has been more than just a structure. It's a foundation of hope and security. It's where friendships have blossomed, dreams have been nurtured, and countless memories have been created. By choosing to buy this building, you have the power to uphold the promise you
made to you have made to our community and our children. They have endured so much, and what they need now is reassurance, a ray of hope that they can continue their journey without the fear of losing their second home. You have their trust. They believe in you. They believe in you and your commitment to their well-being. Don't let them down. Let us not be the ones who break their hearts again. Instead, let's be the ones who fight for their future, ensuring that they have a stable environment where they can thrive. Together, we can make a difference and give these children the security they so need. Thank you for your attention and for standing with us on this crucial endeavor.
I hope you guys get this matter in the agenda and help us stay to build dreams in our building, the one we have gotten to know for the last fifteen years. But before finishing, I would like to give you a message from our little ones who could not be here since they continue to do what they love, study. CPS board members. Thank you. The next the last speaker, I should say, from the Acero schools is Daniella Madlunovich, speaker number 24. Good afternoon, board of education. My name is Aniela Mladenovic, and I'm a reading specialist at Tamayo.
This is my fifteenth year with Acero and my fifth year at Tamayo. This is my twentieth year in The US as I am an immigrant from Serbia. You can hear my accent. My first year at Tamayo, I asked my struggling readers about their reading habits, and one of my students exclaimed, how can we read when we don't have any books at home? This propelled me to action. I created a team of teachers. Thank you, Raquel, Abby, Diana, Olga, Jan, and a team of parents. Thank you, Imelda, Isabelle, Marisol, Maria. They helped me create a school library so our students can have books.
I collected more than $15,000 in grants and donations to make this dream a reality. My principal and all the teachers support me throughout this journey. We opened our Timaya library in February 2023. Our students read over 7,300 books in two years. We are a small school. Our students can't wait to go to the library and many fell in love with reading. The reading scores have increased too. But all this is not only my effort. Every single teacher at our school worked so hard to get these results.
My story is just one of example of the extraordinary teachers who go an extra mile for our students, but there are so many more in our net You have 36 coming? Tamayo teachers are the most dedicated investee teachers. Students are wonderful. School leaders are there for us, and the families are very supportive. It's a collective work of community that makes our school a place to be. Board of education, I stand here before you painting the pictures of how much we have invested in our schools. We wanna stay in our schools.
We have we fought so hard to keep them open for our students in our communities. The CPS resolution in February calls for a transition to maximize student and teacher retention as we have heard, but CPS is refusing to guarantee a placement in our school our schools. I am asking you to please step in and ensure that CPS enacts the intention behind the resolutions and keep our communities whole. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Thelma Roman, speaker number 20, who's joining us virtually.
Please enter star six to unmute. We'll now have our, translator translate the statement into English. Good morning. My name is Thelma Roman, and I'm the mother of free CPS students. I am grateful to CEO, doctor King, for having attended our school's Mary lie our school Mary Lyons parade on August, as well as elder woman Ruth Crews of Ward 30 and Mary Lyon principal, mister Gabor, for their support to our community.
I also want to state that at times, the safety of each of our children is very concerning for us as parents, and their safety at this point feels very tenuous. In our neighborhoods, we've been victims of ISIS and discriminate attacks, and there have been many sightings of ICE around schools. Our children, our teens, don't want to go to school out of fear that their parents or even themselves will be detained. I've spoken to various parents, and they've told me their children have not been sleeping properly, are nervous, and have lost their appetites. What I mean to say is that our children should not, in an ideal world,
have reason to fear. It's our responsibility to give them a completely secure space, and I believe that while our children are at school, they will remain protected from ICE. That said, what happens when they leave home to go to school? Or or when their or when classes end and they return home? At these points, our children are no longer safe. We've also seen that ICE has no compunctions about striking in sight of our children. Last week, while parents waited for at Northwest Middle School at 5252 West Palmer Street
to let children out, two parents were kidnapped by ICE, and I'm sure this has happened at other schools. ICE does not care about the trauma they are causing our children. That is why they are we are here and now because we care about our children's physical safety and mental health. We know CPS doesn't have control of what happens before or after classes, and that's why we want to find solutions. We hope that you can provide school buses that can bring children from point a to point b, safe routes where the children can use to walk together to school,
or allow our affected students to take classes remotely like they did during the pandemic, just for the duration of this chaos. That is all I want to say. Thank you for listening. Thank you. And the last speaker from the registered speakers list is Tracy Samlin, speaker number 28. Good morning, president Hardin, doctor King, and board members. I apologize for talking fast. I have a lot to say. My name is Tracy Sandlin. I'm a fourth generation oh, I'm the chief executive officer of Chicago Collegiate Charter School in Roseland. I'm a fourth generation educator in Chicago and the third generation to teach and lead
in the city of Chicago. I once was a CPS contract principal as well in the West Side of the city. I've heard the rhetoric about we being a failed experience, experiment and lacking the appropriate oversight of our practices. Our renewal process is far more thorough and occurs more frankly than any other school evaluation process I've been in as a CPS principal written in my nearly twenty years as educator. Our renewal application this year was 39 pages, 11 size, single spaced font. This was in addition to the hundreds of artifacts I submit yearly as well as additional ones that are requested as part of our renewal process. We also submit supplemental documentation and narratives to justify our practices for any domains below
district performance standards. Let's get to the meat of what I wanna talk about today. I'm here today to tell you about the results of my failed experiment. Our first graduating class, a 193 acceptances, $4,000,000 in merit based money. Our second graduating class, 316 college acceptances and $8,000,000 in merit based funding. Our third graduating class, 515 college acceptances and $34,000,000 in merit based scholarships. 16 of my babies had a million dollars apiece in merit based funding. Our fourth graduating class of my failed experiment, 600 college acceptances and $59,000,000 in merit
based scholarships. We are not a failure, and it hasn't been too bad for a failed experiment. You have thirty seconds remaining. Greater educational community to question the ability of our families to decide what is best for their scholars is grossly egregious to me. We are asking to be treated fairly, funded equitably, and list us equitably on GoCPS and SchoolFinder so our families can decide what they want for their kids as they've had for the past twelve years at Chicago Collegiate. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for your comments. We do have one more, registered speaker who rejoined, Alisha Redmond, speaker number 27, who's
joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Hello? Please proceed. Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Alisha Redmond. I'm a parent of Teriah Price. She was, a fourth grade student at Harvard Elementary School. My concerns I have a lot of concerns as far as the staff, the teachers, the principal, professionalism, rule, not community. If I have to transfer my daughter from that school to a new school because
my daughter was not being treated fairly at Harvard. And I basically wants to know, is there someone else that I can talk to other than being on this board meeting? Thank you for your comments. President Hardin, we also have elected officials who would like like to address the board. We'll begin with Alderman Byron Sigto Lopez from the 20 Fifth Ward who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Good afternoon, members of the board, our CEO, and all the parents, teachers, and the
students, all the people who are right now, fighting for our city in very difficult times. I, I want to touch on a few points, regarding first, this morning, we were with, Chi Ax, community, of course, demanding accountability for charter schools that are privately managed but publicly funded, and that's publicly accountable. So we are calling on all board members to demand from the Enos Board of
Education and the state representatives more accountability and oversight for these charter schools that promise choice. But when it comes to honoring the commitment to parents, they're not even have the decency to communicate to students, parents, teachers about the decisions that are affecting their livelihood. So wanna make sure that we continue to fight all of us to fully fund our schools so that we do not normalize privatization, the, defunding, the disinvestment that has
been chronic in our school district like Chicago. So today, we can make the difference, and I thank the Board of Education, every single member, for advocating for every single child every single time. So this is the moment to also demand that our government officials at the state level are true partners in this moment and fully fund our schools by taxing the millionaires, by going to be to session with ideas and suggestions for progressive revenue. Enough of talking the talk and having a democratic rhetoric, but continue to have a
GOP Republican tax code where the rich pay less and less, and the poor working people poor have to pay more and more. Today, we have schools that are in dire need of support because the children are suffering. We we need family preparedness because of what's happening. We have, as you know, many children in our schools who's only new, oftentimes in the schools, and now they cannot even get to school. We need to make sure that we provide accommodations. We have parents right now that have six, seven children that they have that they're
helping to get to school. We need to step up in this moment. I'm calling on the governor, the state, and all our elected and all our partners to meet the moment by feeling the urgency and also to make sure that we collaborate with local school councils and every school district to make sure that we give remote options. We even have some local school councils that cannot meet because the state still have not provided flexibility for virtual options when needed, including what children cannot get to school. But I ask us in this moment in time to look at our humanity, to
reach on each other, to uplift each other. We cannot be the only ones fighting Trump for real. Fighting Trump is not only talking nice, cute TikTok videos or press conference, demands action in the legislative bodies to fully form the schools, demand action and collaboration and coordination between mayors and the governor across the state and across our country. This is the moment that we need to lead to be an alternative to the fastest regime that is terrorizing innocent children. We want to make sure that everybody knows that Chicago is fighting, and with that,
we cannot fight alone. We need our governor and state partners in this moment to help us provide the necessary needs for our communities, remote learning, meals, transportation, and also to help because we are now victims of an assault on racial profiling that is causing trauma, deep trauma in our families, including children that have anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and depression because of the terror that they see masked individuals unleashing in our streets. We are not provoking anybody.
We don't want no violence, but the filing is already coming from the federal government against the children. As they intimidate judges and as they intimidate those who stand for justice, we gotta know that we are a lot more than they are. So this is the moment of courage, action, and clarity. I call on the governor to investigate, to fully fund to to fully hold accountable these charter operators, to meet and honor the demands to communicate with parents, and to work together. The state and city and county working together to face this this attack on our
city, on democracy, on human rights, and the dignity You have thirty seconds remaining. Of that faith. This is the moment that we need to stand together. This is the moment of unity, coalition building to demand that our state and city partners meet the moment. We cannot allow the disinvestment to be the chronic disease that fails our children. We must invest now to prevent the care that Trump wants in our city. Thank you everybody for fighting. Thank you to the rapid responders. Thank you to the teachers, to the parents, to the students. You are the courage of the moment, and we demand a
For elected officials to fight Trump and fight them together. Thank you so much. Thank you for your comments. The next elected official is Alderman Gilbert Villegas from the 30 Sixth Ward who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Good afternoon, members of the of the board, doctor King. I once again come before you to raise the issue of Esmeralda Santiago Elementary, a beloved school in the heart of Humboldt Park. This high achieving school serves predominantly black and brown children and stands as a pillar of its community.
The building it is in is not merely a learning institution, but a familial home to so many. Santiago's families, teachers, and students have repeatedly rallied for its future, and the board honored that by voting in February to absorb Santiago into the CPS system and, more importantly, keep it open. I ask that you make good on that commitment. We see now that the building itself at 2510 West Cortez has been put up for sale by the archdiocese. This has been brought to your attention for the last for the past several board
meetings. The stability of the school and the hundreds of families it serves is in jeopardy. I, again, urge the board to acquire the property. As I've noted before, CPS will benefit from this by gaining a critical asset in the property portfolio, securing the long term future of Santiago Elementary, honoring its commitment to Humboldt Park's families, and avoid pouring taxpayer money into a property we don't even own. In February, the school board voted 16 to three to keep several Acelo schools open,
including Santiago. Now that the turmoil from that time is settled and the news is buzzing less, the question is will you keep your commitment? You told the community you would. Now it's time to take action. If not, then it will be you, the board, that needs to answer to our community. You, the board, who needs to explain to them why you would not invest in their futures. You, the board, who is responsible for closing schools. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. The last elected official is Laura Yapiz, first ward committee person, who's here in person. Good afternoon.
Hello. My name is Laura Yapas, and I am the Democratic committee woman for the First Ward. I am honored to speak in front of the CPS Board of Education and specifically the elected members of the board, Jessica Biggs and Carlos Rivas, who represent the Sixth and the third districts that overlap the First Ward. I'm also honored to be here with my friend, good friend, Meg Arbiter, who's been a teacher of Shy Arts for fifteen years. I am a parent of a Shy Arts graduate who is now a sophomore at SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. When we first discovered Shea Arts at a high school forum, we were immediately impressed
and excited. My son was always drawing since they were very little. And during COVID, art was the means out of an extremely isolating period. They connected with an online community of artists and when schools reopened, they were so excited to attend a school filled with other creatives. They found their community at Shy Arts. The school offered exactly They learned the They learned the fundamentals of arts degree and
got to explore sketch, sculpture, and photography. They received vital critique from experienced teachers as well as their peers. We explored other CPS schools such as SEN and Lincoln Park High School that offered visual art programs. We also investigated private schools like Chicago Academy for the Arts, which has a tuition of about $30,000 a year and probably even more by now. The unique offerings, reputation, and alumna of Shy Arts was unmatched. I especially appreciated that while the application process was rigorous, Shy Arts was dedicated in
giving all students, no matter their skill level, an opportunity to pursue a performing arts concentration. We often overlook the arts as an academic career, yet our world is filled with creativity and commerce as well as public spaces, Architecture, highways, green spaces, housing, retail environments are all products of design in much the same way as our digital environments are based on design. You cannot have Instagram, TikTok, websites, gaming, or even data dashboards without art.
Let's face it, we are all visual learners and consume information via artistic expression every minute of the day. Art is also a political statement, a reflection of the current cultural and political tensions. It It is both personal as well as public. We live in a world surrounded by visual cues, music and dance that give voice to the voiceless and fuels commerce. All is this to say that shy arts is a gem that deserves to exist in our public education system. When so many schools are cutting art and music programs, we need a school that
stands boldly and embraces the arts. We need a school that allows students the freedom to explore their artistic expression and more importantly, we need more schools like Shy Arts that prepare students to thrive in a creative community and leave a positive mark on society via the arts. It is my hope and the hope of many other parents that shy arts remain open. In fact, I would love to see to see the program expand to offer more students this unique educational experience and we should be proud to have such a special
institution be a part of Chicago Public Schools. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for your comments. President Harden, this concludes public participation. We are indeed in unprecedented times, and we appreciate all of the impassioned comments from the public today. I wanna briefly offer doctor King an opportunity to talk about the district's position relative to ICE. Good afternoon. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the very real fear and anxiety that
is plaguing our communities across the district. Many of us many of our communities, and I would say us included, because our team and our board members, we are experiencing this every day. We're experiencing the the fear and anxiety as a result of the increased presence of federal law enforcement in our city. In these uncertain times, I want to reassure all of our families, all of our students, all of our staff members. Our schools will remain a safe place for all of our children. Since November 2024, which is how long we've been you know, this kinda kicked off
and started, Chicago Public Schools has been actively and thoughtfully responding to the changes in federal policy and the rising law enforcement activity affecting our school communities. As federal activities escalate, I want to assure you, our response will continuously evolve in response to the activity. We've taken critical steps to protect our school students, families, and staff, including establishing clear protocols and training key staff to respond swiftly and effectively to any potential disruptions, and
that means we have to do this daily, providing around the clock support to school leaders and communities experiencing heightened stress due to activity outside their buildings, we've had to stand up a command center because we're committed to responding to our leaders daily. We're collaborating closely with our labor partners, community organizations, city government agencies to ensure a coordinated and compassionate response within and outside of the school building, and we're doing that
daily. Offering families access to trusted resources, trusted people, guidance, and timely information to help them feel safe and supported is our priority. We understand the weight many of our families are carrying, and we want you to know you are not alone. We are here for you. We are with you. Our commitment to protecting our students, staff, and school communities is unwavering. We will continue to stand together, stand firm, stand united, and resolute in our mission
to create safe and supportive schools for all. Thank you, mister president. Thank you, doctor King. This concludes public participation. We'll now move into a short recess. Board member Lozano, do you have motion m o one? I move that the board take a twenty minute recess. Is there a second? I second the motion. Thank you. I'll proceed with a roll call. Member Lozano? Yes. Member Smith? Aye. Member Lopez? Yes. Member Boyle? Yes. Member Wallace? Aye. Member Custer? Aye. Member Pope? Yes. Member Rosenfeld? Yes. Member Rivas? Yes. Member Brown?
Yes. Member Rio Sierra? Aye. Member Bannon? Aye. Vice president Bautista? Yes. Member Gutierrez? Aye. Member Biggs? Yes. Member Thodakura? Yes. Member Blaise? Aye. Member Zachar? Yes. Member Deberry? Aye. 20 ayes, zero nays. This motion is adopted by the board. This meeting will now go into a twenty minute recess. The meeting of the Board of Education is reconvened. Before we go in to the motion for close, we do wanna have the, statement read by doctor King read into the record first in Spanish.
K. That's Thank you. Thank you. We'll now move into executive session. Board member Rosenfield, do you have motion m o two? I move for the passes of motion number twenty five dash one zero zero eight dash m o two and the commencement of a closed session to consider matters permitted under section two c of the Open Meetings Act, subsection one as specified in the motion. Is there a second? I second the motion. I'll proceed with a roll call. Member Lozano? Yes.
Member Smith? Aye. Member Lopez? Aye. Member Bellas? Yes. Member Boyle? Yes. Member Wallace? Aye. Member Custer? Aye. Member Pope? Yes. Member Rosenfeld? Yes. Member Rivas? Yes. Member Brown? Yes, ma'am. Member Rios Sierra? Aye. Member Bannon? Aye. Vice president Bautista? She's not here right now. Member Gutierrez? Aye. Member Biggs? Yes. Member Thodokuro? Yes. Member Blaze? Not here. Member Zachor? Yes. Member Deberry? Yes. 18 ayes, zero nays. This motion is adopted by the board.
This meeting will go into closed session.