AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/education/page/4/)
There are nearly 700 open seats on 267 local school councils across the city; five schools in Austin are still looking for members to serve. See the list AustinTalks has compiled of members currently serving on LSCs in Austin.
Slots are available for approximately 8,000 young people to participate in the after-school program that begins the week of March 8. The programs will be offered remotely, as they have been since last summer. Teens will earn a stipend between $90 and $250 depending on the length and level of expertise required for the program.
The 8th grade class is competing in an annual, year-long competition that introduces investing basics and the importance of financial intelligence to hundreds of students in the Chicago area. Last year, the 8th graders from St. Catherine – St. Lucy placed third out of 64 teams.
Principal Aquabah Gonney-Buckner was able to secure $10,000 in funding for her school, the Leslie Lewis School of Excellence. Teachers at the Austin school are learning about the history of race and race relations to prepare themselves for the difficult conversations they say students are ready to have.
At a community meeting hosted last weekend by state Rep. La Shawn Ford, community members discussed concerns they have about e-learning and the opioid crisis, which is hitting the West Side even harder this year than in 2019.
Elementary school LSC elections are Nov. 18, and high school LSC elections are Nov. 19. In-person polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Local school councils — made up of parents, students and community members that can make school budget and principal hiring decisions — were once seen as a bastion of school-level democracy, according to Block Club Chicago.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford is proposing legislation that would create a commission to review and update Illinois’ history curriculum so that textbooks, class discussion and other course material more accurately reflect history through the inclusion of diverse perspectives.
VOYCE – a youth organizing collaborative led by students of color from six community groups – says the school resource officer (SRO) program criminalizes Black students. Instead, the youth want CPS to invest in a trauma-informed public health approach to safety. The board of education is expected to vote Aug. 26th on the issue.
About 50 people gathered at La Follette Park Friday before marching to Chicago Board of Education member Dwayne Truss’ residence. They were protesting the contract between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department, and calling on Truss to vote against the contract at CPS’ Aug. 26th meeting.
There will also be free food at the Aug. 22 event, which starts at 2 p.m. The West Side location is at Madison and Central. The giveaway is in memory of Mary Lane and in association with the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois and Alexandria Lodge #148.