e e e e e e Tech Team can you please begin the recording good morning welcome to the February 12th 2025 agenda review committee
meeting before we start the meeting I would like to share a few safety points please note that the primary exit and entrance to the boardroom is the door which you use to enter this morning if you are leaving the room please use this door the restrooms are outside the
boardroom doors 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 wave the attention of one of our security officers thank you for joining us today president Harden we are now
ready for you to begin the meeting can you please turn your mic on that's a good way to start right good morning everyone welcome to the Chicago Board of Education agenda review committee meeting today is February 12th 2025 I'm president Shan B Harden and on behalf of
my fellow board members thank you for joining us today we are holding today's agenda review committee meeting in the Board Room at the CPS Loop office 42 West Madison Street Garden level and I would 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 February 12th 2025 is hereby
call to order board secretary please call the role thank you member loano present member Smith he's here I'm just not sure where he is at the moment oh thank you member
Lopez here member Thomas president member Bole present member kuster present member Pope present member Rosenfeld present member Rivas present
member Rio Sierra present member Brown present member Bannon present vice president Bautista present member gutiz present member bigs present member thakura present member Blaze present
member zachor present member D Barry present president Harden present 19 members present we do have a quorum at all select to recognize Pedro Martinez chief executive officer Ruchi Verma general counsel bdana
shukuma Chief education officer Charles Mayfield Chief Operating Officer the order of the meeting will be as follows public participation recess reconvening from Recess discussion of agenda review committee meeting items 1
4 32 Co session reconvene from Co session and then adjourn let's now proceed with today's public participation session thank you for joining to share your comments with the board in compliance with the Illinois open meeting ACT public
participation sometimes referred to as public comment is the portion of the board meeting or hearing that GR grants District stakeholders the opportunity to address the board with their concerns and comments note that public participation is the 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 discuss Personnel matters public participation is a key component of transparent governance and it provides us as board
members as well as senior leadership an opportunity to listen listen to everyone who has signed to speak this board takes Equity of voice seriously while we may not address your concerns directly during public 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 can have a conversation please use our website CPS boe.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 your attention and consideration as a reminder Union Representatives will be allowed at five minutes to speak before public participation and any elected officials will be allowed at 5 minutes to speak after the conclusion of public
public participation board secretary please share the rules of public participation thank you president Harden uh before I begin I would like to note that member Smith has joined the meeting at 1036
a.m. 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
cpsb.org or mail to oneth Dearborn s950 written comments received between the day the public agenda was posted through 5:00 p.m. the day after the Board of Education meeting will be submitted to the board and published within five business days on our website at cpsb.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 speakers joining us virtually as a reminder to unmute please enter star 6 once you hear your name please state your name for the
record I will then start the two-minute timer when there are 30 seconds remaining I'll inform you that you can proceed to conclude your remarks to allow for the next speaker to begin for anyone standing with the speaker please stand along the glass partitions to keep the aisles clear thank you president
Harden before we begin calling speakers from the speakers list we do have Union reps who would like to address the board we'll begin with Jackson Potter CTU vice president this am I'm here today with more questions than a declaration where's the
plan uh this agenda Review Committee hearing doesn't have much of an agenda uh and tomorrow in Washington Linda McMahon will have her hearing to become the next education secretary responsible for dismantling public education for the
Trump regime uh this agenda looks like business as usual in a time that is anything but uh Trump's already signed executive orders that are illegal and likely unenforceable but say that teachers can't teach students the truth
about history Trump signed orders that anyone who supports students in gender affirming care and counseling emotional support in resources to navigate their gender and sexuality could face prosecution told McMahon that he expects her to put herself out of a job by dismantling the department she's in
charge of and rid uh the country civil rights protections anti-poverty supports at the federal level he's laying the groundwork for what will likely become the largest educator parent Community Coalition in history to defend the interests of black children children
with disabilities children in poverty students who are undocumented and these are disproportionately the students we have in CPS Chicago needs a plan if the federal government comes for academic freedom what will CPS do will you Sue or
protect your policies if they come for your federal funding does the district have secondary plans for Revenue has it discussed backups with the governor and other states that are providing it the governor's address for budget is a week
away has there been a single solitary email from this District to parents and allies alike about the need to rally for Revenue in estate that ranks in the bottom quartile of school funding and is 2.6 billion below its own formula how are we going to have protections for
vulnerable students with that kind of advocacy has the CEO accepted a single Revenue idea of the 25 plus we presented in bargaining that we could Lobby for together and support our students we're going February 24th with a state Coalition for this very purpose will you
join us after the FactFinder report was issued we said it offered a viable path to settlement the CEO said it was a road to predition and strike we have a need for more Librarians a better Elementary
day a nurse in every school every day art teachers for the 50 schools without them this contract provides for it let's get it done we're already seeing the Ripple effects of not having the basics and it's likely to get worse Illinois farmers are locked out of Grants Head
Start is in Jeopardy Elon Musk is stealing all our personal data and once they get through the McMahon hearings we can only expect more disruption and harm to public education even here locally the board gave clear instructions to the district on a a Sero to keep the schools
open you move swiftly because a Sero families deserve it for next year but it's now the middle of February and those families are here waiting for an answer what's the plan the people of Chicago did not elect you the mayor did not appoint you to not provide leadership at this critical juncture we
have to mobilize to protect Chicago's children the education that they deserve we know what it looks like cuz it happened at Hamlin Elementary a few weeks ago we practiced solidarity together we defended Sanctuary schools we defended our contract and policies at the district we have to expand the
definition of sanctuary in this moment black history and black teachers deserve it protecting academic freedom ending racist disciplinary practices for our students in special education they need their services and staff for our lgbtqia students they need to know that we're
here to protect and defend them you already know we're willing to collaborate at CTU on each and every one of these policies we are beyond frustrated that they are not yet codified in a contract settlement at the board's last meeting you heard president Harden say we need to work as a team
every team needs a captain the board must Captain this ship so we can end the stalemate and in action and mount the force field the defense our children desperately need we don't have time to waste I told uh bdana the other day I would serenade this board like I did
your predecessor so I'm going to do that Timothy Shalom does a mean Bob Dylan impression but I think I got him on this one uh World War I it came and it went while we were fighting 30 seconds remaining but I learned to accept and
accept it with pride because we don't count the dead when God's on our side that's why we need to speak the truth teach the truth say it like it is save lives feed hearts and Minds defend our district thank you
thank you for your comments the next union rep is Carolyn Rutherford CTU Charter division Vice chair good morning my name is Caroline Rutherford and I'm a visual art teacher with aaro Marquez and I am the chair of our Council of CTU members at the 15
Acero schools I have been with the asero network for 15 years I chose to be a teacher at a charter school I love my school I love my students but my Charter network has failed me and everyone at our schools since Aero announced their
plan on October 9th to close schools on thousands of students we have been fighting for 126 days to get answers that we still do not have from Aero or CPS we have been to every CPS board meeting we've been to
every asero board meeting and we still don't have answers on December 20th the board of education did what aaro has refused to do they listened to us and voted unanimously to keep our schools open thank you board members Harden bouti
Pope blae and Thomas the resolution you passed gave us all the hope we need and a path we deserve to keep our school communities whole but now 53 days after the resolution passed Aero and CPS have us afraid that they will fail to
implement the board's actions we are still worrying about the future for our students and our Schools board members blae and Pope attended the asero board meeting last week last week to be in solidarity with parents students and teachers thank you very much they
witnessed the disrespect of the asero board and asero CEO Rich Rodriguez to the parents students and Educators asarah board members and CEO Rodriguez refused to address us these parents these teachers these students they
ignored and walked out of the room and we begged and cried for a response and they just walked out CEO Martinez hi please commit to live up to that historic decision by the Board of
Ed by finalizing a plan to save our schools please choose to treat the Educators parents and students at these schools better than CEO Rodriguez Charter boards are not run on a democratic process the SOS board is hand
selected by CEO Rodriguez and they have no accountability to the public they serve CPS board members you were elected to speak for these people in front of you there seems to be some confusion about the power dynamics here why would
CPS allow Aero to have the power to say no to the resolution and undermine the power of this board you hold ao's Charter and you are their financial support without their Charter students and money Aero would not exist your
resolution states that their Charter renewal will be in question if they refuse to comply and move forward with the closures please use your power to hold Theo and CPS leaders true to the resolution you passed and ensure that they have a a complete agreement to keep our schools open and our communities
whole the resolution directs CPS to create a plan to absorb these schools have you created the plan has the detailed been plan been shared with the members of the board will you share that plan with us we deserve to know what our future holds asero CEO Rodriguez is the
villain in the asero network CEO Martinez do not allow CPS to turn its back on 2,000 Latina students their families and hundreds of Educators like Rodriguez and asero have please do not refuse to speak to us again today we are
demanding answers don't just tell us we're working on it we'll get back to you 126 days we can't wait anymore each day that we wait does more harm to our schools as we lose families desperately worried about the future of their
education tell us today that you will keep our schools open that you won't let anything keep you from following the resolution tell us today that you will not allow Aero to bully you I've negotiated four contracts with Theo they may be unreasonable but
you have the power to take the two things that are most important to them away their Charter agreement and their money tens of millions in CPS funds that they have in their reserves tell us today that the 2,000 students at our schools are
important that they are part of CPS that they have a home and that you will take the steps needed to keep their tell us today that we don't have to wait any longer that our doors will be open in August for each of our schools we deserve to be treated better
than we have been treated by the asero CEO we need to know that CPS leaders will put students families and Educators at these schools first we need you to show us that CPS leaders have the will to carry out this board's promise to
save our schools and we need to hear the details on the plan to make that promise real please tell us today we cannot wait thank you thank you for your comments we'll now start calling
speakers from the speakers list the first two speakers are from interamerican Magnet School Julie Wexler speaker number one who is joining us virtually followed by Tes speaker number 12 who is also joining virtually Julie
Wexler please enter star 6 to unmute my name is Dr Julie Wexler and I am chair of the interamerican maget school LSC our LSC approved charges against our principal Juan carloas on October 9th on December 6th we were informed that the principal would remain
while under investigation we first asked for his removal in August both times we were told the network would be implementing remedial steps these steps are not working at the January LSB meeting principal Zas tried to transfer over $6,000 to help cover the cost of this year's e8th grade class trip to DC
to be clear this amount was collected from the prior Year's eighth grade fam to cover a graduation dinner dance principal Zas took money from last year's eighth grade families did not use it and is now trying to use that money for a different group of students under the nois to the LSC last year he transferred funds from student class
fees to cover the cost of that dance student school fees are meant to cover quote curriculum res resources lunch and recess staffing office supplies and Technology support not dinner dances in addition to transfers our LSC should be approving all expenditures over $ thousand dollar principal bias is spending money without our knowledge or
approval those who have spoken out or have experienced threat and retaliation just yesterday he sent a threatening email to a teacher recovering from surgery while on medical lead he has spoken negatively and unprofessionally about teachers staff and parents in the hearing of others he told a PE teachers
to teach class in the hallway refused to remove furniture that caused a safety concern he has moved teachers materials and belongings without their permission or knowledge we have ongoing safety issues due to staff shortages although written schedule state that Racers are being met this is not occurring in practice I live in fear number one you
have 30 seconds remaining children our staff our principal has violated ilcs in his contract misappropriated funds retaliated against members of the school Community had lack security measures resulting in an unauthorized individual roaming our school and caused trauma yet here he remains months into the school
year this Friday will Mark 10 weeks from the time that CEO Martinez sent a letter declining to remove principal Zas an investigation should not take precence over students and staff safety or School finances please remove our principal I am happy to meet with the board and CEO anytime to further discuss thank
you thank you for your comments the next speaker Jen Torres speaker number 12 joining us virtually please enter star six to unmute hello my name is Jennifer Torres I'm a parent at interamerican magnet school today is February 12th our LSC
voted no confidence in principal Zas on August 8th the network informed our community on August 23rd that an investigation was initiated it's been six months an investigation into growth fiscal mismanagement and issues of
student safety taking six months or more indicates Merit at this point the school Community is demanding principal Zas be placed on leave during the con IUS of the investigation for the safety of the school I want to share the voices of
community members with you quote he is untrustworthy quote he has created a toxic work environment for teachers and staff quote many staff do not feel comfortable talking to him alone quote
he is always ready to shift blame off of himself and unto others making staff afraid of interacting with him quote he does not take responsibility for his failures quote he's pitting people against each other quote he shows
different faces one public and a very different one behind the scenes quote he demonstrates lack of professionalism and lack of respect quote parents know our staff and teachers are in our school because they love their jobs and our
kids but we also see we're in grav danger of losing them every day that the the principal remains in number 12 you have 30 seconds remaining quote parents feel unsafe sending their kids to school every day when the principal makes the environment feel unsafe quote we need
him out already please remove principal's di immediately while this ongoing investigation of Merit continues our school Community deserves to have our voices heard thank you thank you for your comments our next two speakers are from the Illinois
network of schools Lorie Turner speaker number two and Allison Jack speaker number 11 yeah good morning president Harden members of the board and CEO Martinez my name is Lori Turner and I am the chief
of political Affairs at the Illinois network of charter schools I'm speaking today on behalf of the fish 15 Public Charter Public Schools up for Renewal this month this renewal vote will impact the education and school stability of
thousands of CPS students Charter Public Schools educate 15% of students in Chicago thanks to their Innovative practices Charters are a contributing partner with CPS in increasing graduation rates college enrollment
scholarship Awards and post secondary success in some of Chicago's historically underserved communities for more than 25 years despite these measurable positive outcomes previous
boards created an artificial cap of fiveyear renewal terms despite State Statute which allows for 10 years several schools in the past have received terms for fewer than three years or less this has forced School
leaders into an endless renewal cycle stealing time and resources from students and classrooms the impact of shorter renewal terms is simple hurting schools hurts kids a short renewal policy undermine School operations
creates job instability for teachers school with more expensive borrowing costs for facilities no school should receive fewer than 3 years if the School needs extra support today we are asking the board for 7 to 10e Renewal
terms for all deserving Charter Public Schools and no school should receive fewer than three years if they need additional support students deserve nothing less than sustainable high quality public schools in every neighborhood thank you thank you for
your comments Allison Jack speaker number 11 president Harden CEO Martinez and board members I'm Allison Jack director of advocacy at the Illinois network of charter schools I'm here also to talk about the 15 Charter renewal votes that this board will be taking at the end of the month inks in the Charter
Community are advocating for common sense renewal terms like Lori just said 7 to 10 years for high performing schools five to seven for schools that are meaning standards and no less than three for schools in need of support it is a myth that the only time that charter schools are held accountable is
during renewal in fact charter schools have to submit a massive amount of data and documents throughout the year every year renewal is no different it is a paperwork and compliance heavy process that isn't student centered among the over a hundred metrics in renewal this
year just one is on academic outcomes and that's the ISB summative one families are looking for many things in schools looking for safety and support but they also want to know are their kids learning I know that those of you on the board that's what you care about that's what I care about the renewal
process takes 12 12 months and hundreds of hours of educator time and many of those metrics are out of the school's control district schools have trouble finding bilingual endorsed teachers so do Charters but district schools don't have their very existence threatened by
this Challenge and to make things even more Equitable the vast majority of metrics used in renewal aren't publicly available for district schools it's hard to tell if some of those metrics are even being collected for nearly 30 years
that CPS has authored have 30 remaining three years have been were rarely given one and twoe renewals were unheard of until recently um CPS has moved away from being punitive for its district schools and has instead has focused on support
if this District believes in equity then why take an in a different approach with your Charter Partners again we're really hoping that you will consider no less than three-year renewals for schools that are not performing as well as they should be thank you thank you for your
comments our next group of speakers are from Acero Shannon Phillips speaker number three Stephanie Gomez speaker number four Peter Collins speaker number nine Raina Rodriguez speaker number 10 Ilana Castro speaker number 14 who's
joining virtually Tiffany Nate uh speaker number 18 Katarina poo speaker number 19 joining us virtually Ivon Sanchez speaker number 21 Daisy arenda speaker number 24 who is joining
virtually Shannon Phillips hi I'm Shannon Phillips and I'm a teacher at Aero Charter Schools withfo too and I'm tired I'm tired because it's February in Chico Chicago I'm tired because I took fourth graders on a field trip
yesterday and I'm tired of the uncertainty every day for the past 126 days I've had to go into a school and not know whether I'm planning for next year or just
tomorrow every day I've had to answer questions from my students and their parents not about what we're learning in science class or what cool experiment we're going to do I've had to answer questions like will we be open next year
is my friend going to another school tomorrow and it's hard it's hard to see my students crying because the same classmates they've had for five six seven years are transferring to another
school our families are having to do what's best for their students but right now it's unclear what's best for them they've been in a school that's giving them the right supports they've been in a school where they have a safe consistent Community
but now they're uncertain and for a lot of our families the uncertainty is increasing just in the world they're worried about racism they're worried about being targeted on the street and we want our school to continue to be a safe place number three you have 30 seconds remaining so we're
asking you to reinforce the resolution you already passed Force some decisions so that we know what is happening so I can tell my students yes I will be here next year yes next year we're going to go back to
Mighty acorns please let us know what is happening so we can tell our students and continue to be a place of safety and support thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Stephanie Gomez speaker number four
my name is Stephanie Gomez and through everything that has unfolded I'm still a proud mother of two Santiago Spartans I also have a graduate making Santiago my home for over 12 years already my little sister who is 26 years old is here with
us today she was the second graduating class even before my son was old enough to attend the school honestly I feel like a broken record repeating myself today May number nine the ninth CPS Board of Education meeting that I've
attended speaking at about half of them it's been 126 days of chaos 54 days ago we received relief and were overjoyed and the previous smaller board was able to witness the love in that room and the happiness when the vote came through to save our
schools but are our schools really going to be open next year why is Aero still operating like the schools are closing at the end of this year if you come to the school and try to register your child there's a disclosure that tells you your child may
not attend this school next year because it may close Aero threatens to close the schools if no agreement is settled this month they shouldn't be allowed to think that that's an option or to even say it out loud this feels like a complete sabotage
and I'm starting not to understand who was on my opposing team transparency was a big demand and at this point nobody being transparent I want to hear from you and so does this room CEO Martinez we want to know what is being done are my kids
going to this school next year Aero sent an email last week that said pretty much nothing and yesterday we got a very similar email from CPS make this agreement with the Sero you have the power to and you should revoke their Charter if they choose to
not agree and keep these schools open CPS can and should also demand that Aero return the funds that they've been holding in reserves if no agreement is reached speaker stand your and keep these schools open thank you thank you for your
comments our next speaker Peter Collins speaker number nine thank you all for the hard work for the service in service of the young people of our city my name is Peter Collins and I'm a teacher at Victoria stto High School in the asero network of schools and over 120 days ago asero used
the Absurd logic that a potential future financial debt forced them to close seven schools in less than a year over 50 days ago this board demanded that students not debt holders be put first thank you for passing that
resolution Pedro Martinez had months to defend my students to tell them that they would not be kicked out of their classroom that schools would not be closed but he chose not to do that it took this board to demand that a plan be put in place to save the
schools and has he done it has progress been made when we ask these questions we're met with vague assurances that things are being done but it's complicated well I assure you that kicking 2,000 students out of their classrooms is far more complicated and
that is the alternative option here in a time where Donald Trump is in Washington DC fueling all sorts of uncertainty fear and doubt in our Latin communities is it really right that CPS be adding to that is it really right that my students when I talk to my
freshman students about what they'll be doing next year as sophomores or as Juniors here at stto they answer with yeah right if we're open this is the culture that's allowed to pervade when Charter districts like Aero feel they can overrule a
democratically 30 seconds remaining we ask that you reaffirm your resolution that you passed 54 days ago that no schools will be closed at the end of this year and that if AO does not comply with this resolution they are at risk of losing their Charter and the public funds must be returned to the taxpayers
thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker Raina Rodriguez speaker number 10 hi my name is Rea Rodriguez little joke to my people in a relationship to se Rodriguez and I am a mom from Santiago school I've been part of Santiago for
more than a decade I am here today once again because today marks 127 days since assetto announced a potential closure of seven Schools 53 days in CPS passed a resolution on December 20th and we still do not have answers and we need them now
it is just unbelievable how the future of the 2000 students is depending on the on the ego of these two characters Latinos sley Mr Rodriguez and Mr Martinez who one only cares about their money Richard Rodriguez and the other
about power Mr Martinez how can they call themselves leaders of these communities they are telling our students that they are not important and they're not wanted please CPS members do not let this man ruin the lives of these students and their families Latino
families are already going through so much by living in fear of being separated because of the new government and to be honest these men are far from doing the same the longer we wait the more students and teachers leave and then we
won't have any schools to save please don't let some personal tragic events that happen at one of your board meetings go to waste and be worthless please do not remain silence tell us today that you will uphold the resolution tell us settle if they do not
agree they will lose their charter license for the other schools in June of 2026 hold true to your words speaker 10 you have 30 126 days we deserve answers today tell us parents teacher and most important our beautiful childrens the
ones that you vote to protect the ones that you promis to keep to give them an education so them that the schools will not close Pedro Martinez and Richard Rodriguez if you're watching this I hope Richard at least you're watching
this I invite you to prove us wrong and show us that you have a heart after all and let a students stay in their schools with their friends and teachers putting freaking ego aside and make a decision now before it it is late do it you're Latino speaker number
10 please conclude your remarks thank you for your comments our next speaker is Ilana Castro speaker number 14 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute hi good morning my name is Elana Castro
and I am a bilingual teacher at Aeros sandress neros where my daughter also attends school and in the same Community where I grew up this community is a part of who I am and I am deeply committed to seeing it thrive on December 20th CPS passed a historic resolution to save our
schools since then CPS CEO Pedra Martinez and Mr Carmona were tasked with finding a solution but here we are 53 days later with no action no sense of urgency to come to a resolution and no answers the clock is ticking and every
day that passes without a resolution is a day we lose for our students our families and our community the longer we wait the more it feels like our future isn't being prioritized and that is unacceptable the Board of Education made a bold and historic move when they
passed this resolution but if they allow time to drag on with no real change they will send a dangerous message that Theo can operate without accountability and that Charter operators will never be held responsible by the very District that funds and oversees them this isn't just about the future of Aero schools
it's about The credibility of the Board of Education itself as well if Martinez Carmon and asero are allowed to ignore this resolution the message will be clear the board's words mean nothing and the community's concerns don't matter we have been fighting for 126 days where
both Acero and CPS have not giving have not given us any answers we demand action now and we demand that you uphold the resolution and ensure that our schools our students our future they deserve the time for talk is over and
it's time for Action thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Tiffany Negron speaker number 18 good morning my name is Tiffany Negron and I'm the case manager at AO Fuentes and asero Clemente I'm also the
vice chair of elementary schools for the asero Council of CTU Educators hello again we're back again I'm guessing by now you've realized we aren't going away until we get some real answers and we're certainly not going down without a fight
it's been 126 days since AO announced their intent to betray our school communities and 54 days since the board passed a resolution demanding CEO Martinez and Dr Carmona create a real plan for what would happen next they haven't there's been plenty of
finger pointing between CPS and Acero but there still is no plan it's because the rest of us must follow our boss's directives if we don't we'd probably receive an unsatisfactory on our reach evaluation and be placed on a do not hire list why do they same rules not apply here why are the adults being
allowed to sit around doing nothing until it's too late while the children who depend on us Beg For answers and support What's Happening Here matters this isn't your lunch order your next vacation we're talking about our children's future the longer we wait the more students and teachers we lose the
more broken our community becomes I am keeping my promise to my students to fight for them every step of the way I refuse to give up on the 500 special education students who most need us to have a plan in place to protect them when times get tough you figure out a way to fix the problem you don't throw
it all away we will not stand by silently and allow Aero to throw our school communities away like they don't matter I urge the board to follow through on the promis students put your foot down and do not turn your back on the 2,000 students who are depending on you force
CEO Martinez and Aero to keep these schools open tell us today that you will uphold the resolution after 126 days we deserve answers today tell us our schools will not close thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker
is uh Katarina poo speaker number 19 who is joining us please enter star 6 to unmute El Mar graas comment thank you for your comments we'll now have the the translator uh
translate the statement good morning dear members of the board CEO Martinez my name is Katarina poo and I am here to ask you to please help us put pression Apollo Aero so that they will give us the answers needed by our families at Cru it's been
four months since since Aero turned its back on us as they do at every meeting with them Bruce and the six other schools need to remain open if Cruz closes its doors the neighboring School schools do not have the capacity to take in more children into their classrooms
they are small schools and do not have the resources or the teachers to support the children the closing of the schools affects teachers families and especially the children who are worried about the situation at Gru our school is a
community that now more than ever supports protects and loves its children I know that you here at the board support us in keeping the school opens CEO Martinez please do your job you have to put pressure on the assetto members because we need answers answers
that have been denied to us for four months don't let students suffer the consequences of others negligence thank you thank you the next speaker is Ivan Sanchez speaker number 21 good morning everybody my name is Evon s and I'm a proud mother of three
beautiful children which two stand right aside of me both in Charter networks we stand here today because we refuse to be silenced too for too long assetto leadership under the director of CEO Richard Rodriguez has ignored our the
voices of parents teachers and students time and time again we have try to engage in board meetings only to be dismissed shout out and and pressured in to silence as some a CPS board members witnessed in February 5th let me explain
how a settle works if a parent registers for a board meeting and a set of administration dislikes our topic they Convent leave us out of the um leave us out and use intimidating tactics calling
our principles to persuade us to not speak another tactic they use is this called communication day the day before every meeting we receive lengthy emails filled with empty words and no concrete answers just to
attempt to claim that they engage with us but we see through this yesterday we experienced this treatment from CPS another email said base statements in that email just like the one we received back in December is stated CPS will be
hosting hours virtually inviting parents to address questions and concerns with the office of in in Innovation however I schedule a meeting and I receive no answers even the
supervisor had a join and yet we had the same same redundant statement we're working on it so I'm here to ask right now who's learning from who is CPS learning from asto or is aeto learning from CPS I
don't know but one thing I know is that we're not going anywhere we are speaking up and we will not be ignored we ask you today to stand with us demand transparency demand answers and demand Justice for our children and our schools thank you thank you for your
comments the last speaker from the assero group is Daisy urenda speaker number 24 who's joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute Daisy urenda speaker number 24 please enter star 6 to
unmute Daisy urenda speaker number 24 please enter star 6 to unmute sorry about that can you hear me yes please proceed okay good morning my name is Daisy urenda and I am the office coordinator at aceto p in Little Village
did you know P was a founding School of Uno now aceto well I take pride in that Legacy and I'm grateful to be a part of such a tight-knit school Community P has been lucky to have generations of families come through our doors and we are not ready to close Our Generations I'm sorry our doors to the generations
to come asto leaders have acted cowardly and have ignored our demands for answers we have been in limbo for 126 days and counting we have been told to be patient long enough we have been told answers are coming for too long yet here we are still waiting we need immediate Action
Now BPS board members and Pedro Martinez I'm speaking to you today to remind you that our students are your students our families are your families and we are counting on your support thank you to the board members who passed the resolution on December 20th you have given us all a sense of hope but now we
need to follow the resolution at the last board meeting when I heard Pedro Martinez say that things were going to be happening in the next few weeks and I learned that aido threatens to continue with the closures if an agreement was not made by the end of this month I felt outrage and disappointment CPS board
members are you going to let Martinez turn his back on our students the same way as CTO CEO Rich Rodriguez said are you going to allow Martinez and asero to continue telling us to wait we need you to hold Mr Martinez and Mr Carona accountable and follow the resolution
you passed we need to keep all of our schools open we need to hear from you today speaker 24 you 30 seconds tell us today that you will uphold your resolution tell usle that they cannot and will not close the seven schools and displace 2,000 plus Latin M
students thank you for your time thank you for your comments our next speaker is Levi Neville speaker number five good morning my name is Levi Neville have the privilege of serving as a board member for the Providence
Englewood Charter School I'm here today to advocate for the renewal of our Charter for at least seven years as we continue to serve the students of Inglewood and to share the remarkable impact that our school continues to have for almost two decades Providence Englewood has been an anchor of Hope and
academic excellence in one of Chicago's most vibrant yet underst served neighborhoods within enrollment of over 400 students we provide a nurturing rigorous and supportive environment where students students can Thrive academically socially and emotionally as we celebrate our 19th year our school
has consistently delivered exceptional results offering a pathway to success for our students who may face challenges outside the classroom we are not just an educational institution we are a Cornerstone of Hope and opportunity in ankle wood I'm proud to share that our students are matriculating to some of
Chicago's most prestigious high schools our our eighth grade students have earned spots at institutions such as Noble UIC College Prep Whitney Young and Walter pyton College Prep these successes are a testament to the strength of our curriculum our dedicated staff and the hard work of our students
and their families at Providence Englewood we don't just teach we build Futures we create an environment where our students feel seen supported and valued ensuring they develop into confident young adults who are ready to contribute to their communities we are preparing our students for Life Beyond
high school and equipping them with the critical skills they need to reach their full potential and become The Leaders of Tomorrow speaker number five you have 30 seconds remaining as we look to the future we are committed to continuing this Legacy of Excellence the renewal of our Charter is critical to to continuing
this vital work I respectfully advocate for your approval and renewing our Charter for at least 7even years so that we can continue providing the transformative education opportunity empowerment and hope that our students deserve thank you for your time into consideration thank you for your
comments our next uh group of speak speakers are from perspectives speaker number six Chelsea bovich Janet Lee speaker number eight and Ashley Allen speaker number 13 good morning my name is Chelsea
brovich and I'm honored to serve as the Director of special education at prospectives Charter Schools I'm here today to advocate for the longest renewal term possible because our students especially those with disabilities deserve the stability
consistency and highquality education that perspectives provides every single day at perspectives we believe that every child can every child can learn grow and Achieve when given the right support our vision for an inclusive
culture is not just about meeting the needs of students with disabilities it's about embracing and valuing every learner ensuring they seen heard and empowered to reach their fullest potential inclusion is not a program it is who we
are throughout my 11 years at prospectives I've had the privilege of witnessing countless students with disabilities not only Thrive within our school Community but also achieve success Beyond it because of the unwavering support we provide students who once faced
significant challenges have graduated with confidence prepared to take on college career and life their success is a powerful reminder of what is possible when a school relentlessly believes in its students and invests in their
growth we provide interventions tailored to students needs collaborate closely with families and create classrooms where differences are strengths not barriers but true inclusion requires our students shine when they
have a stable supportive learning environment year after year a long-term renewal means we can continue investing in our students strengthening our programs and ensuring that every child regardless of ability has access to a future full of opportunity I urge you to Grant
perspectives the longest renewal term possible because every child can and every child deserves a school that believes in them thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker Janet Lee speaker number eight good morning my name is Janet Lee
and I serve as the Director of special education and case manager at prospectives Charter Schools Rodney D jaw and campus as a proud member of the prospectives family since 2006 I have had the honor of seeing gr generations of students walk across the stage at
graduation watching them grow and achieve their goals I stand before you today to advocate for the longest possible renewal term for our schools because our students deserve stability continuity and the opportunity to thrive in an environment that values every
learner at perspectives we're more than a school we are a community built on the foundation of inclusion equity and Excellence nearly 20% of our students have disabilities and we're unwavering in our commitment to ensuring they
receive the individualized support and high quality education they deserve through Innovative instructional strategies robust intervention programs and a deeply embedded culture of social emotional learning we meet our students where they are and Empower them to reach
their fullest potential this enables our students with disabilities to live a meaningful Life After High School whether they go off to college join the workforce or participate in programs such just after 22 at the city colleges of Chicago our Educators work tirelessly to
Foster an inclusive environment where all students feel seen heard and supported we collaborate with families leverage Community Partnerships and Implement best practices that prepare our students for with a longer renewal term we can
continue this critical work without disruption strengthening the programs that have already transformed so many lives we ask for your trust your support and your belief in our mission a long-term renewal is not just a vote for confidence in our schools it is an
investment in the futures of our students who deserve nothing less than our full commitment thank you thank you for your comments the next speaker Ashley Allen speaker number 13 good morning my name is Ashley Allen and I am proud to serve as one of the
case managers at prospectives Leadership Academy where I've been for 11 years of my 15 years serving Chicago's students while my role is to support all students with disabilities at our school my journey here didn't start in special education it began in the English
classroom where I first discovered my passion for supporting students Beyond just academics as an English teacher I saw firsthand how students learn in different ways how some needed more than just great literature to unlock their potential I was drawn to students who struggled not
because they lacked ability but because they needed the right supports to access their Brilliance that passion led me to become a special education teacher which perspective supported where I work to break down barriers and ensure that every student has the tools to succeed now as a case manager I have the
privilege of advocating for students with disabilities across our school I collaborate with teachers families and support staff to create learning environments that are truly inclusive where students feel valued challenged and prepared for life beyond the classroom perspectives is a place where
transformation happens not just for students but for educators like me we are committed to inclusion equity and ensuring that every child regardless of their ability has access to the high quality education they deserve a long-term renewal means we can continue
this critical work providing stability and support for the the students and families who rely on us I urge you to Grant the longest speak you have 30 seconds remaining because our students deserve it and our mission demands it thank you thank you for your
comments our next speaker is Tara Branch speaker number 16 good morning my name is Tara branch and I am um a PA professional at prospectives uh Charter Schools I am also a parent of at the charter school
as well my children um has started out in the Charter School uh when it very when the doors very first open so I had six children to go through the school um and I just want to say that in that experience with them my children are now
very um successful kids and well adults and I'm so thankful to perspectives cuz I'm not speaking as an employee but as a parent um the things that my children got to experience and the things um that they do now I have three children has
come back to the school to work one as a gym teacher security and then the other as a pair of professional that's now in school getting her Masters in Education um I have a daughter uh that has her Masters in um advertising and and
relations um another daughter who's all they all went through college because of perspectives at the time that my children were graduating um eighth grade I was looking for a place for them to go and lo and behold Cal had closed and um
perspectives had come in and my children just thrived there was a place that I felt as family they knew all of our my children's names they knew me the things that we as a parent I brought to the school it was um validated was honored
and nothing speaker 16 you have 30 um was that we brought to the table we as parents we did not see so I do too urge that you give us the longest um time allotted for our school to remain open so that the children that I work with
those that are uh special needs or our spare children that they can have the same Privileges and opportunities just as my my kids did my son who was one of our Spar children then is now thriving um working and doing well so I thank you
all for just listening to us and helping us to continue on this great work that has been started in the Char of schools thank you thank you for your comments our next two speakers are from North laale College Prep Marie sillis smilees
speaker number 17 who's joining us virtually and Dr janisa Brown speaker number 27 who's also joining us virtually marce and Bellis miles good morning distinguished board
members and CEO Martine is my name is Marie andil miles and I serve as chief of staff and the athletic director at North laale College Prep High School over the past eight years as Dean director interim principal I've been
committed to one thing above all the success of our Scholars I've witnessed our community's greatest Triumph and stood behind our Scholars and staff through difficult challenges I've seen big wins on the basketball court the tracking field and the football field
but the real victories are the ones that happen every single day in our classrooms and hallways the victories of perseverance and young people realizing their own potential nlcp is more than a school it is a pillar of this community
it is a place where students know they are valued and will be equipped to succeed in whatever path they choose I've seen our Scholars return on alumni night not just to reminisce but to thank our teachers and mentors who shaped
their lives that gratitude is a testament of to nlcp lasting impact but the work is not done there are more Scholars to reach more Futures to shape as we seek the renewal of our Charter I
ask that you see nlcp for what it truly is and come by to visit us as well and to hear from the scholars themselves and their and their speaker 17 you have 30 seconds remaining nlcp is a place of hope and limited opportunities with over
30 years of education I can say with confidence that nlcp is where I want to finish and retire I believe in our mission and I humbly ask your support in renewing our Charters so we can continue changing the lives in North Londale thank you very
much thank you for your comments our next speaker Dr janesa Brown speaker 2 7 please enter star 6 to unmute Dr Dr janesa Brown speaker 27 please enter star 6 to unmute hi can you hear me
now yes please proceed okay thank you um good morning board and see o Martinez my name is Dr Janessa Brown and I have spent over two decades dedicated to education and Community Health including 10 years as a
Frontline educator since 2011 North laale has also been my home my workplace and my community I have walked alongside families collaborated with leaders and worked tirelessly to create opportunities that Empower our young people North laale College Prep is more
than a school it's a place where Scholars many of whom have faced significant barriers find their voices and prepare for futures filled with possibility at nlcp we do more than educate we uplift and transform lives
our Scholars enter with Big Dreams and our dedicated teachers and staff work each day to make those dreams attainable we nurture the whole child knowing that success is about more than test SCS it is about preparing young people who lead
meaningful and purpose driven lives nlcp is woven into the fabric of this community families trust us students know they are valued alumni return not just to visit but to give back to the Next Generation they carry the spirit of
nlcp with them proving that with a supportive team greatness is possible as we seek Charter renewal I ask you to see what I see a school making a profound difference our students deserve stability and they deserve a school that
believes in them speak have 30 seconds remaining I urge you to renew our Charter at the longest term possible so we can continue shaping the Future Leaders thank you for your time thank you for your comments our
next two speakers are from Institute of Health Sciences Career Academy Carla Overton Thompson speaker number 20 shenise Reynolds speaker number 30 good morning my name is Carla Overton
Thompson and I've been an educator for 27 years but I've been at Institute of Health and Science Academy for eight years teaching English I have taught many different educational environments such as in private public and Charter so
what I do understand and what I know is that teaching the whole child is so important as Educators we are so focused on academics and data that sometimes we forget why we became a teacher Institute of Health and Science Academy creates the learning environment that reflects the whole child the whole
child approach education it recognizes that the students have unique needs that extend beyond academics with the assistance of the staff the administrators and the various Partnerships in our school students can reach their full potential Instituto Health and Science Academy provides the
following to the parents students and the community of pilson create safe environments and learning environments provides access for nutritious meals before after school and food pantries offer the rich learning experiences outside of the classroom and it allows
parents and staff parents and students to continue learning the importance of literacy and diversity field trips reading nights math night Hispanic night and we're currently celebrating our Black History Month and many other opportunities that provide for our students to be prepared in an
everchanging World ensure our students that they are healthy engaged and supported and challenged cantly students stay out their teacher starting till teachers stay after school to speak 20 we have 30 seconds remaining teachers provide extra support for our students
tutoring Credit Recovery homework club and many others encourage our students to purs purs pursue their actual passions medical program programs and College Programs to continue that as an educator of Institute of Health and Science Academy I am asking that you consider our school to have a five-year
contract so that we may continue to grow encourage our students parents and Community academically mentally financially physically and emotionally for the Next Generation thank you thank you for your comments chenice rnold speaker number
30 good afternoon no it's still morning good morning members of the elected school board and CEO Martinez my name is Shanice Reynolds and I am a proud administrator at Institute of Health Science Career Academy which we lovingly
call ishka a school that has been transforming students lives and their families for over 10 years at ishka we are not preparing students just for graduation we are preparing them for futures filled with opportunity our rigorous Health Science
focused curriculum dedicated teachers and support staff we ensure our students are college ready and career ready ishka is a part of a connection to institut O Progresso Latino a community-based organization
that has been thriving and empowering Chicago immigrant and workingclass communities with over 47 years of experience through Instituto robust network of services including citizenship programs Workforce Development Career pathway our students
and Families receive a wraparound support services at while at our school this means they are not just gaining the education they're gaining a family and access to resources that uplift their family and position them for lifelong
success as you can see at Instituto we do not just enroll the child we register the whole family our schools and organization are sustainable and a pillar in the community of 30 seconds or many we urge this elected school board and CEO
Martinez to grant our school and our sister campus full maximum renewal so we can continue to positively impact our 700 plus students these students deserve stability these students do not deserve a Conant threat to their education a
maximum renewal of our campus ensures that they will continue to learn grow and succeed thank you so much for your time it's a pleasure to be here God bless thank you for your comments our next speaker is bamman obadal
Speaker number 23 good morning to the board and to CEO Martinez uh I come here to um address an issue with agenda item number two school and safety um the authorizations to enter into an agreement with Metropolitan family services for the
back to our future um Initiative for Consulting serves obviously enough uh which is quite strange um this this this this program was funded in fy21 by the state of Illinois uh $18 million was given to
CPS to go out and recruit and retain students who had dropped out of school and let me be clear uh ladies and gentlemen um High School Dropout is a problem in the city and especially within the African-American Community however in all of my 30 years of organizing I've never seen anything more
egregious take place than what took place with your school and safety division by squandering this $18 million and they have the audacity to ask this board to give you $25 more million doar to Grant the money out to the same Community organizations that's failed I
would um ask that number one you should ask why wasn't the option school network involved in this process why was it just school and public and safety in this initiative and who authorize these Community organizations to be involved in this such initiative uh this is us an
egregious failure on the part of of school and safety to um squander an opportunity to graduate and then chalkbeat chalkbeat did a a um a review of this program and found out speaker 23 you have 30 seconds one of the one of
the schools mentioned in here um lied and said that the students graduated from a school that they did not it didn't even happen so I would urge you to reconsider this motion again I do think efforts need to be made to retain and work with schools with students who've dropped out is
critically needed within our community this is not the route to take and I would ask that you would pull this agenda item for further clarification um as to where the money went from the from the state of Illinois under the office of gun violence prevention that was granted to CPS in the initial space
before you grant a new contract to anyone else thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Michael Brunson speaker 25 afternoon I thought y'all was going to make me the last person to speak
uh first of all I would be remiss if I did not mention the fact that every time you open up your meeting you talk about Equity of voice and you have local school council members who are elected members that
we're elected by the public and we should have five minutes to speak just like the representatives of the unions and the other elected public officials so I want you to keep that in mind local
school council members are elected members and we should have five minutes to speak also now in regards to the rest of the public you should give them everyone else at least 3 minutes because it's hard to say anything in 2 minutes now but I want to get to my my point
here is I've been beating this drum on Harland ever since for about three years now that school you know I'm not going to talk about the violence and the Havoc that has been rre at that school I'm not going to talk about the mismanagement of
the funds uh due to the fact that you have an administrator that is like unaccountable that's all water under the dam the administrator at that school has been at that school for uh this is we're going on the third year now according to
state law you are only supposed to keep these interim administrators in a school for two years so uh I have passed out copy of the law I got you I have passed out a copy of the law to every board member here I have sent it to you in the
emails all I am asking for you to do now is to place it on the agenda of your upcoming meeting and take a form of vote on it what are you going to do to follow the law and and uh do Justice by Harland high school because we definitely need
to have a new administrator in that school and that's all that I'm asking and I would like once again I'd like to see you vote on that and discuss it and if you're not going to do it then tell me why because we need to have some answers there thank you so much take care thank you
for your comments our next two speakers are from Catalyst circle rock Pastor Rob Stevenson speaker number 26 and James borade speaker 28 who's joining us virtually good afternoon my name is
Pastor Robert leis Stevenson first and foremost I want to thank you for the opportunity to share with this board it is an honor to stand before both as a dedicated Community activist and a pastor in the community
and a business partner for C circle rock school I bring with me a handout for this board and that support letter speaks on the charter renewal the letter outlines the transformational
impact of this institution why their continued president in Austin Community is vital I have the privilege of speaking directly with parents Scholars who live who lives has been shaped by the education of CIS circle rock the
Austin Community needs schools not only educate but Inspire institution that not only teach but uplift Callis circle rock has proven to be such a place their long-term commitment to the Austin Community is
undeniable and their track record education and oper operational uh Excellence is very well known I only have to ask I would like for you all to consider to take a field trip to CIS circle rock campus just as we were as
kids we we took those field trips and we understood that trips give us the opportunity to experience and witness things firsthand I invite you all to come and see because we are not just talking about it we are being about it the second thing I would like can you
grant the maximum Charter renewal for c cirle rock by granting this maximum renewal this Charter School will ensure the generation of Austin Scholars to have access stability and stimulated education I want to close with your
consideration I would be remiss as a pastor if I didn't tell you Proverbs chapter 22 and verse 6 train the child and where they should go and when they is old they won't depart for it thank you for your time time your consideration thank you for your comments the next speaker is James
borade speaker number 28 joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good morning I'm speaking in support of catalyst schools I want to thank this board for the opportunity to do so my name is James Bor shade and I have the privilege of serving as a CEO
of circle urban ministries a catalyst partner for nearly 10 years and in that time I've seen firsthand how education can absolutely be the key to transformation not just for individual students but for the entire families and the entire Community catalyst is not
just a school it's a community school in every sense of the word in a neighborhood where families have historically been underserved and schools have been closed Catalyst has been a model of stability hope and opportunity see when students walk through the doors of catalyst they're
stepping into a place that beles in them that challenges them and that equips them to succeed in life but C impact extends far beyond just the classroom see this school created the KRON Center for the Arts a worldclass Performing Arts venue right in the heart of the
Austin Community this isn't just a theater it's a Gathering Place it's a sanctuary it's a stage for Young Voices it's a home for artistic expression and it's the place where I met my beautiful wife but the Kon Center doesn't just
belong to Catalyst it belongs to Austin from concerts to community events it's a place where creative culture and collaboration thrives see when you walk on the when you walk through the doors of the campus you don't only see a school you see a village of support you see Catalyst teachers investing in
students circle urban ministries providing after school program 2 30 seconds on the food pantry and support we offer this is what community looks like who's like Catalyst don't just educate they uplift they don't just
teach they Inspire and this school is in partnership with this community if we want thriving neighborhoods we need to support thriving schools and this is one of those schools I want to urge you to renew Catalyst Charter for the maximum amount of time allowed not just because
it deserves to be in office but because the community deserves everything that Catalyst brings thank you all for your time I'm James bouret thank you for your comment ments and our last speaker from the speakers list is John siba speaker
29 how's it going um my daughter uh second year at GTA Elementary uh we've had no problems in the prek program she's in kindergarten now and she's been attacked eight times in the classroom by two students one student six times one student twice um the only options we've
been given from the school and the network have we've been Contin we told we can leave the school or she could be in a dual language class where she's at a social and learning deficit because she doesn't speak Spanish and um the two attackers are still in the classroom that my daughter was forced out of for
her safety uh we really need an unbias bullying report of the first student um the bullying report that the principal filed uh it happened during his um contract renewal year um the student in question his mother is on the board
Board of the friends of G to school um we brought up the conflict of interest I brought up conflict of interest with the principal and the mom back in October and at the uh the next day when we had a meeting with the principal Etc they convinced us not to open a bullying uh
investigation and then after that the kid attacked our daughter again so the principal triggered it without any input from us during the 10 days that he decided it unfounded the student attacked our daughter again um we've been continually denied access to
the video from the meeting that they took um the principle in The Bullying thing that we did get cuz we had to uh we had to file foyer requests that were all declined 29 filed our daughter uh and got the education report and it the
principal just seems more confused um I reached out to the alderman as a constituent and the alderman reached out to the principal and Friends of gear to school on behalf of the principal um there's two situations in this classroom there's either the kids are
special needs and there wasn't qualified staff constantly in the room or the kid it's a general education situation and the bullying wasn't handled the way it should have been creating an environment where bad things continued to happen um you know uh Jerry travelos from the
network uh the second kid that attacked our daughter he down the first attack he downplayed it as an excited accident us we were overreacting and uh the sea from the second attack the one that Jerry uh the kid attacked our daughter two weeks
later this is a quote from the sea from the second attack from the kid that Jerry said was okay uh when they were just staring at her I had a feeling we were going to do something so I hurry my way over and told Ida to back away as words came out of my mouth he managed to smack her in the face our daughter
shouldn't hate going to school and she should be safe in the classroom where she's thriving in thank you thank you for your comments president Harden this concludes public participation thank you uh before I open it up to board members for comments I do want to
acknowledge all of the feedback and comments and input we reive from families around this assero issue is very important to us that we come to a conclusion very quickly I'm going to ask CEO Martinez to offer some comments
thank you president Harden um this continues to be a priority for for myself I know it's a priority for the board so know we are working diligently and the best solution possible we're hoping to provide you more information as soon as possible but know that this is will continue to be a
priority we've been hearing that for 126 days there needs to be more can you tell us any more what's in the plan has the board seen the plan we do recognize your your concerns
we will provide feedback as soon as we possibly can just give us a moment to to do so trust that we will thank you board members we have any other comments this concludes public yes just a happy Black History Month to
every everybody um I also want to say um we didn't take the time to acknowledge the two board members that cycled off the board um when the new folks came on so I just want to say um give a big
thank you um to um Rafael yanes and Mary um Mary um Gardner they were um incredible allies um we as a board came in at a at a real
difficult time there was only and um it was just a few months between one board leaving and um all of you wonderful people joining in joining us um and we were quickly we went from seven down to 6 um and we were under Fire almost
always but I'll tell you um Mary Gardner was like No Nonsense she she was our vice president and so she had to step up into leadership quickly she had an unwavering
tenacity um that didn't speak to her petite frame she was a tiny little thing but she was not to be played with um and then um officer Raphael yanes like um he had a quiet resolve and a firmness in
who he was and who his and his moral compass that I found absolutely wonderful and admirable and every every board meeting they both came prepared all of their um their
agendas were marked in and written in they'd been working on them all night um and I can at least say for officer yanes he also had a full-time job and a young family and Mary Gardner jump some hurdles to get here and I and so I just
want to say similar to when I first got here I said a big thank you to the board that preceded I just want to make sure that we take a moment to acknowledge those two and their un thank you
yes um board member Go pass okay thank you president um also given that I do represent many of the assetto schools and I have heard from parents directly via email and also at many communities
um I just want to say that I hear you and um please keep us in the loop I also want to stress to the fellow board that it's something that is very important to the many families who have been impacted um and I continue working to help find a
resolution board member Brown thank you president Harden um it is painful for me to watch parents uh be be put and watch families be put in
um traumatic situations like the aset old parents are going through right now um I know what it feels like uh I've been on the other side uh and I think if this
board is moving in a different direction then my humble opinion uh they should have daily communication not by email with somebody from CPS daily giving them updates and then we need updates as a board every 72
hours we need to know what's happening with this not in my name not in my name and I I maintain not in this board's name are we going to sit there and allow uh uh any school to underserve families and then
to just leave them out in the cold whether they are black brown what those are not my principles and I I do not support that and so I I maintain uh president Harden um and if we have to if we have to do it by Vote or whatever I'm I'm I'm
open to that but I maintain that these parents these families deserve daily updates from Chicago public schools that are tangible and that are real and that this Board needs to be informed every 72 hours we are not a rubber stamp board we are the governing body of this
organization and it's time that this this we should not be comfortable with parents in tears just because the system they PID taxes to betrayed them thank you board member thank you
thank youo um I also want the set parents to know that I've also been able to speak with some of you all at the uh community meeting in pilson uh and uh I hear you as
well and you know and uh looking forward to finding uh to give you the results that you need at least the answers that you need as soon as possible thank you member Rosenfield I also just want
to say thank you for speaking thank you for sharing um thank you for stepping up on behalf of your kids and your schools I hear you I also see you and I firmly believe and agree that all CPS families including our Charter families deserve stability
they deserve to know that their school's going to be there next year and in two years and in four years so I hear what you're saying and and I'm on your side thank you uh board member Smith uh I have some questions about renewal uh and one of my questions is when it
comes to Charter renewals is it possible to do quarterly updates so that there's not a rush to Renewal after two years or three years uh is it possible to uh as we're talking about updates work closer
with the charters to make sure that they fulfill what the objectives are so that they can be in a better position to get uh a bigger renewal that's one question my second question is uh is it possible for the board to
create other tools uh to hold uh the schools accountable for fulfilling uh the obligations uh that lead to Renewal uh does the board have the tools to create uh create new uh Pathways uh to
holding schools accountable so that we can ensure that all children are supported in all schools those are my two questions B Smith we'll take note of those and give responses back to you on both your questions thank you board member
Thomas board member Thomas um considering the current financial position that Chicago Public Schools finds itself and I think at this time it would only
be um prudent to ask for a review of performance uh for any vender that is requesting uh funding for what they did
during the previous cycle uh and I I would hope that Metropolitan would come forth with their uh what they did uh for the last funding that they got um and certainly moving on
from that very early on there were six board members that supported Aero in every way we could and there was a lot of work done to resolve a very difficult
situation and I think we still have that resolve to support you and the children in every way we can Bard member po yes good morning and I just wanted to address the asero
parents as well I did attend your board meeting last week not your board meeting but the board meeting of Aero and it made me very grateful for the people sitting around this table who are listening to the people who are talking to them who are caring who are
responding to the people makes me grateful for the public nature of our business our Democratic process the fact that we are not slipping outside doors without saying anything to people and the fact that we do not cut public participation short even when we may not
always like or agree with what people say they have a right to say it that's the nature of the public the other thing I wanted to say is we are not going to let this issue drop this is important we made a decision as a board and we are
going to make sure that the people who work for the Chicago Public Schools do everything in their power to make it possible for you and your children to have the kind of stability and the kind of education that you need and deserve
so I know it's been a long time but we are still walking side by side with you thank you board member ru president just quickly I would also oh I'm sorry I'm sorry my
apology um I I just wanted to say um to our asto parents that are here uh again um as many of us have said uh we appreciate you being here we appreciate um you uh bringing your concerns uh know that um we are being informed and we're
working hard uh to ensure that um a resolution uh comes out of this um are two parties to that um us and Acero and so um I encourage you to keep uh voicing uh your concerns and to make sure that uh we're also holding U the assetto
board uh accountable um and the uh the other uh thing that I wanted to say um we obviously want stability and um Aero families deserve that stability um I believe all of our Charter families uh deserve that stability um so when we're thinking about uh authentic Community
engage M around uh these Charter renewals um you know this is something that we're going to have to be voting on and I really hope that um we get more opportunity to talk about uh these renewals um especially because it's uh
something that we are coming in on right at the end of it um so um as someone who's talked about authentic Community engagement um not being able to see that um in this process um I'd really um like the opportunity for us to be able to
discuss um these Charter renewals in that in that sense to to get more information hold them accountable but also ensure that there's stability in our schools um and stability uh for a longer term uh period um so thank you board member Brown yeah just a few
things and I apologize um a few things I think uh when when the public makes presentations um we need to know um and I think it's respectful that um who's going to follow up with them is
identified uh so that folks are not just speaking into the wind here uh but I I heard uh conflicts with interamerican uh a parent from garon who had significant concerns and I think it will help us to build the public
confidence that we are responsive um again I I've experienced being on the other side of that gate and you're pouring your heart out and people just stare at you and then you walk away and I don't think that's the way that
this body should act if somebody raises an issue humbly I think you know whether you know CEO whether it's you or someone from your team publicly let them know this person will get back with you their
time is valuable just as ours is and so when people come out and this this meeting is at 10:30 in the morning where a lot of folks cannot attend and so I think if we're going to have it here the way we conduct ourselves is important respect is not just a buzzword that we
say it's also demonstrated through how we treat people how we make people feel it's important it's important so I was to share that thank you board member Brown this concludes public participation will now move into a short
recess board member Lopez do you have a motion M1 I move that the board take a 20 minute recess is there a second second the motion thank you I'll proceed with a roll call member
loano yes member Smith yes member Lopez I member Thomas I member Bole I member kuster I member Pope yes member Rosenfeld yes member Rivas
yes member Rio Sierra yes member Brown just for a two hour recess oh oh okay I I member Bannon I vice president Bautista yes member gutiz I member bigs
I member thakura yes member blae I member zachor I member D Barry I 19 eyes zero nay this motion is adopted by the board president Harden um this meeting
will now go into a 20 minute recess e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e Rec convene board members will now proceed with potential board reports to be
considered at the February 27 2025 regular meeting after each item is presented board members will have the opportunity to ask their questions briefly and make comments before proceeding to the next item on the agenda thank you board members we will
begin with the following education item number one authorize the first renewal agreement with ATI Holdings LLC is on oh good afternoon my name is Mickey PR I'm the acting executive director of sports
Administration we are recommending the board to renew oneyear renewal um the board for the board meeting for February 27th currently our office meet with ATI once a week uh to go over training
scheduling coverage for districtwide sporting events and 32 schools ATI is present and available at practices games and District wide events ATI advis our office for supplies
and training equipment um to order every season ATI provides injury followup and evaluation using a player Health software which provides injuries
treatments management and documentation for each individual athlete and you can see it on the data slide three ATI meets the procurement process excellent partners for the districtwide
initiatives we are increasing the dollar amount by providing four more athletic training for FY 26 to have total 25 athletic trainers next year our goal is to continue to grow the amount of
athletic trainers to cover at each of our 81 schools if um we do not if we do not approve the district schools will not receive athletic Training Services the schools will not will have
to pay their own separate agreement to the training services which is which is bearing on schools now for the blueprint for um Vision connection ATI will be able to align with the whole child approach
focusing on each student athletes physical health injuries and prevention management by providing expanded districtwide athletic trainers CPS will be able to provide resources to all schools and
students with different living experiences to ensure equable athletic Training Services for students and in the district thank you do we have any questions board members board member
Zano so I'm sorry um hello thank you for being here um I have a question for you I looked up the 32 schools um of those 32 schools that are receiving uh the benefits of trainers now um eight of them have
opportunity indexes below 20 so that's 25% that are bearing quite well another seven uh fall below 30 so we're at almost 50% and only three which is a little less than 10% are above 40 so um
can you please explain how that means we are using an equity lens to assign resources to our schools yes we are we are looking at that process right now and we are uh with the new trainers we're going to um look at the index to
see where we are short at in that process so we could cover those um indexes for the um next round and even going forward now well what about the 32 already that are so unrepresentative of
schools most in need well that's why we wanted to grow the the the program because we're trying to hit all the schools in the district and and we will look at it um again to look at see where those um those things are not meeting
the the goals yeah I can I add uh hello board members Megan hogard um the this is part of the current um bargaining agreement with CTU that's in process there's a uh
committee that meets a CTU and CPS joint committee and these decisions are made together with with that so we needed to renew the agreement before the um current uh CBA is finalized because of the
expiration um but the decisions on Place school placement and assignment is made together with that um joint committee um thank you I think with a similar line of questioning um so the four additional athletic trainers there is no current proposal for which schools
that would be at that's still a part of the conversation and in the conversations about which schools these trainers would be at how specifically is a opportunity index going to be used go ahead I mean I I would add that
um there are no individually paid trainers right now all of the trainers are coming through um through this agreement the opportunity index is an important component of it also the number of uh teams and the and the safety we also provide Trainers for the
centralized stadiums that many schools um have their events at so I think it's an important con uh part of the discussion but also that is discussion that is had in that um That Joint Committee as
well thank you I would say that it's um important for when decisions come before us to know not just what the funding will be used for but which communities will be benefiting from the fund so if we could get a followup on um the plan for where these trainers would be working and what communities they'd be
serving that' be really helpful thank you yes we do p member Custer um I just have a quick question about the financial proposal um I notied that the fiscal year 26 financials are quite a bit higher than some of the
years past especially um for fiscal year 225 can you kind of just talk a little bit about um maybe why that price might be just a little higher and if it's just that we're you know paying more trainers and getting more trainers that'd be great but I just kind of like to know
that disparity yes well you have it yes yes one is um we have four more trainers that's coming on board and then um with the fiscal uh with the um training Service as end we
have X amount of dollars to to bump that um dollars up so it calculates correctly far as what we had in the past and then with the four extra training and the four um two extra months that we need
for this year school fiscal year and and also um we have supplies and equipment that we had to purchase to yeah um I I would be remiss first if I just wouldn't wouldn't say that it's an honor uh brother puit to have one of
the Chicago public school's best ever football players thank you uh no seriously who uh represented former Roberson High School then played in the NFL got a Super Bowl ring and it's good to see you back engaging with our young
people um that being said I think it's important just so you all can hear uh I know Kenwood has a trainer based in Kenwood but a school like Al rabi doesn't a school like diet doesn't right and so I think that the work is how do
we bring e and and make that a priority to make sure just like y'all were able to finish second in the state back in the day you know our public leue team should be able to compete at that level today right and we know it's not the same right so yes yes sir it's not the same we didn't have it back in the day
trainers and stuff like that but that's what we're working on is try to get to every school and but every schools are covered but we just want to get a training in every school if possible that's why we kind of working on in these steps thank thank
you quick question does every school have an athletic director I'm just wondering about that yes every school has an athletic director great oh maybe my thing isn't working
properly oh uh so uh my question or really it's more of a a comment is I've seen tremendous inequity in the availability of different sports at different schools how many teams there are what kind of support they're able to
get some of that is due to parent organizations that at wealthier schools tend to support uh the uh sports teams very enthusiastically and generously and I think that it seems like this trainer issue is maybe
reflection of a deeper kind of inequity in Sports Programming between different schools and I think that's something that we as a board should look at even as we are approving this contract are any other questions or
comments thank you very much thank you board members we will continue with the following Safety and Security item number two authorize a new agreement with Metropolitan Family Services well good afternoon my name is Ronan sheski I'm the acting chief of
Safety and Security uh I'm here with um Chief Megan hogard from College and Career Success sorry and uh Tony Copeland our director of uh student supports um and I'm going to turn turn it over to Tony who's going to present thank you good afternoon board members we are
recommending the authorization of a new agreement for back to our future consulting services with the vendor Metropolitan Family Services um back to our future is a highly intensive free- engagement and violence prevention pilot program that was designed Hol to
holistically support our hardest to reach severely disengaged CPS students ages 14 through 21 again it was launched as a very ambitious pilot in 2022 um with the initial iteration being a response to an increase in the number
of Youth disconnected from CPS um a 50% increase in shooting victimizations of Youth 18 years and younger and then um the alarming rate of 90% of Youth that are victims of violence in the city of Chicago being disconnected from school during the time of
victimization um back to our future offered a year year long three-phased approach that offer youth intense Outreach 12 weeks of paid soft skills training mental health supports mentorship and wraparound Services the initial effort was a
collaboration between Chicago Public Schools the University of Chicago with implementation through three community- based organizations UK can youth Advocate programs and breakthrough um with full financial support from the Illinois Department of
Human Services and some philanthropic partners with no cost to the district um during the first iteration we were able to see some small successes we were able to consent over 600 youth into the program after reaching over 300 youth
through Outreach and engagement um 80 85% of those consented were connected with a CBO and logged active programming hours approximately 60 youth were successful in earning their High school diploma through back to our future um
it's important to note that although that number is 60 it was rather significant because um the target population for back to our future were youth ages 14 through 21 and they were all at different um points of their academic career when they came into the
program not everybody was at a point where they would be able to receive a diploma but of those that could we were able to get a diploma for 60 participants um over 150 youth were connected back to school others were able to attain their
geds and transitional job placement um one other important thing to note is within the violence prevention um vein of the program less than 1% of the participants of the program during their time and back to our future were uh
victims of shootings or homicide although um again those successes were um were small because this was an ambitious pilot uh we did take the notice of the mayor's office of community safety and they wanted to
incorporate back to our future in a relaunched version into their people's plan for a community safety um in the relaunch of the program they bought brought together members of community folks across uh sister agencies as well
as um people within philanthropy to reimagine what back to our future could look like um we also took findings from the University of Chicago's study from back to our future in the pilot phase to figure out ways to fill in gaps that
were identified and best support students that would be engaged in the second iteration of the program um one of the large findings and opportunity gaps was the need for there to be a consultant or intermediary to best service the community- based
organizations that facilitated the program on ground um it was also necessary to have that consultant to help us with an accountability structure that so that there was more Fidelity and oversight for the program in terms of finance and
uh wraparound supports as well as um trainings and on- ramping for the cbos that would implement the program to the participants i i as far as the second iteration is concerned the Illinois Department of Human Resources has
verbally committed $4 million to the relaunch um the mayor's office of community safety has committed an additional $1.5 million again this this relaunch will come at no cost to the district um the idhs investment will
support the planning Staffing training and initial participant Outreach period through fy2 with the anticipated spend for fy2 coming in below the 5.5 million total that has been received for the program full service implementation and
participation from actual youth won't begin until FY 26 um we anticipate to begin in July idhs has conveyed the desire to fund back to our future in the second iteration from FY 26 and
Beyond actual future funding amounts will be finalized after the state's budget process that begins in March um the official Grant agreements for the current fiscal year are under development as far as the intergovernmental for this program uh we
do have one that we could provide that yes and how was um in reading the report that UFC did on the pilot the greatest success that the program had in recruitment was through S um sister
agencies through agencies on on the ground um would meton Family Services be servicing serving that role in this iteration so um we did have several referral Pathways um one being
datadriven referrals which were um the the referrals that we received from C CPS and unfortunately because the population is very transient that information wasn't always the most reliable so we did find the most success with what we called reverse referrals
where the community based organizations went out into Community to find disconnected Youth and then they would provide the information back to CPS um Metropolitan Family Services would not serve in the capacity where they would be doing the Outreach however they have been really successful with
CBI in the adult space and convening Community Based organizations to help them be successful in Outreach and so in the Consulting um capacity and space we'll be using them for training the CBO so that they're even more effective with going out into Community to bring back
referrals to us so you'll be you'll be partnering with other yes organizations that already are doing this kind of Outreach no so there'll be there will be an additional RFP that will go out so that there's a a competitive solicitation for the smaller
organizations that will actually be doing program implementation to be selected okay and separate from the 20 the 25 I'm sorry separate from this amount no that's it's all as part of the budget okay that's like the budget okay
all right thank you so in essence Metropolitan Family Services is acting as the Fiscal Agent so they'll be acting as the Fiscal Agent so that we can make sure that the community based organizations are spending the funding in the way yep for the program cuz they have capacity to do
this absolutely that's what I need to hear thank you Smith Smith uh why why was this seated in Safety and Security portion of CPS and not an academic department so um initially the funding
came from um the office of uh violence prevention through um the Illinois Department of Human Services um and it was from Cannabis funds with the aim to use the program for violence prevention um when we built it out we did make sure
that we added on the academic portion of it but because it was initially rooted in violence prevention and safety it came through Safety and Security so so then uh I guess my NE my last question would be how many students were found uh dropped out of high school and
re-enrolled into a neighborhood School by way of uh back to our future so um in full transparency largely in part the youth that were reconnected back to school were reconnected back to option schools um while we did have a portion
of Youth that were connected back to district schools but the larger portion of the youth that were reconnected went back to option schools do we know what that is so we can share the the exact data um I was involved uh in partnership with
Safety and Security with J and we are we are discussing what that transition looks like now to exactly to your point to have this um be academically focused um a number of the students who are re-engaged were at the point where they
would not be able to complete High School in the amount of time to graduate before they hit 21 so if you are uh and we'll we'll provide this data but if you've been out of school since middle school and you don't have any High
school credits and you're 19 you need to be an an accelerated program um but student students had a lot of decisionmaking agency they were not uh routed to certain programs there were individual meetings with each student
and there was a plan and exactly um to make sure that it was the right graduation pathway for each student where they could see themselves um or a GD or write GD into work but the that's an important point that we need to um to
identify thank you warmer Thomas good afternoon um what were your projections on uh the students or the uh number of uh recipients that you wanted
to reach did you did you hit your projections um there were 600 youth UH 60 received diplomas uh 150 youth uh went back to school and like violence interruptions
are is there a document that you can or material that you can share with us that shows your your rate of success in the in the last cycle sure sure um we could we could share that with you initially we sought out to reach 1,000 youth um
but through those um opportunity gaps that we we mentioned earlier um we did find and key learning that while this was very ambitious and we did set out to to do something that was really great for the school district and for the city
of Chicago and large um this was a very hard to reach population and that was something that I think um we anticipate it but not in the way that maybe we should have um especially when you're thinking of very transient a very transient population of Youth um you
have to become very Innovative in your approaches to going out in community to finding and connect in with these youth so the ramp up was a little bit difficult in the very beginning which which kind of hindered us from hitting the 1,000 Mark but surely I I feel as
though collectively as the working group and the community based organizations they exhausted as much as they could to try to reach that 1,000 youth for Bigs thank you um I have a couple of of
wonderings um is the crime lab continuing on as an evaluation partner with this work so we are still in the um in the phase where we're planning and um readjusting the model we have not selected a researcher yet we want to be
very careful about um how we select the researcher we're trying to figure out if that too has to go through a competitive process given that the program is out and there are other people that might be able to provide the same services that crime lab was able to so we we haven't
picked a researcher as of yet understood um I'd like to Second uh board member Smith's uh wondering about the engagement with option schools um as an intentional academic partner um it seems like the vast majority of students
who were able to graduate through the program were in fact graduating through our options schools and so it seems like they ought to be engaged um to Chief hoggard's Point uh from the beginning uh and then go ahead oh oh I'm sorry um in
in this relaunch again we have gone about it differently we made sure to incorporate different members of the school community so that we had a voice from each each portion at the table um we've worked hand inand with u folks on
Chief hoggard's team that now sit in in the working group we also invited options to the table for the working group um we've engaged Chief hogard we've also um engage Chief Smith as well and so that was one of the things that we felt that we could do better this
time too and that's something that we've already taken note of and have have been doing great I'm so glad to hear that and this is my final I'm a little bit worried about the number of passrs that this money is going through and where we we lose money each time right money is
passed through an organization and so I'm wondering if MFS is is the right entity um or if CPS couldn't um right contract with those who are closer to this population on the ground directly in order to provide those wraparound
supports and services rather than going through multiple um folks so the during the first iter iteration we did contract directly with the three community community based organizations that did the work um unfortunately uh while they
did they did try really hard again this was very ambitious um and I will say that they did a great job there were areas where we felt like they needed more oversight and so that that was why we chose to have an intermediary this go around just so that there is
accountability going both ways right not necessarily just for the community based organizations but that so that there's someone in the middle that says to us CPS or the mayor's office or to the state you're not providing the community- based organizations or the community with the resources that they
need to be successful in reaching these youth so you guys need to provide things from top down as well as there being some oversight and Fidelity of the way things are doing from the bottom of Bo M kuster kind of in that vein um I guess
my question is if if we have other entities that are sort of the financial component of this organization what is the role of CPS um in this back to our future you know second reboot like what is our job um in in this whole structure
and what is it that we do so I look at it two ways um if you're looking within the accountability structure we serve with the mayor's office of community safety and idhs as the ultimate overseer of everything so that's overseeing MFS
who again provides us information from the ground up about what what we can't be in the Weeds about every day so we have General oversight of the program but then also within the actual implementation the program is broken up into three phases the very first one is
the 12 weeks of paid soft skills Outreach and engagement the second one is where we introduce mentorship and mental health supports and then at the very end of the second phase and into the third that is where we look at the education reconnection and that's where CPS plays a big part and Megan's team
plays a big part with that because we want um to make sure that we're actively using our resources within sore our transition specialist so that we're getting the kids reconnected back to school in a meaningful way and they're going back and place where it makes sense for their academic
career so CPS in large plays the biggest part in the education reconnection part to to add to that the um the Sor is the re-engagement centers um those are in my office as well as the Juvenile Justice team as well as a lot of the
intervention the tier 2 and three intervention supports and we really see this as making the Continuum whole all of the places where we don't where we see gaps or breaks in the pipeline we want to make sure that we are keep first
of all keeping students in school and successful and then everywhere where we see a a loss we want to close that and make sure we keep the Continuum there's a lot of districts around the country that do not have transition supports
attached to the school district and that means that there's a much more difficult process to reenroll students or and to keep students especially in a Traditional School in their neighborhood school so we really see this as part of the Continuum of ensuring that we
continue to graduate more and more students successfully and have resources to bring students back who then graduate successfully and and then have access to all of our post-secondary supports for career um as
well just to Echo um board member Smith it would be it would be interesting to see as the students that you've um recruited for this program go through those three phases what that retention looks like beyond the the paid phase and the mental
health phase and finally coming to our portion of the responsibility phase like what does that retention what are those numbers what does that look like um and obviously we're you know entering a new phase of this program um and looking back on what worked and maybe what needs
to be fixed sort of some of those ideas that you have on how to help boost um potentially that retention um throughout the years would be helpful for us to look at um when it comes to our role and responsibility in this in this
organization board member Lopez thank you president um one of the questions just to confirm uh can you walk me through the process of selecting the Fiscal Agent um so we we went through a competitive uh solicitation we did an
RFP um I do believe if I'm remembering correctly we might have had five respondents um we did have uh different people on the scoring committee from across CPS but additionally um just for more
reinforcements we did also have um folks from the outside that consulted us um in terms of the pick two when we scored so while they couldn't score they were also able to look at the RFP and give I'm sorry give oh hi good uh afternoon board
members Patrice Hernandez Chief procurement officer so we did do the competitive procurement process formal RFP that went out to the public we received three responses it went through a standard procurement evaluation process I believe the memo recommendation memo should be in your
documents that you have and to Tony's Point since this is such a large scope and effort from across multiple sister agencies we did have uh ad iers outside of CPS to help with the evaluation of the selection of the vendor thank you and my second final
question is um if there is a breakdown of districts or areas in the city that you're looking into engaging I I'll be curious to see to learn a little bit more about it thank you yeah I can I can share that list with you in the this second launch we were um a bit more
careful about condensing the zip codes that we would be doing Outreach to just to be more impactful and so we can share those zip codes with you as well too Bo remember boys good afternoon thank you for coming
this is for $255 million was it1 18 million last year is this an increase from um I know board member Bannon asked for the financial so I'd love to see that but I my understanding is that this is an increase in the contract is that
right uh no no so the the initial award that we received from idhs was the $18 million however um it was supposed to be split up evenly be between the two years of the pilot program um in the first
year however the award was reduced down to three billion because the spending was slow um because we were in the on-ramp phase so it was three million in the first year and then in the second year we spent close to seven so it the
while it was 18 million as initial award that's not what was spent so you only spent 10 for the first year first two years first two years y okay and then we're going from 10 to 25 so the 25 is there just to give room in the not to
exceed amount because we anticipate um with the success of 2.0 receiving additional funds possibly through philanthropy again we are being considered for the state's fy2 26 budget and so we're not sure what the gift will
be and so we wanted to make sure that we had enough room in the board authority so that when those funds came we can add to it my question is does it make sense for us to wait till you figure out what your state funding is before we confirm CPS funding or do is that not how it
works so it's not CPS funded at all it's all state funded it's all state funded got it yep okay thank you board remember boy I'm I'm sorry I just want to clarify one thing it's also City funded too I don't want to leave them out sorry right yeah board member
boy hi I I have a question about the funding um so I see that idhs and the mayor's office are they each contributing six million no um idhs is four and then the mayor's office is um
I'm sorry the idhs is four and a half the mayor's offic is 1.5 is there any Universe because it says um with no current District contribution that the expectation will be for the
district to pay in the future this expense or if somebody do if we commit if the board commits to this now and somebody doesn't pay would we then be liable to pay let me jump in here um so
with a not to exceed we're coming to you to ask you for approval to spend up to that dollar amount right there's no there's never any guarantee in our contracts that the work will be delivered and we will use these services so based on the funding my understanding this is a 100% Grant funded if we have
the funds we will do the services if we do not get the funds we will not provide services so all our B reports also have standard boiler plate boiler plate language that states that any future year uh appropriation will be based on budget approvals so if we don't have a
budget for this so there's no Grant funds we will not be doing the services so this is just you know like to Tony's point we don't know what the state's going to give us or if the city gives us more money in the future we just want to ask for that not to exceed so we don't have to come back to the board to ask you for more
money board M Gano um I just want to uh reiterate what some of our uh other board members said already which is I'm just wondering what does the partnership look like with our options Network to make sure that we we already I mean those students went back to our options schools what does that
partnership look like between our options providers um you know our our schools and um the program and making sure that they're also at the table to be able to because it's they're the ones who are end up having to you know um serve these students in the future um so
that that's the the main thing and then the budget aspects I'm really glad you provided that uh context that we will not spend the money if we do not get get State um support for it in the future that's a big concern it is a threeyear contract so this 25 is over three years
so just but as long as if we don't get the money from the state and the city then it doesn't happen Okay war is um hi thanks for coming um I'm a visual learner so I'm wondering if you
all have a a document a report some kind of plan with all these details that could be shared with us sure um we could certainly get that to you I'll go back to our working group and make sure that we compile something for you we do have visuals that we can give you so that you
can have full understanding of what the plan is for brown um just want to commend you on the work and um and really taking on the challenge that you're taking
um and I do I do understand that often building uh broad-based coalitions where you have an agency that works with grassroot groups it can be difficult to hold people accountable right and
difficult to make sure that the services that people are saying they're doing that they're actually doing so I wanted to offer if if this is helpful um two groups of people that might be good thought Partners in how to effectively do this
one is to grow your own teachers Coalition um that is a Statewide Coalition that was really piloted by uh Pink lsna kimwood Oakland Community organization Brighton Park neighborhood Council and other groups and we had to
partner with post-secondary institutions to help parents or people who may have been disconnected to become teachers and it was difficult because of all the things you can imagine so they may be good folks just to talk to because grow your own became
very effective right and another is just really that's even I think bigger than grow your own is the parent mentors program and that's again with pinka lsna because they have a network of a few thousand parents in schools all over the
state of Illinois and they have to have sub you have to have some you have to have uh you have to subcontract that work and so there are efforts in this city that may predate what you all are doing that can serve as as um thought
partners and I'm always avable I taught at St Leonard's adult high school for 10 years school for the formerly incarcerated and so there are a lot of folks also like Erica miners with North East and Illinois University who also has done a lot of this type of work that can be good thought partners with you
all on this thank you so much and I really appreciate that offer yes ma'am thank you yeah uh question how are the community organizations who receive funding
selected and how do you plan to be um uh more intentional As you move forward with the community organizations that you uh send funding through thank you thank you for that um the community
based organizations will be selected through a competitive process so again there'll be scoring um a scoring committee um the the act of actually obtaining the services of Metropolitan Family Services
is um our response to wanting to be more Mindful and um more intentional about oversight of the community based organizations um when we did the first RFP and we just solicited solely for those cbos we didn't um we didn't see
the large undertaking that it would be to um oversee Community Based organiz organizations that are out in community on the ground um really in the weeds of the work and so um MFS again has had really large success with Banning
together community- based organizations in the adult space and giving oversight um with cp4 P work and we're we're hoping to see some of that replicated as far as it as far as that in the youth space with this so that there is that oversight for the community based
organization so it is that training so they receive mental health supports because this can be exhausting for them as well too right um in terms of seeing some of the the the traumas that um youth are affected with every day and being that help and support to them and
so we wanted to layer on as much as we can through MFS so that we could support the cbos but then so we could also again through that um accountability structure get reports from the ground up to CPS up to idhs and MOX so we could have a full
scope on what the community based organizations are doing on ground thank you I know that many of the option Schools Board member Emma loano uh they have their own recruitment mechanisms uh
and they they are very successful and recruiting these students that couldn't comp complete high school and and the regular CPS schools high schools and I'm just wondering like uh how many of these
students that you have here that you put down as your successful rate of students went to these option schools compared to those that were recruited for the regular school system so Tony just shared 80% but I also want to make the
point the majority of the students in this situation are also coming from options schools so we did not make that clear earlier these are not students who left uh traditional neighborhood School the majority of students that are being sought to be part of back to our futures
were had a touch Point already in option schools so option schools are very much part of this process already what Deber I commend on this work I think uh mentoring and definitely um counseling
are so needed in our communities and I know that you're moving at the Speed Of Trust which is difficult um I am curious about how you're incorporating families of these students and also have you considered consolidating your process
instead of doing one thing at a time maybe trying to you might only have their attention for 12 weeks yeah you are absolutely right about that so um while we do have the program broken up into three phases there is some overlap and we did in our findings and
re-evaluating the program we did see areas where we should speed up some of the things within the model and so there is some adjustment and timing as far as families are concerned um there's always been the family component there because we do want to T tackle some of the
systemic issues that the kids are facing because those are ultimately largely the barriers that are are stopping them um from being connected to school and so um the community based organizations have been fa successful in providing things
as far as child care for families food um we've even had an instance where we had um students who did not have they lived on their own and didn't have furniture or the backings from family to have furniture for them or their small children and so we helped with in that
area we've um also made sure that in areas where we could help um parents attain jobs through transitional jobs we helped with that as well too um our hope is that now that we have the Coalition of the working group the level of wraparound Services can intensify
through the state and through the city so that we can offer um not just services to the students but also even more services to parents and families thank you very much for your reports you can see there's lots of interest from this board on this
initiative so good luck to you let's look to provide updates to the board as appropriate so we stay connected thank you very much thank you board members we will continue with the following information and Technology item number three authoriz a new
agreement agreement with Accenture LLP good afternoon um members of the board ladies and gentlemen uh my name is Dr SRI sundaram I'm the executive director of Enterprise applications uh and acting executive director of data and analytics
uh today I have with me is Dr Sarah Kempner who's the executive director of insights and research from the cedo and I have with M with me Mr Conor Malone who is the manager of data and analytics today we are here to talk about a data
modernizing opportunity a initiative inside of CPS that will affect all of CPS data and ultimately impact the CPS stakeholders which are the students the administrators the Educators and the community now project stream stream
stands for storage transformation refresh enhance analyze and management of data it's a $1 million initiative over a few years that ultimately overhauls the entire data infrastructure
for CPS this is critical in many ways let me explain why number one we are operating with aging infrastructure decades old infrastructure 16-year-old data warehouse uh 13y old data dashboards
these were built at a time when we had pedabytes of data terabytes of data sorry now we are operating with petabytes of data so this is fast getting aged out so this cases causes a lot of operational inefficiencies things that potentially take could take minutes
in this day and age takes us sometimes uh days if not weeks because we have to double check and triple check this information so that the data is adequately adjudicated by the decision makers secondly this is a key this
actually enables key pillars for the success 2029 uh CPS strategic plan uh this is a key enabler for the CID initiative The Continuous Improvement in data transformation initiative from the C's office number one number two is it
produces enhanced data access to um multiple stakeholders it provides resource Equity Focus making sure that decisions are timely decisions are accurate and allocation decision especially re resource allocation
decisions are done in the in in the way that affects the community in the right way number three this is about in um um modernizing the initiative providing a 21st century en environment from a from a data and information perspective that
ultimately enables the students to have a 21st Century Learning environment now what are the key benefits the key benefits are as follows number one it's about enabling timely decisions it's about enabling accurate decisions so the
decision makers can can operate in the most seamless way the second part of it is this enables enhanced data access to teachers right uh in a modern user experience number three it provides a
seamless integration of data across the multiple Departments of CPS um essentially uh reducing if not eliminating databased silos so um I want to be uh I want to um let
the board know here that $3 million of this approximately $3 million of this initiative uh is being funded by um cph the ch ch Chicago Department of Public Health for the first two years um and then uh and then we also have minority
based participation uh as as part of as part of this vendor now what are the implications of not moving forward with this project number one today we are beholden to external parties contractors external IP that essentially creates a
few risks one is a business Contin continuity risk we want to be able to make sure that information stays inside of CPS number two it provides um essentially a business continuity risk as I mentioned earlier it also provides
um uh faster decisions the second part of it is resource allocation decisions today can be made much more equitably making sure that these decisions are done with the truest and the most accurate information so I'm here along with my
team here to to request the authorization of this amount for uh for Venture thank you and if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them Bo Smith thank you for your
presentation uh I have two questions the first question is what percentage of diverse vendors do you use what is the percentage uh number two uh the stream have any advanced mechanisms that protect against data
breaches a great question uh board member I'll answer the first one uh as part of this um engagement with Accenture uh we are assured of 30 approximately 30% um minority um based participation and seven 7% in terms of
women women owned businesses so we meeting that criteria through U through accent and accent Partners uh the second question that you had was in terms of data breach um because we are moving into a modernized data infrastructure we
will be going with the latest and greatest in terms of data architecture uh which means any kind of data breaches that were hither to unsolved would be taken into account now uh all of the uh the architecture that
we have that we have selected um is state-of-the-art uh and despite that uh I might I there's the aspect of it's not just technology it's also about people and processes so in this initiative we have earmarked a significant amount of
uh effort towards adoption and change management so that the stakeholders of CPS uh the stewards of data here uh act in the most responsible and the most effective manner to reduce data breaches in the future hello thanks for being here um
can you share with us where this data management system is currently in operation and what uh someone from your team has done to uh see it in action try it out uh in all the different modes
that you're saying we will be using it for so today we have an aging data warehouse board member um it's operational but it takes days and weeks to get it done uh which means why is that because we to double check and triple check the information to make sure uh it's before it's out there in
terms of reports to your question about where is it uh working to uh we have there are quite a few examples of this in the education space uh especially in higher education space uh where um this this particular platform this a Microsoft BL platform uh has been
successfully operated in in uh in Aubin universities one um there's one of University and there's a public sector area as well in in terms of U in in Georgia uh I think if I'm not mistaken and uh don't hold me to this I I I think
in in Seattle uh Takoma Washington schools they have a similar architecture as well so this architecture has been this this platform this architecture has been in place um for a for a few years now and uh and and and to the extent of
that we know um this is a um state-of-the-art modern and uh reasonably tested solution but but it sounds like you're saying that you all haven't tested it in the manner that we will want to be using it because we're
not a university and we may have other uses that don't match theirs a great question we we have not tested it to the extent um I can chime in stre but but we know best practices more members and this is a case where we have an aging
infrastructure and we know that modernization of technology is should be the Forefront uh we are in a situation where we need to continue to protect our data we are in a situation where we need to have data Integrity which is
significantly important and what we're saying here is that we have these multiple modes of where we're extracting our data but when we extract it and bring it all together in one place there's a process and that takes a lot of time and productivity to validate
that data with this mechanism here we'll have it all essentially in kind of one source with integrity and we'll be able to pull and extract that information more quickly efficiently and to be able to provide the information to the powers that be you all our leadership team here to be able to make informed decisions so
this is a proven model of best practices of what we're we're targeting board member kuster may be a dumb question sorry for this um I know we've we've kind of approved a lot of different new systems because like you said we're updating a lot of
these they're very old and outdated there is no issue with all of these systems operating together right like we know that all of the systems that we've already approved purchase for are going to work seamlessly with something like this we're not going to have any issues moving forward just want to make sure
that all this the approval of the spends that we're doing are things that are working really nicely together we're not going to have any issues with technology things you know as we continue to purchase them kind of one by one great question board member um in the process of selection we took that into account
to make sure it not only looks it's a future forward-looking initiative but it's also backwards compatible we wanted to make sure that are existing systems that we have bought especially the new ones that we have recently invested in they're all compatible with this system with platform and all that
yes for remember Ben um first of all I wanted to compliment you on your RFP presentation all the details of the scoring and your rubric were very helpful and helping uh me understand why you chose the vet you chose um I just want to understand the
scope of this project so this project focuses on the data management as opposed to the software used to interact with it was that correct me if I'm wrong is that a good way to describe it it's uh let let let me um take a step back if
I may this encompasses the entire data estate the data management it includes not just the software but also the the the paradigms the the uh the different data aspects coming in from different systems maybe let me ask a different way maybe it's simply to understand on a day-to-day basis so you know with things
like Kronos Aspen um um the the the financial um management um systems we use would this include that kind of management it includes all of the major systems chime in corner please but includes
Aspen includes the oral Finance systems includ the new ones but would it it includes the the data management but does it replace Aspen no right yes it it's a data management of these systems that come in as Chief Mayfield clearly articulated better than me this is an
inje part of it really is an inje of the multiple data sources that come in Aspen uh ssrm uh the Oracle financials all of that gets in there it's manage Central management if you will are there any other questions or comments board
members thank you very much for your presentation thank you board members we will continue with the following facilities item number four authorize the second final renewal and extension agre agement with Lakes Shore recycling Systems
LLC good afternoon board president Harden Vice board president Bautista and elected and appointed board members my name is Caleb rberg I am the director of facilities management operations we are recommending the board to authorize the final option for
Renewal and an extension for the agreement for solid waste disposal recycling Inc compactor maintenance and repair with L Shore recycling Systems LLC this would start on April 1st 2025 for the final renewal and with the
extension go through March 31st 2028 um the not to exceed for this time period is 18.9 3 million across uh four separate fiscal years the driving reason for this extension is cost avoidance this
contract and the previous Waste Management contracts have allowed the vendor to receive up to a 4% increase based on two different indices the first is the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers applicable to the Illinois Indiana and Wisconsin area published by Department
of Labor the second is for fuel chart changes based on the department of Energy's monthly retail Ultra sulfur diesel price for the Midwest region both of these indues in the past have caused us to have a 4% increase with Lake
Shore uh uh as with all other facilities renewals procurement has been a great partner in negotiating flat or lower pricing Lakeshore has agreed to keep the final year flat um and the two additional
years being capped at 2.75% rather than 4% the cost of wance is estimated to be $3.2 3 million over the course of this term uh we do anticipate higher costs right now if we were to go out to market for a new solicitation
Lakeshore is just shy of their aspirational diversity goals of 30% minority business Enterprise and 7% Women Business Enterprise with actuals being at 29.6% and 6.9% respectively this is connected to our vision for 21st Century Learning
environments by ensuring Refuge is being handled appropriately and inclusive of services such as Recycling and composting this deide to Resource Equity the allocation of compactors recycling waste containers combo spend
are determined based on the needs of the individual school which are enrollments programs and historical waste data if this were not to be approved we would not have any active contract come April 1st for waste removal
services thank you for the consideration are there any questions or comments thank you for your presentation board members we will continue with the following real estate item number 32 amend and ratify renewal lease agreement
with learn charter school for a portion of the James Thorp Elementary School building at 8914 South Buffalo Avenue good afternoon board president Harden members of the board and CEO Martinez my name is Steven stolz
director of real EST State for the Department of capital and facility operations we recommend the board ratify a lease renewal with the laale educational and Regional Network Charter School other otherwise known as learn for for shared use of James Thorp
Elementary School located at 8914 South Buffalo Avenue the use will be for learn uh learns South Chicago campus learn has close to 400 students at this location and the school building is approximately
135,000 squ ft learn has operated from this location since July 1st of 2010 and the lease was first renewed in 2011 for a 5-year term ending on July 1st of I'm sorry July 15th of 2016 the lease was again renewed for a
term commencing on July 16th of 2016 and continuing through June 30th of 2021 the board authorized a three-year renewal of this lease in 2021 but the the parties failed to come to an agreement on the terms of the lease renewal and the board authority has
since been rescinded in order to align the commencement date of the third lease renewal with the expiration of the second lease renewal we are seeking to amend the 2024 board report board report number 24-
01257 to ratify a renewal term commencing on July 1st of 2021 and continuing through June 30th of 2028 which coincides with the expiration date of learns Charter School agreement the lease renewal term will be co-terminus with the renewal of the Charter School's
Charter School agreement and if the CH if the tenants Charter School agreement is terminated for any reason the lease will also automatically terminate rent will be $1 for the entire term of the lease renewal and this is the nominal this nominal cost reflects
the fact that CPS funds charter schools on a pure per pupil funding amount Charters that are located in CPS schools and for which cps's CPS manages building operations the per student funding of approximately
$2,345 per student is paid back to CPS in accordance with the charter school agreements funding formula that concludes my presentation for this item and I'll be happy to answer any questions thank you do we have any questions thank you for your
presentation thank you the following slide lists the standard month reports and motions that are listed in the agenda review committee meeting agenda and posted online board members this concludes the public agenda are the incum for questions
yes B btia um I think would it would be really helpful um to have the technology that we're like the a contract with is it a centure um and like the
IBM uh contract and the other contract that I just I can't remember the name of the contractor that is also connected to help streamline um the the like that's transition from Oracle to IBM because we've seen them in
three different board meetings the these three different pack these three different approvals of all for the same to to be able to make sure that the system and the technology is actually able to work with each other um but it's hard for me to see how it all like folds
into each other with those three different uh contract is it possible to have a a report so we could see also what it cost to like the totality cuz when it's spread out like this it's hard for us to like wrap around especially because it's been um several months um I
think it was like no October or November was like IBM and then um and then last month we had the other contract that we approved and then now there's this one and and they're all supposed to be working together
yes absolutely um we can pull that together because the you know modernization of the technology is part of the our fiveyear vision Together We rise and so we'll work with your Chief of Staff uh to be able to put a memo together for that thank you president Harden can you turn your
um microphone on let's try that again we will now move into executive session board member boy do you have a motion M2 I move for the passage of motion number 25- 0212 dm02 in the commencement of a closed
session to consider matters permitted under Section 2 C of the open meetings act subsections 1 and 11 as specified in the motion is there a second I second that motion I'll
proceed with a roll call member Lozano yes member Smith I member Lopez hi member Thomas I member Bo I member kuster I member Pope yes member Rosenfeld yes member Rivas yes member
riio Sierra yes member Brown yes member Bannon I vice president Bautista yes member guz I member bigs I member thura I member BL
I member zachor I member D Barry I 19 eyes zero Nays this motion is adopted by the board this Mee will now go on the co- session e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e I was trying to see if board secretary please begin can you please strike um strike the gavl to
reconvene thank you president har I would like to note for the record that there are no items to vote on from executive session your mic there are no further items we are prepared to reconvene the agenda Review Committee of
the board of education has reconvene board secretary please proceed president Harden I would like to note for the record that there are no items to vote on from executive session thank you is there a motion to adjourn so moved Sarah second so moved all in
favor say I I our journ thank you everyone you what