CPS Students Stage Direct Action at Board of Ed

Breaking Update: Chicago Public School Students have interrupted the Board of Education Meeting at 125 S. Clark St. in protest of school closings.

Photo: pic.twitter.com/CPchElcTfZ

See tweets from @gregrgoodman

Shouting, “Mic Check!” students are forming a human chain, and are chanting, “Whose Schools? Our Schools!” “We the people, we the students, stand united, not divided!” and “This is what democracy looks like!”

“Students are taking direct action because the two minutes public speakers are allotted is not enough time to address budget cuts and school closings,” says Ross Floyd, a rising junior at Jones College Prep. "If the board refuses to listen to us when we obey their 'code of conduct' then we must seek an alternative.”

Students are demanding:

    A democratically elected Board of Education.

    All future TIF funds must be directed to public education.

    Monthly meetings between CPS students and the Board of Education.

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Chicago Students Organizing to Save Our Schools | www.facebook.com/csosos | @ChiStudentsOrg

MEDIA ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS: CPS Students Speak Out at Board of Education Meeting
Over 20 students plan to speak on CPS closings, layoffs, and privatization

For live updates on Twitter, follow: @OCPress @gregrgoodman

Chicago 7/23 – A group of at least 35 Chicago Public School students are attending Wednesday's Board of Education meeting at 125 S. Clark St. Students will tell the board, in their own words, how school closings will affect them. Students who have signed up to speak at the meeting will address the impact closings, layoffs, privatization, and charter schools have on current CPS students.

“Students are speaking out because our voices are not being heard,” says Jamie Leann Adams, a rising sophomore at Roosevelt High School, who will address the Board of Education on Wednesday. “We're the experts on Chicago Public Schools, and we know best how closings will affect us. The Board of Education says they want to put students first. To do that, they need to listen to us.”

Students from 15 Chicago Public Schools are organizing under the banner of Chicago Students Organizing to Save Our Schools (CSOSOS), a student-led organization dedicated to amplifying student voice and engaging students in educational activism.

“School closing hurt the students more than anyone,” says Avelardo Rivera, a rising sophomore at Whitney Young High School, who will address the Board of Education on Wednesday . “We're losing our relationships with our teachers, homeless students are losing vital services, and students with special needs are being left behind.”

Students will be holding a press conference outside of 125 S. Clark St. immediately following the Board of Education meeting.

Additionally, opponents of school closings are organizing a picket of the Chicago Board of Education headquarters on Wednesday, July 24, at 125 S.Clark at 8:30 AM, and are calling for a twitter storm Tuesday, July 23 from 7pm to 9pm CST using the hashtag #StopCPSCuts (http://pastebin.com/eWnFfhVJ).

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Release sent in solidarity by @OCPress on behalf of @ChiStudentsOrg